Girl With a Dream (Practical Joke) made it three straight victories with a front-running decision in Saturday's GIII Forward Gal S. at Gulfstream.
She was sent to the lead and showed the way through an opening quarter in :22.85. The chestnut let it out a notch rounding the far turn as unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Radio Days (Gun Runner) launched her bid from the back to set her sights on the leader.
Girl With a Dream still had plenty left for the stretch, however, and held the heavily favored Radio Days, who was making her first start since a runaway optional claiming victory at Aqueduct Dec. 2, safe by a length for a career high.
A runaway debut winner at Ellis last summer, Girl With a Dream wasn't quite ready for the big leagues yet, and reported home a distant eighth after a troubled trip in Saratoga's GI Spinaway S. Second in an optional claimer at Keeneland Oct. 21, she's been perfect in three subsequent starts, including a front-running score in the Letellier Memorial S. last time at Fair Grounds Dec. 27.
“There just aren't a lot of graded stakes opportunities where we run, at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn, so we had targeted this race after her last start,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She was doing good and came out of her last race strong, so we shipped her over Tuesday. We thought we'd let her do her thing and go to the front and try and make them catch us and it worked out great.”
Winning owners Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister also campaign unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings) in partnership.
Pedigree Notes:
Girl With a Dream became the second graded winner for Coolmore America sire Practical Joke, who has been firing on all cylinders with his initial crop and ranks second only to sensation Gun Runner on the first-crop sire list. Practical Joke has also sired last year's GSW and MGISP Wit, as well as four other black-type winners. Girl With a Dream is also in on the ground floor with her damsire, Corinthian, as she's just the seventh stakes winner out of one of the Pulpit stallion's daughters.
A $115,000 Keeneland September purchase, Girl With a Dream is out of a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Mr. Commons (Artie Schiller). Machmer Hall and D + J Racing Stable bred Girl With a Dream out of Machmer Hall's 2016 Keeneland November broodmare purchase Henley ($31,000). The mare has a 2-year-old filly by Twirling Candy and was bred back to a Twirling Candy son, the Machmer Hall-bred Gift Box, for this spring. Like last week's GI Pegasus World Cup winner Life Is Good, who is by Practical Joke's sire Into Mischief, Henley traces directly to French and American blue hen Frizette (Hamburg), her 10th dam.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
FORWARD GAL S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 2-5, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.42, ft.
1–GIRL WITH A DREAM, 120, f, 3, by Practical Joke
1st Dam: Henley, by Corinthian
2nd Dam: Joustabout, by Apalachee
3rd Dam: Fleetside Review, by Quadratic
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($115,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-Bakke, Jim and Isbister, Gerald; B-Machmer Hall & D + J
Racing Stable LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis Saez. $60,760.
Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $231,480. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Radio Days, 120, f, 3, Gun Runner–Remembered, by Sky
Mesa. 'TDN Rising Star' 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($750,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Allen Stable, Inc.; B-Hinkle
Farms (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $19,600.
3–Last Leaf, 120, f, 3, Not This Time–My Miss Kallie, by Paddy
O'Prado. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($7,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV;
$10,000 Ylg '20 OBSWIN; $23,500 Ylg '20 OBSOCT). O-Monarch
Stables, Inc.; B-Khalid Mishref Alkahtani (KY); T-Ronald B.
Spatz. $9,800.
Margins: 1, 6 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 5.40, 0.60, 60.10.
Also Ran: Diamond Wow, Greatitude, She's So Beautiful, Disco Ebo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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