Naval Laughter's surprise Modesty performance sends her to the Beverly D.

When Naval Laughter won an Arlington maiden race on June 3 by almost 20 lengths, earning a stakes-level 96 Beyer Speed Figure, she seemed, more than anything, like a curiosity. The filly hadn’t raced in 19 months and went to the lead over Arlington’s speed-favoring Polytrack while facing a suspect group of non-winners, circumstances ripe for a performance that might not truly have represented Naval Laughter’s baseline.

And when she returned three weeks later and lost a first-level Arlington allowance by more than three lengths, her Beyer dropping to an 82, the blowout maiden win looked even flukier.

But Naval Laughter is a pretty good filly, after all. Her trainer, Chris Davis, and owner Tony Braddock’s Two Hearts Farm took a shot last Saturday in the Grade 3 Modesty, Naval Laughter’s stakes and turf debut, and, lo and behold, the filly emerged victorious. Not just that, but Naval Laughter, who had led in her two previous starts this summer, rated off the pace and rallied to a half-length victory.

“That was kind of the game plan going in,” said Davis. “In the allowance, she didn’t relax at all, and we had to get her covered up [in the Modesty] because she was too aggressive. They went an honest pace out there. We were happy we got to see another dimension with that turn of foot. She still ran a little green down the lane.”

Naval Laughter, a 4-year-old daughter of Midshipman and In Stitches, by Medaglia d’Oro, still has a right to greenness, the Modesty being just her fourth career start. Davis said plans call for Naval Laughter to run back in the Grade 1 Beverly D. on Aug. 14 at Arlington.

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“She looks fantastic out of the race. It’d be hard not to run,” Davis said. “She just won at the distance on this turf course and gets to run out of her own stall.”

It was the first graded stakes win for Davis, the son of two Chicago horse people, Lianne and Herschel Davis. Chris Davis went out on his own several years ago.

Braddock sold this filly at auction and bought her back for a considerably lower price after Naval Laughter sustained an injury after racing just once.

Sophie Doyle rode Naval Laugher in the Modesty, and it was Braddock who put Doyle on her first grades stakes winner, Fioretti, in the Thoroughbred Club of America in 2015 at Keeneland.