By Bob Ehalt In a few weeks a new chapter will be written in the legacy of Songbird. A perfect 11 — as in 11 wins in 11 starts — against fillies her own age, on Nov. 4 the brilliant filly will face her greatest test when she tackles older horses for the first time in the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff. And when the race is over, it will shape an impression of Songbird as either a very good horse or one of the very best fillies in the long history of the sport. That’s how tough a test it will be for her. Losing will be no disgrace. Yet if the front-running filly can remain unbeaten and post her 12th straight over a field that includes a three-time champion in Beholder and last year’s 3-year-old champion Stellar Wind, she will prove herself to be something very special indeed. “It’s a contentious race,” Songbird’s trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said about the mile and an eighth BC Distaff. “But it’s supposed to be that way when you’re running in the best race in America at the end of the year. We expect to have a competitor race and we expect to put forth a great competitor in it. I have a prejudiced point of view. My filly hasn’t been beaten yet. She hasn’t run against older horses but sooner or later you have to do it. That comes at the end of the year and we feel very confident that our filly is handling herself and we’re confident in her abilities.” As good as Beholder and Stellar Wind might be, Songbird has captured the imagination of racing fans in all parts of the country in a manner unseen for a filly since the heyday of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Through an army of loyal fans on social media, Songbird’s popularity has grown with each and every race — and each race that gets added to her win total. Though based on the West Coast, when Songbird traveled to Saratoga to run in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama, owner Rick Porter’s filly was greeted with the warmth and enthusiasm normally reserved for a hometown hero. “The old adage everyone loves a winner is true,” Hollendorfer said. “People get to see her win and they become a fan. The people in the East see a lot of great racehorses and it’s an honor if they consider her to be one of the best. The reason we went to Saratoga is because Mr. Porter wanted to go on the road and show he’s not afraid of running against any of the best 3-year-old fillies in the nation. We were successful and now we have another goal which is the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a race I’d love to win for Mr. Porter.” After winning her two Saratoga starts by a combined 12 1/4 lengths under regular rider Mike Smith, the Fox Hill Farms filly prepped for the Breeders’ Cup by toying with her fellow 3-year-olds in the Grade 1 $1 million Cotillion at Parx and winning by 5 ¾ lengths over Grade 1 winner Carina Mia. Now she’s ready for bigger and better things in her date with destiny at the Breeders’ Cup over a racetrack she has already posted five wins. “She loves the Santa Anita racetrack,” Hollendorfer said about a filly who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and was named the champion 2-year-old filly of 2015. “We’ll walk over to the race confident but respectful of everyone else, but we think our horse will be up to the challenges and our rider will make the right decisions.” With Stellar Wind and Beholder on hand, for once Songbird might have to dig down and work hard every step of the way. Beholder came into 2016 with three Eclipse Awards and Breeders’ Cup wins in the 2013 Distaff and 2012 Juvenile Fillies, but at six she may have lost a slight step. Though not as dominant as in past year, with runner-up finishes in her last three starts, there was no disgrace in those outings as she suffered losses to Stellar Wind by a neck in the Zenyatta and by a half-length in the Clement L. Hirsch and was the runner-up to Horse of the Year favorite California Chrome while trying to defend her crown in the Pacific Classic. Earlier in the year, Beholder beat Stellar Wind by a length and a half in the Vanity on June 4 at Santa Anita. With Beholder’s keen early speed, she figures to give Songbird a new brand of early pressure that could work out perfectly for Hronis Racing’s Stellar Wind, who was second in last year’s BC Distaff, and that kind of match-up and intrigue makes the Nov. 4 must-see TV. Adding to the fun are some quality fillies who are capable of pulling off an upset. Foremost among them are a trio of “Win and You’re In” rivals in I’m a Chatterbox (Spinster), Paid Up Subscriber (Fleur de Lis) and Corona Del Inca (Gran Premio Criadores in Argentina). Also in the mix are Beldame winner Forever Unbridled, three-time Grade 1 winner Curalina and Spectre from Germany. Yet the challenge facing them was best put in words by Larry Jones, trainer of I’m a Chatterbox, following her win in the Spinster. “I think,” he said, “this may be the deepest Distaff that I have seen in a long time.” With Songbird, Beholder and Stellar Wind in the field, arguing with assessment seems rather folly.