In a 13-month span from November 2020 through the end of 2021, Going Global went from a win in a modest handicap on the synthetic track at Dundalk Racecourse in Ireland to amassing six stakes wins on turf at Del Mar and Santa Anita. The goals are higher this year, beginning with Saturday’s Grade 2 Royal Heroine Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Santa Anita. Grade 1 races, such as the $400,000 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita on May 30, are on the horizon, pending the outcome of the $200,000 Royal Heroine Stakes. The Royal Heroine drew five fillies and mares. The 4-year-old Going Global will be a heavy favorite. She approaches her first start since December in excellent condition, trainer Phil D’Amato said on Thursday. :: DRF's Santa Anita Derby Day headquarters – Previews, past performances, picks, and more “I’ve been very happy with her,” D’Amato said. “Her last three drills have been very sharp, running down workmates. She’s ready to roll.” Owned by the partnership of Michael Dubb, Michael Nentwig, Saul Gevertz, Ray Pagano, and John Rochfort, Going Global will start at a mile in the Royal Heroine for the first time since a win against older fillies and mares in the Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes at Del Mar last November. Going Global’s 2021 season ended with a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1, 1 1/4-mile American Oaks, which was transferred from turf to dirt because of rain. Global Global was as close as second on the turn before fading rapidly. She was sent to a local farm for a brief rest earlier this year. In the Royal Heroine, Going Global will be ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, a replacement for Flavien Prat, who is riding at Keeneland. Going Global drew the rail, adjacent to a well-regarded stablemate in Excelerina, who is unbeaten in two starts since arriving from Ireland over the winter and will have her stakes debut in the Royal Heroine. Excelerina will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith. They are likely to be in pursuit of Park Avenue, who was second in the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on dirt in January and won an allowance race from the front at 1 1/8 miles on turf on March 20. Park Avenue has won three of her last five starts, all for trainer John Sadler. The minor stakes winner Avenue de France and the stakes-placed Javanica are the only other starters. :: Get DRF Betting Strategies for exclusive analysis and wager recommendations from our expert handicappers. Avenue de France, trained by Leonard Powell, has won two stakes in Northern California since early August and was a fast-closing third in the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Santa Anita on Jan. 29. Avenue de France was later sixth of 10 after a slow start in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at a mile on turf on March 5. She will be closing in the Royal Heroine, but catching Going Global may prove too difficult.