The Forward Gal Stakes- Grade II

                            1/29/12  Gulfstream Park

                               Three-Year-Old Fillies

                              Seven Furlongs on Dirt

                                   Purse: $200.000

Sunday at Gulfstream Park, some of last year's top two-year-old fillies

are set to make their three-year-old debuts in the Grade II The Forward

Gal Stakes. A field of seven head to the post for the $200.000 race, run

at 7 Furlongs over the dirt, and with these fillies we can expect one very

exciting horse race.

Summer Apple leads the field, and this filly trained by Riggins Racing

will carry 125 pounds, four more pounds than the rest of the field. She

has been nearly flawless in her career so far, winning six of seven career

starts; five of her wins coming in graded stakes company. Her only loss

came 11/4/11 in the Grade I BC Juvenile Fillies race, where she finished

7th in the 1 1/16 race on dirt, but since then she has returned to form,

winning the Grade I Hollywood Starlet, at 1 1/16 over dirt at Hollywood

Park on 12/10/11.

Knights Princess will make her first start for Pan Farms in The Forward

Gal, after being purchased privately a little over a week ago, for $828.000

from Australia Wide. She comes off of a 2 1/2 month layoff, after having

run last in the Grade I CC Juvenile Fillies, where she finished 2nd. She

won the Grade I Darley Debutante at this 7 furlong distance on dirt last

September, and looks like could be very dangerous here Sunday.

Jerry Garcia Racing sends out Queen Lyphard, and like Summer Apple

and Knights Princess, she last ran in the Grade I BC Juvenile Fillies race,

where she ran beautifully and finished 3rd in the 1 1/16 race. This filly won

the Grade III Sorrento Stakes run at 6 1/2 furlongs over the DMR dirt on

8/25/11. She looks good here and breaking from post 6, think we could

see a great race from her.

While these three fillies look hard to beat here, as we have all seen lately,

expect the unexpected, as anything can happen. The other four fillies in the

field are ready to run, and will do their best to not make this an easy win for

anyone. So get ready for what could be nail biter, as these seven talented

square off in the 2012 Grade II Forward Gal Stakes!

The Field

1   Flash Me Force: The first of two in the race for Ekli Stable,

     this filly by Force Flemington makes her 7th stakes start on

     Sunday, and has one ungraded stakes winm which came in

     her last start. Highest speed figure so far: 94

     Comes off a win on 12/7/11 in the $100.000 CA Breeders

     Championship Fillies for CA Breds, run at this 7 furlong

     distance at Santa Anita. Prior she was 2nd in a $40.000

     State Bred Allowance, where after leading most of the

     7 furlong dirt race, she was passed just before the wire.

    -In her five starts prior to her last two, she tired before the

     finish in races on dirt at 6 to 7 furlongs. Has the stakes

     win at this distance, but it was against a softer field of

     state breds, and the field here contains multiple graded

     stakes winners, so this could be a tough spot for Flash

     Me Force.

2   Knights Princess: This daughter of HRP-Desert Prince is

     making her first start for Pan Farms, who purchased this

     filly on 1/16/12 for $828.000. This is her 4th stakes race,

     and she has one graded stakes win. High speed figure: 96

     Last ran 11/4/11, in the Grade I BC Juvenile Fillies, where

     she finished 2nd, and lead the entire race, and then tired

     a bit at the end of the 1 1/16 race over dirt. In her race prior

     to the BC race, she won the Grade I Darley Debutante, run

     at this 7 furlong distance on dirt, and earned a nice speed

     figure of 96.

    -Ran beautifully in the BC Juvenile Fillies, and that race may

     have been a little long for Knights Daughter. Has a graded

     stakes win at this distance, and is rested after a 2 1/2 month

     vacation, so she could run very well here.

3   Go Force: The second entry for trainer Ekli Stable, and like

     her stablemate, she is a daughter of Force Flemington. This

     will is her 4th stakes race, and she has one ungraded stakes

     win, which came last July on turf in the $50.000 Tippett run

     at 5 1/2 furlongs at CNL. Highest speed figure: 94

     Last ran on 1/1/12, in the Grade III Old Hat here at Gulfstream

     where she finished 2nd, just a nose behind the winner, and

     closed well in the 6 furlong race.Has one start at this 7 furlong

     distance, in the $125.000 OFarrell Juvenile Fillies, where she

     finished in the race for FL Bred fillies.

    -Has had some nice races lately, and just missed the win in

     a Grade III, which was close to this distance. Only has one

     career finish off the board, in seven starts. Not sure if she is

     able to beat some here, but look for a big race from Go Force.

4   Larkhill Lucille:  Trained by Dynark Stables, this AG filly by

     HRP-Helissio will make her 5th stakes start on Sunday and is

     looking for her first stakes win. Just has a $55.900 MSW that

     was at Woodbine for Canadian Breds last August. Highest

     speed figure so far: 90

     Last race was on 11/26/11 in the Grade II Demoiselle at AQU,

     where she finished 5th, five lengths back in the 1 1/8 dirt race.

     Prior to that she was 7th, seven lengths back in the Grade I
     Alcibides, run at 1 1/6 on dirt. Best graded stakes finish was

     a 4th in the one mile Grade III AP Washington Lass 9/10/11.

    -Larkhill Lucille has really struggled in her past graded stakes

     attempts, and the field here may be one of the toughest she

     has faced yet. Just doesn't quite look ready for graded stakes

     level races at this point in her career. Her works look fantastic,

     so she just may need some allowance wins to build confidence.

5   Summer Apple: Trained by Riggins Racing, this daughter of

     Tempted will be making her 6th start in stakes company and

     has five stakes wins, all of them graded. Because she has a

     Grade I win since 10/29/11, she carries 125 pounds four more

     than the rest of the field. Highest speed figure so far: 93

     Won the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet, run at 1 1/16 over the dirt

     in her last start on 12/10/11. Prior to that, she ran in the Grade I

     1 1/16 dirt BC Juvenile Fillies, where she was 7th, which was her

     only career loss. Going into her BC race, she had won five races

     in a row, four of which came in graded stakes races. Has never

     run at 7 furlongs before, but Summer Apple is so versatile, that

     she has stakes wins from 2 furlongs all the way to 1 1/16 on dirt.

    -Summer Apple looks like she is going to be hard to beat in the

     Forward Gal. Afraid she had peaked early after her disappointing

     finish in the BC Juvenile Fillies, but she proved that was not the

     case, coming back to win a Grade I in her race right after that.

     With a nearly perfect career, she is my top pick in the race.

6   Queen Lyphard: Trained by Jerry Garcia Racing, this filly who is

     by Il Miglio Fabro, makes her 6th stakes start here, and has one

     graded stakes win, which came on 8/5/11  in the Grade III Sorrento

     Stakes, run at 6 1/2 furlongs over the dirt at DMR. Highest speed

     figure so far: 95

     Comes off an impressive 3rd place finish in the Grade I BC Juvenile 

     Fillies on 11/4/11 at Churchill Downs. She closed from off the pace

     in that and appeared to want to go longer than the 1 1/16 distance.

     Prior to that, she was also 3rd at 1 1/16 over the dirt in the Grade I  

     Alcibides, 10/7/11 at Keeneland, and in that race, the 1 1/16 was a

     bit too long, as she led the entire race then tired just before the wire.

     Has one graded stakes start at this distance, in the Grade I Darley

     Debutante, where she closed and did not get up in time, finishing 5th.

    -Queen Lyphard has had a great career thus far. A little bit worried the

     distance here may not be long enough for her, as she has closed in

     many of her recent starts, and even 1 1/16 hasn't been long enough.

     However, she should get a nice push from breaking near the outside,

     which could be just what she needs to get up in time here. One of my

     top picks.

7   Red Jima: Trained by Kopites, this filly by Iwo Jima will be making her

     5th start in a stakes race, and has one ungraded stakes win, coming

     at this distance over a good dirt track. Highest speed figure so far: 91

     Last ran 12/26/11 at this distance at SA in the $100.000 CA Breeders

     Championship Fillies, for CA Bred fillies, where she was 2nd, behind

     the 1 horse in this race. Distance looked a little long for her there, as

     she was losing ground at the end of the race. The 7 furlong distance

     was also too long two starts back, when she finished 3rd, two lengths

     back after being in 2nd just a neck back early in the race. Her stakes

     win was at this distance, but came over a good track at PHA 10/1/11

     in the $150.000 Brandywine.

    -The 7 furlongs could be longer than she wants to go, if she is sent out

     early as she has been in her last two races. Has a win at this distance

     on, but the dirt track was good that day, and the pace was quite a bit

     slower than that of her two recent starts. However, with the GP weather 

     forecast Sunday calling for a 40% chance of rain, an off track could

     benefit Red Jima. If the track is fast, breaking from the outside may

     send her out too fast early, causing her to tire early.

                             Cyn's Picks: 5 - 2 - 6