Delta Downs: Gospel Gal in peak form for Genesis

Gospel Gal is already a stakes winner, but it looks as if she’s really coming to hand and on Saturday night she will be looking to build off an 11-length allowance score when she starts in the $75,000 Genesis at Delta Downs.

The Genesis is a 7 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies. It will be run around two turns, the same configuration over which Gospel Gal won a seven-furlong allowance at Delta on Dec. 22. She rallied from off the pace for the double-digit score and earned a career-high Beyer Figure of 73.

“She was pretty impressive,” said Charlie Smith, who trains Gospel Gal for Terry Propps. “I think we’re just getting now into seeing her real potential.”

The allowance score was Gospel Gal’s second win behind the $25,000 Debutante Stakes at Assiniboia Downs on Aug. 19. She also placed in two other stakes at Assiniboia, both against males, and off those efforts entered the Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Downs Princess on Nov. 19. But Gospel Gal turned in a rare off-the-board finish, running seventh.

“She’s got a really nice, long stride – she has to fall into it – and for whatever reason she didn’t get into it early enough in the Princess,” Smith said. “The other night, she got right into it.”

For the Genesis, Gospel Gal will break from post 4. Eddie Martin Jr. has the mount Saturday.

“I’m hoping myself that there’s a lot of pace in there,” Smith said. “We’re just going to run our race and hope the pace is there.”

A chief threat appears to be Storm’s Paradise, who is stretching out to two turns for the first time off a pair of front-running sprint wins at Delta Downs and Zia Park. She will break from the rail and could set the pace with Devious Intent, the runner-up in a Fair Grounds allowance in her last start Dec. 31, tracking from post 6. Earlier in the meet, Devious Intent was fourth in the Delta Downs Princess.

The Triple Sec for 3-year-olds was scheduled for Saturday night, too, but did not fill.