After spending the past three weeks racing against older horses, Bellatricks will return to her age group to face seven rivals in Saturday’s $120,000 Courageous Lady for three-year-old filly pacers at Northfield Park.

Trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. would have preferred to keep Bellatricks away from older horses, but his filly didn’t fit many conditions and she needed to keep racing in preparation for the Courageous Lady. As it turned out, Bellatricks held her own in her three starts in the Fillies and Mares Open at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, as she posted two second-place finishes before ending up fifth in her most recent performance on Nov. 18.

Morgan, though, said the filly’s finish last week was deceptively good.

“She was loaded last week, she just couldn’t get out,” Morgan said. “They don’t have a passing lane there unfortunately and she had nowhere to go. But she’s heading into this race somewhat fresh. She will need to be, because the competition is pretty stiff.

“You hate to race a three-year-old against aged horses,” he added, “but it’s late in the year and it served its purpose for a couple weeks until the Courageous Lady.”

Bellatricks and driver Ryan Stahl will start the Courageous Lady from Post 3. Bellatricks is 10-1 on the morning line. Jugette winner L A Delight, who will start from Post 8 with John Campbell at the lines for trainer Bob McIntosh, is the 5-2 early favourite.

The field also includes two entries from the stable of trainer Ron Burke, who has won the last three editions of the event. Burke’s starters are Mother Of Art from Post 1, at 9-2 on the morning line, and 12-1 Free Show from Post 6.

Bellatricks, a daughter of Third Straight out of the mare Scarlet Begonia, has won four of 18 races this season and six of 25 starts lifetime. She has earned $170,859 in her career for owner Carl Howard, who purchased the filly under the name Shameless Hall for $18,000 at the 2014 Blooded Horse Sale.

She twice finished second in the Kentucky Sire Stakes championship, as she lost each year to Lakeisha Hall. This season’s setback in the final came by a head. In fact, Bellatricks finished second to Lakeisha Hall three times this year in the sire stakes series, with two losses by a head and the other by one length.

“It would have been nice to win the final at Lexington, but second place for $175,000 is OK,” Morgan said. “She’s been a pleasant surprise. She was not a high-priced yearling. Carl Howard picked her out. He did a great job doing a little research and finding out there were only 20 fillies eligible for the Kentucky Sire Stakes and he nabbed her.

“She’s been a success.”

Bellatricks’ recent efforts against older horses were not her only starts this season in fields with aged rivals. Two months ago, she finished third to 2015 Courageous Lady winner Sassa Hanover in a conditioned race at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Sassa Hanover later went on to finish second in the Breeders Crown Mare Pace.

In July, Bellatricks beat older foes at Scioto Downs, a feat she repeated in August at Yonkers Raceway.

“She’s got a great attitude,” Morgan said. “She’s a good-looking filly. She’s not real big, but she’s built very well. She’s got great conformation. I think she will be a nice racehorse hopefully for the next few years. She’s versatile. She can leave a quarter in :26 and you can grab her and she’ll come right back to you and she loves to pass a horse.

“I think her versatility is what will make her a good aged horse. She’s already won on a half and five-eighths and she was good on the mile track at Lexington. It’s nice to have a horse that you can use that to your advantage. She’s just real handy; I think that’s the best way to describe her. By being so handy I think she’ll be competitive wherever she goes.”

Morgan believes that includes Saturday at Northfield Park.

“I think she’ll be competitive in there,” Morgan said. “Obviously that’s a very tough field with some really good fillies. But I think if she gets a trip she’ll be competitive.”

The field for the Courageous Lady appears below in post position order.

(PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line)

1-Mother Of Art-Ronnie Wrenn Jr.-Ron Burke-9/2
2-Time On My Hands-Aaron Merriman-Chris Ryder-4/1
3-Bellatricks-Ryan Stahl-Virgil Morgan Jr.-10/1
4-Yankee Moonshine-Don Irvine Jr.-Doug Hinklin-8/1
5-Rock Me Baby-Tim Tetrick-Heidi Rohr-7/2
6-Free Show-Jason Merriman-Ron Burke-12/1
7-Dime A Dance-Mike Wilder-Doug Snyder-15/1
8-L A Delight-John Campbell-Robert McIntosh-5/2

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.