George Teague, Jr. knows a little something about quality horseflesh. After having risen to North American prominence in 2004, the trainer has perennially sent forth top Grand Circuit stock. So when he says one of his charges is the real deal, people tend to pay attention

.

Trot Insider caught up with the conditioner Wednesday morning to ask a few questions about a filly -- a 'fancy' filly, at that -- which looked as game in her pair of defeats last year at two as she did in her 10 victories.

In 2008, Teague and partners plunked down $15,000 at the Lexington Selected Sale to acquire Fancy Filly, who last year streaked her way to $840,926 in purses. The bay Western Hanover lass bagged divisions of the Reynolds, Arden, Eternal Camnation and Pennsylvania Sires Stakes before reigning supreme in the rich and prestigious Three Diamonds and Breeders Crown.

After her accomplishments, the filly subsequently went on to earn an O'Brien Award as Canada's top two-year-old pacing filly of 2009. Although, it may be one of the two races that got away which really proved something to Teague, whose stable has won over 700 races and $20 million in purse earnings since 2004.

"She won 10 of 12 and was never disgraced when she lost," he told Trot Insider. "If you go back and look at her lines or the replay of the Shes A Great Lady final, she was just phenomenal and went an absolutely unbelievable mile."

Teague, et al, have been given nothing but good reasons to look forward to spring, as a shift from winter weather mean the lucrative stakes docket is just around the corner.

"Looking forward to the stakes season this year, we're really excited," the trainer explained. "We've got some nice three-year-olds that we are hoping are going to continue to make names for themselves; but Fancy Filly, she's the real deal. Her lines show that, and anyone that saw her on the track definitely know that.

"She's comes back very well after having been put away really sound. She has bulked up pretty well, but whether or not she is going to keep that weight on is something that we are going to have to wait and see because she's not a very big filly."