Fair Maiden representing Arlington well at Woodbine

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – One of the fastest 2-year-old fillies in North America so far this year is training quietly along at Arlington.

Fair Maiden debuted June 23 at Arlington and finished a distant second to Angelcents, who was set to start as the favorite Saturday in the Arlington-Washington Lassie. A month later, Fair Maiden won an Arlington Polytrack maiden sprint by more than 14 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 90. Shipped to Woodbine for her third start, she won the Aug. 17 Catch a Glimpse over 6 ½ furlongs on turf by 7 ½ lengths, getting a 91 Beyer. Those are two of the three fastest 2-year-old-filly figures this year; Leucothea also got a 91 winning Aug. 15 at Del Mar.

Eoin Harty trains Fair Maiden for Godolphin, her breeder, and said the filly will return to Woodbine for the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes over one mile on turf on Sept. 15.

“I’m hoping she runs a similar race to the last one, and I see no reason she shouldn’t,” said Harty. “She’s continued to train well, and she’s gained weight. I don’t think a mile is going to be a problem for her at all.”

Fair Maiden worked an easy half-mile in 52 seconds Sept. 3 at Arlington. By Street Boss out of the Smart Strike mare Shieldmaiden, Fair Maiden has a versatile pedigree, though offspring of her sire excel in turf racing.

“I really only ran her on turf because I was looking for a race and that was what came up,” said Harty, who believes Fair Maiden might perform well on dirt, too, but she’s not going to try dirt racing in the near term. “There’s no reason to think she couldn’t run on the dirt, but after she won that race at Woodbine so well, it wouldn’t be prudent to skip the Natalma.”

Another Arlington-based 2-year-old filly, Release the Heat, got an 86 Beyer from her win here Aug. 31.