Having kicked off her season victorious over the Keeneland turf, Luster (Knicks Go) looks to bring 2026 full circle Saturday in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes for Josie Carroll.It's been six months since the Ontario-bred has stepped foot on the grass but, if her 7 1/4-length thrashing of the boys in the King's Plate Aug. 15 is any indication, she's firing on all cylinders as she looks to add to her near-perfect record of 6-5-0-1 in her return to the Blue Grass.“She's very relaxed here,” Luster's exercise rider Tanis Johnson said. “When she's walking, she's not dragging me around likeshe does at Woodbine. That's exactly what she needs right now, a little peace and quiet, because (Saturday) I don't think she'll be too peaceful. She'll be ready to go. She's definitely on the muscle.”Drawn just to her outside, Tam Tam (Medaglia d'Oro) already has a top-level win to her credit in August's GI Del Mar Oaks for Philip Bauer, beating many of the same rivals she'll line up against again Saturday. That list includes Faithful Departed (Yoshida {Jpn}), a filly who came out on top back at Churchill in the May 30 GIII Regret Stakes and Storm's Wake (Oscar Performance), the second-place runner from that Regret Stakes.“She's one of those horses that makes you smile when she trains,” Bauer said of Tam Tam. “She's coming into it as good as we can ask her to.”This deep field also features Irish invader Kensington Lane (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), a Group 3 winner in her native Ireland who shipped in to win the GI Belmont Oaks at Saratoga July 4 in her first start this side of the water. Now under the tutelage of Philip D'Amato, she ran third to both Tam Tam and Lookin At Diamond (Lookin At Lucky) in that Del Mar Oaks Aug. 22.There are plenty of fresh new challengers afoot as well, with French runner Braida (Fr) (Mehmas {Ire}), making her state-side debut Saturday off a stakes win at Longchamp, and MGSP Deep Learning (Cairo Prince) knocking on the door after twice hitting the board at Saratoga this summer for Chad Brown.The turf action continues at Belmont Park as 3-year-olds go 1 3/16 miles in the GIII Hill Prince on the inner course. Caroline St. Beat (Tiz the Law) threw in a huge 17-1 upset of the GII Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs Sept. 5 just one week after a state-bred allowance win at Saratoga Aug. 29 for Miguel Clement. He'll tackle GIII Old Dominion Derby winner Lennox the Grey (Liam's Map) and Old Dominion third Chambersville (Twirling Candy) along with stakes-winner and Glen Hill Farm homebred Third Coast (Uncle Mo). Also in the mix are Print (Munnings), coming off a win for Robert Ribuado, and up-and-coming maiden winner Protect and Defend (Munnings).Graded stakes action returns to Kentucky Sunday with the GII Franklin Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint runner-up Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy) looms here for Richard Baltas as does 'TDN Rising Star' Shoot It True (Munnings) who dominated over this distance at Saratoga Aug. 13 for Wesley Ward. Splitting that pair is Kehoe Beach (Omaha Beach), another Ward runner who shortens up after winning a 6 1/2-furlong allowance race at Kentucky Downs Sept. 6. Also of note, Bob Baffert sents out GI La Brea Stakes winner Usha (Tiz the Law) for her turf debut after winning the main-track Open Mind Stakes at Churchill Downs Sept. 12.The post Luster Ready To Shine Ahead Of QEII appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.