Saturday’s $150,000 Endine Stakes at Delaware Park has drawn a competitive field of fillies and mares for the six-furlong sprint. The race features the return of Discreet Ops, who will break from the rail at 5-1 on the morning line with Wes Hamilton aboard in an attempt to back up her recent form.

Discreet Ops, a 4-year-old daughter of Army Mule owned by Charles “Chip” Reed, has won two of her last three starts, including a sharp allowance score at Laurel and a determined victory in the Shine Again Stakes at Timonium.

For Feliciano, her recent progress has been about letting her come around on her own.

“She’s doing pretty good right now. I just usually let her tell me when it’s time to go,” the trainer said. “I don’t really force her. I don’t really pick out races right after we’re done. When she starts to get herself together, we start to look at the next race, and she seems like she’s ready to roll right now.”

Her Shine Again win remains under review with the Maryland Racing Commission, leaving some uncertainty around her stakes record. Objections from the riders of runner-up Chapa and show horse Happy Clouds were denied by the stewards, but that decision has been appealed to the state Commission.

As a result, Discreet Ops is saddled with the penalties of being a winner – she’s no longer eligible for a third-level allowance, for one thing – without her connections having access to the money she earned until the Commission renders a final decision.

Regardless of the outcome, Discreet Ops proved in that performance that she belongs at this level.

Feliciano was especially encouraged by the way she finished at Timonium. After being involved in the early action while wide, she drew away to win by 4 ½ lengths. It was her first start in nearly five months.

“She runs 6 ½ [furlongs] at Timonium off the layoff and kept going at the end. It looked like she was drawing away,” the trainer said. “So, yeah, I just let her do her thing and leave her alone.”

The main concern this weekend is her rail draw in a race loaded with early speed.

One of those with plentiful early lick is Sunday Girl, the 3-2 morning line favorite for trainer David Duggan. The Central Banker filly has won seven of 10 lifetime – six of six on a fast main track — and already owns two stakes victories this year, including the Correction at Aqueduct and the John Hettinger at Saratoga. She is 3-for-3 at the distance.

Another major player is Striker Has Dial (8-5), a Dialed In filly trained by Horacio De Paz. She owns a runner-up finish in the Skipat Stakes at Pimlico and last out was third in a Saratoga allowance behind the hard-hitting R Disaster.

Alani has been a model of consistency for trainer Michael Moore, winning five of nine starts this season and capturing the Love Sign Stakes at Colonial Downs three starts back. She arrives off a win at Laurel, and her sharp sprinting record makes her a threat if she runs back to her best.

Rounding out the field are Happy Clouds, who finished third behind Discreet Ops at Timonium and often picks up a share against tough company, and Admiral Hopper, a multiple synthetic winner who has been holding her own in recent dirt stakes.

With proven class in Sunday Girl, steady performers like Alani and Striker Has Dial, and the improving Discreet Ops, the Endine shapes up as a wide-open sprint where trip and pace will prove decisive. For Feliciano, the race is another chance for his filly to confirm her quality.