After catching a muddy track at Laurel Park last month, trainer Mike Trombetta expects Just Philtored to bounce back in the $125,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Stakes on Saturday. The Maryland-bred has never lost in state-restricted company. “We’ll certainly give her a break over the winter or what have you, but she’s handled turf well and she’s handled dirt well,” Trombetta said. “I guess if there’s one track that she’s not going to like, it’s muddy.” In winning efforts on dirt and turf at Colonial Downs in August, Just Philtored beat Maryland- and Virginia-restricted rivals in the $100,000 Keswick and $125,000 Dolley Madison. In October, Trombetta shipped her to Aqueduct for the Grade 3 Matron, where she finished fifth by 2 1/4 lengths. For the first time since her eight-length debut victory in May, the Great Notion filly returned to Laurel on Nov. 8 as the even-money favorite in the $100,000 Smart Halo. Trombetta struggled to explain her 4 1/4-length defeat to the Gary Capuano-trained filly Doc’s Miracle, partially blaming the wet surface that day. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The two fillies will square off again in a slightly longer seven-furlong sprint on Saturday. Doc’s Miracle is the 3-2 morning-line favorite, while Just Philtored will open as the 9-5 second choice in the field of six. Slewperstitus, the runner-up behind Just Philtored in both stakes at Colonial, will make her return in the Maryland Juvenile Filly for trainer Robert Bailes. After a breakthrough victory in the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie in October, she was entered in the Smart Halo but had to scratch because of a tooth abscess. “She’s always been very forward,” Bailes said. “She’s one of those fillies where you put her out there, she’s going to give you 110 percent. I expect that on Saturday.” Alongside the familiar top trio, Project Maximus will make her stakes debut for Butch Reid after winning two races at Parx by 10 3/4 combined lengths. The filly is a half-sister to Monday Morning Qb, who won the Maryland Million Classic for Reid in 2020. Maryland Juvenile When Chad Summers kept Tartabull stabled at Laurel in November, he felt that he did so with a special purpose. In many ways, the Maryland-bred juvenile belongs at home, and his trainer is so encouraged by his progress that he is willing to take a chance in the $125,000 Maryland Juvenile Stakes on Saturday. “Obviously, you get a little bit faster to step up in this tough spot,” Summers said. “But I certainly liked what I saw [in a maiden special weight victory] against Maryland-breds, and this is the right spot, running against his friends there in Maryland.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Tartabull’s dam, the 11-time stakes winner Anna’s Bandit, was revered at both Charles Town and Laurel in her career. The West Virginia-bred made her biggest splash in Maryland when she won the Maryland Million Distaff in 2019, the fourth of five straight state-restricted stakes victories during a stellar 5-year-old campaign. Her colt shipped to her old stomping grounds and won a statebred maiden special weight in October. Jockey Xavier Perez, who rode Anna’s Bandit in 33 of 39 career starts and formed an intensely close bond with her, has also taken an interest in Tartabull. On Nov. 23, he guided him through a five-furlong workout in 1:01, the fastest of 14 runners at the distance that day. “I might get shot if I didn’t ride him on the horse,” Summers said of choosing Perez to ride. “He actually took the horse off the van when the horse got there before the race last time. He rides the horse every day. He was there when Tartabull was born.” Tartabull is sure to gain sentimental attention because of his local connections, and Summers expects him to improve at seven furlongs on Saturday. His toughest opponent in the field of 10 is not clear, as four runners will open at odds between 7-2 and 6-1. Trainer Hugh McMahon said that Biker Baley, a 15 1/4-length winner in a maiden-claiming race last month, will scratch. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.