A healthy mix of proven 3-year-old stakes runners and flashy maiden winners will face off in the $80,000 English Channel Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. Forged Steel, a front-running colt trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., finished second in the Cutler Bay last time out and will break from the rail going one mile on turf. “They went a little quick last time, but we wanted to ride him like that and we think he ran well,” Joseph said. “This time, he’s drawn good on the inside and he’s speed, so he’s going into the race with a good chance.” With a strong shot at the lead, Forged Steel could notch his first stakes victory. In the Cutler Bay, he finished ahead of I’m Due and Bakers Street, who will be promising outsiders again in the English Channel. Classic of Course, who won the Cutler Bay, was entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 American Turf on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Joseph’s other colt, Nemo, will likely settle off the pace from the far outside. In his first start on March 30, Nemo flew home from seventh to win a $70,000 maiden special weight. Joseph expects him to work out a similar trip Saturday at the same distance. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Tank, a colt trained by Carlos David, is the only stakes winner in the race, having won the state-restricted Sophomore Turf at Tampa Bay Downs in March. The Florida-bred runner finished two lengths ahead of Win With Faith, a deep closer who will try to run down faster pacesetters in the English Channel. Honey Ryder Stakes Spirited Boss, a 3-year-old filly trained by Jose D’Angelo, should kick into gear as the likely favorite in the $80,000 Honey Ryder Stakes. A synthetic statebred winner over the winter, the talented filly made her turf debut in the $165,000 Sanibel Island in March and held on to win by a half-length. “I was very confident with her that day,” D’Angelo said. “She’s worked on Tapeta, turf, and dirt. Always, when we worked on the grass, she moved really different. Smooth and much better.” After two front-running victories on the synthetic over the winter, Spirited Boss managed to sit off the pace in the Sanibel Island before making a furious bid for the lead on the far turn. The 79 Beyer Speed Figure she earned that day stands tall over those earned by others in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies. D’Angelo was encouraged to see his filly come from off the pace last time out, but the trainer said that he expects her to break sharply from post 2 in the Honey Ryder. He considers her best distance to be around 7 1/2 furlongs, but she won going slightly longer on synthetic in February and should be able to handle one mile. Starship Impulsive, trained by Steven Dwoskin, showed her own versatility last time out when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles to win a $56,000 allowance in wire-to-wire fashion. The filly broke her maiden at five furlongs on the grass in February but will face another route test in the Honey Ryder. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.