Saturday’s Forward Gal Stakes features a diverse field of 6 fillies at Gulfstream Park, headlined by three-time graded stakes winner and brilliant sprinter Kauai Katie. The Malibu Moon filly will be making her second start of the month when she enters the gate in the Grade 2 event, having already impressively captured the Grade 3 Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream on January 1st by 8 lengths in an excellent time of 1:09.66 for the 6 furlongs. In 2012 Kauai Katie won her first three starts by more than 22 combined lengths before finishing a credible 4th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (Gr.1). She enters the Forward Gal off two consecutive 4 furlong works and will once again be ridden by John Velasquez as the solid favorite.
My Happy Face is one of the most intriguing runners in the Forward Gal field. The Tiz Wonderful filly finished a well beaten 2nd to Teen Pauline in her debut on July 25th at Saratoga and then returned one month later on August 31st to post one of the most impressive maiden victories of 2012, bar none. In that 5 ½ furlong contest, My Happy Face bolted from the gate and immediately grabbed a 3 length lead, setting brisk fractions on the front end of :22.34 for the opening quarter and :45.15 for the half. Around the far turn she extended her lead to about 5 lengths before exploding down the stretch with any urging whatsoever, to win by 21 ¼ lengths for fun under the confident guidance of Ramon Dominguez. In her next start My Happy Face gave Dreaming of Julia the race of her life in the Grade 1 Frizette, racing neck and neck with Dreaming of Julia from the opening quarter mile all the way down to the wire, just missing the win by a head. In her next start My Happy Face once again showed her grit and determination in the Grade 3 Tempted Stakes, taking the lead at the break and running nose and nose all the way to the wire with Cue the Moon to nab the victory after posting blazing fractions of :22.48 and :44.87 for the opening quarter and half. This is a filly that has the talent to match her heart and natural speed and she’s my pick to win. Click here to read the complete post on Horse Racing Nation: Distaff Runner!
