LEXINGTON, Ky. -- For months, trainer John Kimmel tried to find the key to his Argentine import, Miss Linda. He couldn't.

But with the help of his staff and jockey Richard Migliore, Miss Linda finally started running to her potential for Kimmel. On Sunday, by leading virtually all the way for a surprisingly easy victory in the Grade 1 Overbrook Spinster Stakes, Miss Linda showed that her improvement has been substantial indeed.

Ridden by Migliore, Miss Linda returned $45.60 after defeating Starrer by 2 1/4 lengths in the $562,000 Spinster, the Midwest's definitive autumn race for fillies and mares. Printemps, the 7-2 third choice in a field of 10, finished third, another half-length back. Unbridled Elaine, the 3-1 second choice, was fourth.

On a sunny and seasonable afternoon, and before an ontrack crowd of 11,763, Vivid Sunset and Miss Linda both sped clear from their outside posts to begin the 1 1/8-mile Spinster. After Vivid Sunset began to fade, Miss Linda "still felt very comfortable to me at the three-eighths pole," said Migliore. She responded in kind, easily turning back a mild bid from Starrer, a 9-1 shot.

After being well-beaten in her first three U.S. starts, Miss Linda began coming around this summer, winning a small stakes at Monmouth and a Saratoga allowance leading to the Spinster. "She's shown a ton of ability but she's very quirky," said Migliore. "I think it's really helped that I get on her all the time."

Ironically, Kimmel, who was not present, won the Spinster with a longshot while Pompeii, with whom Kimmel won the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga in August, finished fifth as the 3-1 favorite when making her first start since having been purchased by WinStar Farm.

Miss Linda, owned by Ackerley Brothers Farm, is a 4-year-old by the dual-hemisphere sire Southern Halo. As an Argentine-bred, she would have to be a supplementary entry to run in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at the Oct. 27 World Thoroughbred Championships at Belmont Park.