Birdatthewire Easy Forward Gal Winner

Rocketing from far back, Forum Racing's Birdatthewire easily took the $200,000 Forward Gal Stakes (gr. II) from Gulfstream Park on Jan. 24 .

Off since breaking her maiden at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29, the 3-year-old daughter of 2009 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Summer Bird made her return to the races an impressive one, exploding through the stretch under Irad Ortiz Jr. to air by 3 1/4 lengths over Lassofthemohicans with Taylor S finishing third.

The win earned Birdatthewire 10 points towards a possible start in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) at Churchill on May 1. She is the first stakes winner for her sire, who died from colic at the age of 7 in Japan in December of 2013.

"I loved the fractions for her, I didn't like them as much for Taylor S," said trainer Dale Romans, who trains both the winner and the third-place finisher. "That's the good thing about having a one-two punch. They both ran great races. But this filly (Birdatthewire) has a nice number pattern, she was going in the right direction and she did everything right, and she just seems to be getting better all the time."

Enchantress battled through the half-mile in :45.36, being pressed from the inside by favored Seduire with Ekati's Phaeton, Distinta and Taylor S all in close pursuit. Birdatthewire was far back, ninth in the field of 11.

"It looked like the race, if you handicapped it ahead of time, was going to be full of speed; I thought she could settle and come running, and it set up perfect," Romans said. "It's good when a plan comes together. I knew I had Taylor S that could be out close to the pace if the speed didn't materialize. Taylor S is a really good filly, too. She probably reacted a little bit off that really fast race at Churchill, and this filly just came rolling."

Birdatthewire covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.92 on a fast track and returned $26.80 to win, $13.20 to place and $7.60 to show. Lassofthemohicans paid $12.20 to place and $7 to show, while Taylor S returned $4 to show. Ekati's Phaeton finished fourth and was followed by By the Moon, Distinta, Seduire, Enchantress, Tripocha, Momameamaria, and Skipalute.

"I had read the paper and knew there was pace in the race," winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. "Why change her style? I just let her relax. When we got to the quarter pole I knew I had a lot of horse. I knew she was a nice filly. I think she can get better."

Birdatthewire lost her first three starts—finishing third in her debut on Sept. 7 at Churchill, second at Keeneland on Oct. 5, and fourth on Oct. 23 at Keeneland—before breaking her maiden on Nov. 29 where she rallied from 20 lengths out of it before prevailing by 1 1/2 lengths.

"There was nothing to lose, so there were no real concerns (about running in the Forward Gal)," Romans said. "We could always back up and go to an allowance race."

Birdatthewire was bred in Kentucky by Lynn Jones and Kathy Jones out of the Wagon Limit mare My Limit. After twice failing to meet her reserve as a yearling, she was a $23,000 purchase by Tom Camp from the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale when consigned by Select Sales. The Forward Gal victory improved her record to 2-1-1 from five outings for earnings of $158,860.