After escaping a potentially scary situation in the Suwannee River Stakes at Gulfstream Park last month unscathed, Aussie Girl will look for better luck across the state when she runs in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on turf at Tampa Bay Downs. Entering the first turn of the Suwannee River, a horse inside of Aussie Girl stumbled and went outward and Aussie Girl, reacting to that, went so far out that jockey Tyler Gaffalione simply pulled her up and out of the race. “Tyler did the right thing not to pursue things,” trainer Will Walden said. “She could have run the race of her life and been last. It was an unfortunate situation that we couldn’t avoid.” Aussie Girl, Walden acknowledges, can be a bit keen. She did seem to settle a bit kinder under Dylan Davis when she won the Noble Damsel at Aqueduct over the odds-on favorite Tax Implications. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “Dylan did a good job, but she was still pretty keen,” Walden said. “I wish she’d relax behind horses a little better than she does. This race has a little bit of pace, I hope she can sit right off of it and come with a run.” With Davis still sidelined by injuries from a November spill at Aqueduct and with Gaffalione riding at Gulfstream on Saturday, Ben Curtis will ride Aussie Girl in the Endeavour. Walden believes Curtis’s experience riding in Europe makes him a good fit for Aussie Girl. “Ben knows her type more than most guys would,” Walden said. Candy Quest, trained by Mark Casse, has been facing the likes of Fionn, Laurelin, and Lush Lips in her most recent graded stakes tries. She finished fifth in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, attempting to come from off the pace on a course that seemed to be favoring forward runners. That race produced three next-out stakes winners including Destino d’Oro, who not only won the Tropical Park Oaks on Dec. 13, but then came back to win the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf last weekend. Casse said Candy Quest was on the also-eligible list for the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf but when it became obvious she would not draw into the field, he pointed toward this. Chad Brown has won the Endeavour five times, including last year with Saffron Moon. Saturday. Brown sends out Al Jafara, a 4-year-old Great Britain-bred daughter of Pinatubo who won her lone U.S. start in April, rallying from last in a field of 12 to win a first-level allowance. Brown said he was trying to get Al Jafara to the Belmont Oaks, but had to stop on her due to bone bruising. Scythian, a graded stakes winner of 2, went winless in three starts at 3 for trainer Bill Mott. This will be her first start since a fourth-place finish in the Jockey Club Oaks last November. Love You Anyway, trained by Rusty Arnold, is still eligible for a first-level allowance, but she finished second in the Grade 3 Pebbles at Aqueduct last November. Dreaming of Abba, Madame Mischief, Belle of Rights, Charlie’s Wish, Startship Impulsive, and Public Defender complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.