Queen Maxima Faces Japanese Shipper in Sen. Ken Maddy

The undercard stakes action on Breeders' Cup Friday is highlighted by the $200,000 Senator Ken Maddy Stakes, a 5-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares 3 years old and up that drew a field of 10, Oct. 31 at Del Mar.

Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures' Queen Maxima , a dual grade 3 winner this spring in Southern California and Kentucky, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite as she drops in class and faces female-restricted company again. The 4-year-old Bucchero   filly trained by Jeff Mullins finished a troubled sixth in her most recent start when beaten only two lengths by Motorious  in the Green Flash Handicap (G3T) Aug. 30 at Del Mar. Motorious is the morning-line favorite in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T).

Her toughest competition is likely to come from a pair of shippers, Shoot It True  or Puro Magic .

New York-bred Shoot It True, trained by Wesley Ward, ships in from Keeneland. The 3-year-old Munnings   filly won a pair of allowance turf sprints this summer at Saratoga Race Course, clearing a second-level New York-bred condition then an open company NW1X by 3 3/4 lengths.

Three H Racing's Puro Magic is a three-time group 3 winner in Japan who also finished fifth, beaten 2 3/4 lengths, while running on late in the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) in Dubai. Shogo Yasuda trains the 4-year-old filly by Asia Express, a group 1-winning son of 2006 U.S. champion sprinter Henny Hughes.

Plutarch Will try to Break Maiden in TAA Stakes

The stakes action gets underway earlier Friday in race 2 with the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes.

The mile turf race for 2-year-olds drew a field of nine, led by 2-1 morning-line favorite Plutarch , who remains a maiden after three runs but carries two graded placings into his fourth lifetime start. Bred in Kentucky by Coolmore affiliates Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt and owned by Susan Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, and Derrick Smith, Plutarch is by Into Mischief   and out of the 2015 U.S. champion 3-year-old filly Stellar Wind .

Trained by Bob Baffert, Plutarch placed in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes (G3T) and most recently finished third in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) on dirt at Santa Anita Park, where he was beaten just three-quarters of a length by Intrepido , who runs in Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), race 9 on the day's card. Plutarch also finished second to Intrepido in an Aug. 23 maiden special weight going a mile on the dirt at Del Mar.

Second on the morning line at 3-1 is Eplin or Spencer's Conducted , a front-running 6 1/4-length winner of an Oct. 4 maiden going a mile on the Santa Anita turf.

The field includes two shippers of interest. Trainer Graham Motion brings Proton , an Astern  gelding who is undefeated in two starts in the Mid-Atlantic. Owned by a partnership headed by co-breeder Stone Farm, Proton broke his maiden sprinting on the Colonial Downs turf then took the Laurel Futurity Sept. 27 going 1 1/16 miles on the Laurel Park grass course.

Trainer Cherie DeVaux brings Madaket Stables, Twin Brook Stables, and Belladonna Racing's Dr. Agne . The Into Mischief colt out of 2017 champion grass mare Lady Eli  broke his maiden on the dirt but most recently ran fourth in the With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga and the Bourbon Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland.