Zaajel Overcomes Adversity to Claim Forward Gal

A gutsy sustained run carried Shadwell Stable's homebred Zaajel to victory in the $100,000 Forward Gal Stakes (G3) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park, where the Street Sense  filly went 2-for-2 while moving onto the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

The 75th stakes winner for her sire, Zaajel stepped up from a 7 1/4-length maiden win at first asking Dec. 20 going seven furlongs at Gulfstream to claim the Forward Gal at the same distance by 1 1/4 lengths in just her second start.

Favored in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, the Todd Pletcher trainee was antsy in the gate while waiting to depart post 7 under Luis Saez and nearly cost herself the race. 

"She was misbehaving in the gate and she missed the break a little," Saez said. "After that, she just kept coming and everything went well."

Queen Arella went to the front to post an opening quarter in :22.77 and a half in :46.03 as Zaajel moved steadily up from fifth to third while stalking three wide. Saez sent the eventual winner to bid for the lead through three-quarters in 1:11.36, and she secured the lead while repelling a run from Dial to Win, then held safe from the late bid of Lady Traveler. The final time was 1:24.72, about a second and a half slower than the 1:23.29 clocking by Drain the Clock in winning the Claiborne Swale Stakes (G3) a few races earlier on the card.

Lady Traveler, making her first start since an eighth-place finish in the Nov. 28 Golden Rod Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, was a half-length clear of Wholebodemeister, who checked in third. The order of finish was completed by Dial to Win, Coach Jer's Joy, Competitive Speed, Three Tipsy Chix, and Queen Arella. 

"I was really pleased with the outcome," Pletcher said. "I was pretty concerned at the start. She got a little antsy in the gate and missed the break, and she put in a long, sustained run. That's hard to do, especially in her second start going from a maiden to a graded stake. But she's trained like a quality filly and she overcame some adversity today, so we're proud of her."

Bred in Kentucky out of the winning Daaher  mare Asiya, Zaajel is a half sister to Ajaaweed, the winning Curlin  colt who finished second in the 2019 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack. She improved her earnings to $84,140. Her dam has produced four winners from four starters, and Zaajel is her first graded stakes winner. The mare has an unnamed 2-year-old by Mohaymen . Her foal was born dead in 2020, and she was bred to Blame  for 2021.