Feedback Takes Forward Gal, Call Paul Wins Swale

Klaravich Stables' Feedback stamped herself an exciting prospect for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) when she came off a 5 1/2-month layoff Feb. 2 to capture the $150,000 Forward Gal Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

"I'm happy and relieved, because I really didn't have quite enough works into her where I really wanted to run her quite yet," trainer Chad Brown said. "But looking at the schedule and trying to hopefully get her on the Oaks trail, I figured if we didn't get her started this weekend, it was going to be hard to get there. We were a little short on works, but she showed her class and her ability to overcome it."

Unraced since turning in a sparkling career debut Aug. 12 at Saratoga Race Course, the daughter of Violence  was victorious in her stakes debut, repelling a relentless stretch challenge by Bye Bye J to prevail by a half-length.

The Brown trainee was sent to post as the 1-2 favorite in a field of nine in The Forward Gal, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, on the strength of her eighth-length romp. Away from the starting gate alertly, Feedback pressed the pace set by Fashion Faux Pas along the backstretch before taking the lead entering the far turn. The filly opened a lead on the turn but was quickly joined to her outside by Bye Bye J entering the stretch. Bye Bye J continued to apply pressure through the stretch under John Velazquez, but Feedback responded to Irad Ortiz Jr.'s urging to earn a hard-fought victory.

"I got a good trip. She broke well and put me in a good position. She just waited for me to ask her to run and responded great," Ortiz said.

Feedback ran seven furlongs in 1:23.51 off fractions of :22.20, :45.34, and 1:10.04.

"I looked at the fractions and she was right up on it, which I expected, but I thought she was very vulnerable the last sixteenth knowing that I was a couple works short. But she dug in and showed her class," Brown said. "The way it turned out, she was able to dig in and get it done, and I think she'll get a lot out of it, fitness-wise. I'll just have to evaluate how much time she needs to recover from this effort because she was quite tired when she came back."

Bye Bye J held second, a neck ahead of hard-charging Champagne Anyone.

The March 2 Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream is a likely target for Feedback's next start. Bred in Kentucky by Wolverton Mountain Farm and Cameron Wheeler out of the Tale of the Cat mare Honest Answer, she was an $85,000 purchase by de Meric Stables from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment to the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Her earnings now total $136,030 from those two wins in both starts, and the Forward Gal awarded her 10 points toward a place in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate.

"I'd like to run her twice more before the Oaks. (The Davona Dale) would be the logical thing to do, so hopefully if she's not too knocked out from this and it's just a matter of getting the fitness she needed, she'll be ready to go in four weeks," Brown said. "But, if not, we'll just wait a little longer."

Also on Saturday's card, Call Paul came off a layoff of his own to win the $150,000 Swale Stakes (G3). The bay son of multiple graded stakes winner Friesan Fire  opened his career for trainer Jason Servis last summer with back-to-back wins, including the Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) at Saratoga. From there, he ran third in the Champagne Stakes (G1) and the Nashua Stakes (G3), both at a mile, before capping his juvenile campaign with a five-length romp in the seven-furlong Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes for state-breds.

Racing for Michael Dubb, David Simon, Bethlehem Stables, and Bruce Irom for the first time in two months, Call Paul broke a step slow from post 5 as the 3-2 favorite for the seven-furlong test. He settled midpack under Ortiz as Country Singer sprinted to the lead from post 11 and showed the way through a brisk quarter-mile in :21.76 and a half in :44.27. The frontrunner was pressed to his outside by High Crime while Zenden—unbeaten in two starts, including a victory in the Dec. 8 Buffalo Man Stakes—tracked along in third.

"I didn't panic when he broke a step slow," Ortiz said. "I have a lot of confidence riding (Servis') horses. I just helped him a little bit to get position. From there, I just waited for the moment to go, and when I asked him, he responded really well."

Call Paul swept to the lead on the far outside around the turn and powered past Zenden through the stretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:23.43 over a fast main track. Zenden was a clear second, two lengths ahead of Topper T.

"He's done really good up to a mile," Ortiz said. "I don't know what the owner and trainer want to do, but he's a nice horse at seven-eighths, a flat mile," he added. "Whatever they want to do, I'm going to be happy."

Call Paul was bred in Pennsylvania by Beatrice Patterson and Vicky Schowe out of the Foresty mare Avani Force and was a $210,000 purchase by Dubb from Grassroots Training & Sales' consignment to the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Grassroots pinhooked him to the sale after paying $20,000 for him at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, where he was consigned by Marshall Silverman. His earnings now stand at $366,920, with four wins and two thirds from six starts.

Video: Forward Gal S. (G3)