Ahead of a weekend which offers no fewer than 26 graded stakes races spread across three days, the GIII Matron Stakes at Aqueduct offers a warm up of sorts as 2-year-old fillies sprint six furlongs on the outer turf course in New York.Snow Face Princess (Midshipman) made headlines over the summer, taking the listed Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga before topping the Fasig-Tipton August Digital Sale where Winchell Thoroughbreds picked her up for $775,000. Making her first start for trainer Steve Asmussen at Kentucky Downs, she settled for a game second as the favorite in the Untapable Stakes Sept. 7. It was her first start outside of New York and she returns to the Empire State where she has yet to race over the Aqueduct grass–she was fourth in her five-furlong debut on a sloppy main track May 23.Breaking shortly to her outside is another stakes-winning daughter of Midshipman in Royal Testament who broke her maiden at Monmouth going five furlongs July 27 and then won an impressive edition of the Rosie's Stakes, beating the boys at Colonials Downs Sept. 6. This will be her first go at six furlongs for trainer George Weaver and owner Mathiesen Racing LLC.The Matron has also attracted Final Accord (War of Will) down from Woodbine where Mark Casse trained her to a speedy 4 1/4-length winning debut Sept. 11.“It's a little quick back, but that was a nice race she had,” Casse's New York assistant Shane Tripp said. “She's doing well and we're just keeping our fingers crossed that she stays that way until we go over there Thursday.”Final Accord is one of four fillies in the field making just their second starts, another of which breaks to her inside in Should've (Not This Time) who was a gate to wire winner for Wesley Ward at Kentucky Downs Aug. 28. Ward's already had plenty of success with the family, having trained the filly's half-sister Daring Do (Into Mischief) to a pair of stakes wins on the grass along with their dam's half-brother in GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny (Quality Road).Undefeated Maryland-bred Just Philtored (Great Notion) puts her record on the line in New York off a pair of restricted stakes wins at Colonial Downs during their summer meet. A versatile filly, she won the Keswick Stakes on the main track Aug. 2 before making her grass debut a 4 1/2-length victory in the Dolly Madison Stakes Aug. 23.“I liked what I saw from her on the turf,” trainer Michael Trombetta said. “We are going to give her another try on it.”The post Matron A Thursday Appetizer Ahead Of A Busy Graded Stakes Weekend appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.