BALTIMORE – Candied, a 4-year-old filly trained by Todd Pletcher, is breaking her streak of five straight graded stakes starts to run in the $125,000 Allaire duPont Distaff Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Friday. Pletcher is looking for class relief at 1 1/8 miles before his filly returns to graded stakes competition this summer. “We’re hoping to get another race under her belt and hopefully shoot for bigger things down the road,” Pletcher said. At the end of a busy 3-year-old campaign that included runner-up performances in two Grade 1 races – the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama – Candied finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff behind Thorpedo Anna and Raging Sea. Her last start in listed stakes company came in June 2024 when she won the Lady’s Secret Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths at Monmouth Park. Candied will have Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard once again and is set as the 8-5 morning-line favorite. Trainer Riley Mott said Tuesday that Sudden Switch, now 2 for 2 after a Keeneland allowance victory in April, will not run in the Allaire duPont. The trainer intends to keep her in Kentucky for now, narrowing Friday’s field to seven 4-year-old fillies. :: Get ready for the Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! Dazzling Move, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., is the 4-1 second choice off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland. In her first start for Joseph after switching barns in February, she won the Grade 3 Royal Delta going 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park. The trainer will stretch her out even farther in the Allaire duPoint. Sea Dancer, trained by Brittany Russell, is another dangerous runner adding blinkers after a strange sequence of races in April. The filly struggled while traveling seven furlongs in the Grade 3 Distaff on April 5 at Aqueduct and returned seven days later to close fast for fourth in the Heavenly Cause on a muddy Laurel Park track. Her only dirt start at 1 1/8 miles was a victory in the Carousel in December. “I was really impressed with how she handled that quick turnaround and how she came out of the Laurel race,” Russell said. “We got her right back to work and she’s training well.” If rain alters the dirt on Friday, several outside contenders could earn more attention from bettors. After a lengthy stint in allowance competition, D. Wayne Lukas will finally put Lemon Muffin back in stakes company after a commanding victory on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs. The eighth-place finisher in the Kentucky Oaks last year has been a headache at times for Lukas, but he’s ready to return her to deeper waters. Regaled, a 15-1 longshot trained by Sammy Davis, has come alive on a pair of wet tracks to win a Laurel allowance and finish second in the $100,000 Heavenly Cause in her last two starts. The filly, a half-sibling to Kentucky Oaks runner-up Drexel Hill, will be offered in the Inglis Digital USA May sale later this month and could boost her prospects on another potential wet track Friday. Peignoir, with Flavien Prat aboard for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, and Miss Hebrides, Luis Saez named to ride for Ron Moquett, complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.