Talented 3-Year-Olds Vie in Forward Gal, Swale

Trainer Patrick Biancone had options when deciding on how Diamond Wow  would kick off her 3-year-old season Feb. 5 at Gulfstream Park.

The promising 3-year-old filly shares a family trait with multiple graded stakes winner Diamond Oops  that allowed Biancone to choose between the $100,000 Forward Gal Stakes (G3), a seven-furlong dash for sophomore fillies on the main track, and the $100,000 Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Biancone, who owns Diamond Wow with Diamond 100 Racing Club and Amy Dunne, opted for the Forward Gal.

The Lookin At Lucky   daughter is out of a half sister to the Biancone-trained Diamond Oops, a graded winner on turf and dirt who is also by Lookin At Lucky. She has already demonstrated signs of versatility in her short three-race career, in which she debuted with a victory Aug. 28 sprinting on the Gulfstream turf before capturing the off-the-turf Our Dear Peggy Stakes at seven furlongs nearly a month later. The Kentucky homebred closed out her juvenile campaign with a second-place finish in the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (G2T) at the Keeneland fall meet, where she lost by only a head after breaking from post 13.

"We gave her a break and she has grown and developed well. We're happy with the way she's worked," Biancone said. "It's a comeback race. She is not perhaps 100% yet but it's time to come back and prepare for the spring."

Following the Jessamine, Biancone made the decision to bypass the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) or NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1T).

"It was coming up a bit quick and she was a bit stiff, and I guess she had a growth spurt. We got lucky to get beat because if we did not get beat by a nose, then we would have gotten invited and we may have been forced to go," Biancone said. "My owner was very kind to be on the safe side and it was a good thing. It was tough to make the decision but at the end of the day, we were very happy."

The Forward Gal offers qualifying points for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the top four finishers.

Allen Stable's Radio Days  is also scheduled to make her 3-year-old debut in the Forward Gal after going 2-for-2 last season. The Gun Runner   filly tries stakes for the first time off an 8 1/2-length allowance optional claimer win going seven furlongs Dec. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

"She's a filly we're really excited about. Her first two races have been really good," Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said. "She's had a little bit of a break now. She's going to run Saturday, and hopefully her future is ahead of her."

Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Girl With a Dream  is venturing from Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for trainer Brad Cox. The daughter of Practical Joke   captured the Dec. 27 six-furlong Letellier Memorial in front-running fashion last out. 

Greatitude , Last Leaf , Disco Ebo , and She's So Beautiful  complete the field.

My Prankster, In Dreams Lead Six-Horse Swale

In earlier stakes action Saturday at Gulfstream is the seven furlong, 3-year-old male sprint Claiborne Farm Swale Stakes (G3), which drew a field of only six, including two horses reentered after initially part of the Feb. 4 program at Gulfstream.

Favored at 2-1 on the morning line is Robert and Lawana Low's My Prankster , a stakes-placed Into Mischief   colt with a 2-for-4 record. Most recently he won an allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream going six furlongs Dec. 10. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher stretches out in distance for the seven-furlong Swale.

Another 2-for-4 colt is Rupp Racing's In Dreams , who closed out a juvenile campaign with two consecutive victories in sprints in Kentucky and Arkansas for Cox. The Frosted   colt is scheduled to ship from his training base at Oaklawn Park, where he won an allowance optional claimer by six lengths Dec. 17 over next-out winners Chasing Time  and Magnolia Midnight .

Of a Revolution  (Maclean's Music  ), trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for owners Bassett Stables, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stables, and Stonehedge's Dean Delivers  (Cajun Breeze  ) also enter the Swale with existing stakes placings.

After Dean Delivers finished second in the July 31 FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager Stakes following a debut score, he returned with a close runner-up finish in an allowance optional claimer Jan. 8 at Gulfstream, beaten a neck by the promising Dean's List .

"I thought it was a huge effort, especially off the layoff. He didn't get away from the gate very well, but it may have been a blessing in disguise because there was a hot pace," trainer Michael Yates said. "I thought he ran a great race."

Yates said Dean Delivers has since trained well.

"Being that he ran such a big race off the layoff, you got to worry about the bounce factor a little bit, but he's gone so forward and is doing really well, we decided to take a shot and see what we have," the trainer said.

Entries: Forward Gal S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 05, 2022, Race 8

• Grade III
• 7f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:33 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1She's So Beautiful (FL)	Paco Lopez	120	Carlos A. David	20/1
2	2Greatitude (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
3	3Last Leaf (KY)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	120	Ronald B. Spatz	12/1
4	4Disco Ebo (PA)	Frankie Pennington	120	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	6/1
5	5Radio Days (KY)	Dylan Davis	120	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/5
6	6Girl With a Dream (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Brad H. Cox	5/2
7	7Diamond Wow (KY)	Romero Ramsay Maragh	120	Patrick L. Biancone	9/2

Entries: Claiborne Farm Swale S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 05, 2022, Race 5

• Grade III
• 7f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo
• 1:57 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1My Prankster (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	2/1
2	2Graphic Detail (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	William I. Mott	6/1
3	3Of a Revolution (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	4/1
4	4Dean Delivers (FL)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	118	Michael Yates	4/1
5	5In Dreams (CA)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Brad H. Cox	5/2
6	6Mr. Bouma (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Dale L. Romans	12/1