Although it took her several starts to earn her diploma for trainer and former jockey Kelly Lynn Deiter, Mudslide appears to have turned the corner.

Following a slow start to her career, the filly has ripped off back-to-back strong efforts while discovering a fondness for the short sprints and the surface at Charles Town. The second of those, Jan. 25, resulted in a victory.

A Maryland-bred four-year-old daughter of Competitive Edge owned and bred by Deiter and Gordon Policastro, Mudslide graduated in style in her second start over the strip when she romped home nearly eight lengths clear in a one-turn maiden special weight dash for fillies and mares with Keimar Trotman aboard.

Unraced at age two, Mudslide made her career debut last summer at Delaware Park, where she trains, and finished a decent fourth in a maiden special weight event for sophomore fillies. But she regressed in her next outing and finished seventh against similar company on the turf, so Deiter began to look elsewhere for her next start.

In her Charles Town debut in December, Mudslide finished a solid second to another Maryland-bred filly, Caribbean Comedy, who delivered a sharp score in her career debut for trainer Ronney Brown and owner-breeder Robert Gerczak.

“I was okay with how she ran that first start at Delaware,” said Deiter. “The race was 5 1/2 [furlongs] on the dirt and she was a little short. I thought she would run well in the turf next time out, but she didn’t like the turf course. She was completely different on the dirt, so I don’t know if she’ll go back on the turf anytime soon.”

Deiter had also trained Mudslide’s dam, the winning Fairbanks mare San Gregoria. San Gregoria recorded just one win in 20 career outings, but Mudslide appears headed for considerably more success.

In the Jan. 25 race, bettors were impressed enough by her solid local bow to make Mudslide the overwhelming 1-5 favorite, and the Deiter trainee did not disappoint. Away alertly to gain command leaving the chute under jockey Keimar Trotman, Mudslide quickly disposed of her nearest rivals on the far turn and simply romped home almost eight lengths clear.

“I thought she would run well at Charles Town,” Deiter said. “That first time she just got beat by a real nice filly. But last time out she was really good. Once she made the lead, I knew she was going to be tough to beat. She’s small, but she’s very quick. She’s built like a quarter horse, really. I definitely want to get her a few more starts up there before we go anywhere else with her.”

In addition to her training, Deiter is also a former jockey. As a rider, she won with six of 215 starters in a brief career that saw her ride from 1988 to 1991.

As a trainer, Deiter’s had her two best years in 2022, when she won 10 races with over $308,000 in purse earnings, and last year, when her 13 winners helped her to more than $291,000 banked. This year, she has two wins from 17 starts to date.

After watching her homebred filly graduated in sharp fashion last month, Deiter has begun looking for future allowance spots for Mudslide. There are options at the one-turn distance for the four-year-old filly toward the latter end of February and others in early March.

“She’s really quick and she likes the one-turn races up there,” Deiter said. “I will start looking for a non-winners of two allowance race for her this month. There are not many races with the non-West Virginia clause. I would like to keep her in the right spots up there. She’s still got time to develop. I mean, she’s still on the small side. Maybe if she can win a couple of allowance races, then I might try her in an open stakes.”