Bajan Girl enters Wednesday feature a filly on the rise

Bajan Girl had been off for just more than four months when she won a first-level allowance race with a $25,000 claiming option by 12 1/4 lengths on Oct. 8 at Gulfstream Park West. It was an impressive performance, but she did get away with slow interior fractions in the one-mile race and was beating a modest field.

In a previous start on dirt, she showed the potential to be a serious horse when she finished a close fourth behind Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 28.

With that in mind, she looks like the one to beat in a second-level allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option for fillies and mares that will serve as the feature Wednesday at Gulfstream Park West.

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Trainer Rohan Crichton is expecting another solid performance in the one-mile race from Bajan Girl, a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Speightstown.

Before her recent romp, Bajan Girl finished far back going 1 1/16 miles on turf in the $75,000 Honey Ryder on March 28 at Gulfstream.

“We probably shouldn’t have run her in the Honey Ryder,” Crichton said. “After the race, we decided to give her some time to mature. If she runs well Wednesday, her next start will be in the Comely at Aqueduct.”

The Grade 3 Comley, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, runs on Nov. 27.

Bajan Girl has not worked since her last start, but that is by design, Crichton said.

“She is a small filly, so we go easy on her,” he said. “She’s doing great. We let her run down the lane a few times, so she’s fit enough.”

Crichton is having a strong meet, with 43 percent of his starters (13 of 30) having won. It probably helps that his horses are stabled at Gulfstream Park West.

“The horses were running well at Gulfstream, but we had a lot of second and thirds,” he said.

Gulfstream Park West has been deluged by rain, but Crichton is not concerned if it comes up wet or about the presence of other speed in Bajan Girl’s race. She did show she is capable of rating in her strong performance in the Oaks. She also rallied to win a maiden special weight going 1 1/16 miles on turf prior to the Oaks.

“It is a great surface and it really handles the rain well,” he said. “She is kind to ride and can sit and wait. It is a tough spot, but I think highly of her and am expecting her to run well.”

She will break from post 4. Edgar Prado retains the mount.

Bella Ciao could be the main threat in a competitive race. The 4-year-old daughter of Flatter is coming off a nose loss at his level on Oct. 11 and makes her first start for trainer Mike Maker, who claimed her on behalf of Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staucher.

The 3-year-old Dream Marie will appreciate the class relief after four straight starts in graded stakes. A Matthew Williams-trained daughter of Graydar, Dream Marie has not won since a first-level allowance race with a $75,000 claiming option at Gulfstream in January. In her last start, she finished fifth of 10 in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on Oct. 3 at Pimlico.