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By Ray Hickson

She took on some of the best fillies of her generation in the autumn but it’ll be a low key return for talented three-year-old Facile at Warwick Farm on Monday.

Trainer Sterling Alexiou (Pic: Grant Guy)

In an ideal world, Facile would have taken part in the Princess Series this spring but trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou were forced to be patient with the filly after lameness forced her scratching from the Golden Slipper and she was found to require a bone chip operation.

Despite recording two Group 2 and a Listed second from four starts, Facile finds herself with 54kg in the Schweppes Handicap (1100m) at Benchmark 68 level.

“When she went to the paddock after she was a scratching from the Slipper she had a chip taken out of her knee so she missed the beginning of the carnival and the lead ups to the Princess Series,’’ Alexiou said.

“She’s come back a stronger filly this time in and we have a gut feeling she probably will run 1400m.

“Whether we get the opportunity or not we’ll have to see where we go after Monday.

“Although you’re racing horses that aren’t maidens she’s relatively well weighted for the rating she would have. She’s probably a 71 or 72 and getting significant weight off quite a few of them.”

Facile, $1.90 with TAB on Sunday, was narrowly beaten by Lazzago in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) and gave boom filly Learning To Fly a big scare in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes.

As Alexiou said, she didn’t line up in the Golden Slipper but he's has been more than pleased with what he’s seen from her since returning to work.

She was runner-up in her only public trial to her exciting stablemate Arctic Glamour, a dominant winner at Rosehill during the week, and there's no doubt from Alexiou that she's in a race she can win and progress back to carnival level.

“I thought when Kerrin (McEvoy) sidled up next to Tyler (Schiller) in the straight Facile’s last 100m was every bit as good as Arctic Glamour,’’ he said.

“We’ve been really happy, she’s had a fault free preparation. Although she will improve off it she is definitely good enough to be putting up her best foot forward.

“We’d like to think she could knock over a race like that.”

Stablemate Superstitious is expected to be a big improver in the $100,000 Drinkwise Mile (1600m), a Super Maiden race, as he steps out to a trip Alexiou believes he will relish.

The colt was a bit of a late starter as he required a throat operation and has made some ground in both starts to date over shorter distances.

Facile runs second in a trial at Rosehill on September 19

“He’s going a lot better than his form suggests, blinkers go on which will be of great benefit to him,’’ he said.

“The penny hasn’t quite dopped but his work at home has been very sharp.

“We’re expecting him to run well. The way he’s been racing it suggests the step up to the mile won’t hurt him.”

All the fields, form and replays for Monday's Warwick Farm meeting