Public Assembly, the 4-year-old filly, needed slightly more than a furlong to announce her presence in California’s turf division late last month. With a sharp late rally, Public Assembly burst to the front in the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes at a mile at Santa Anita to win her stakes debut and for the third time in her sixth start. The impressive win has led to a start in a highly competitive Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Monday. The $300,000 Gamely Stakes is a much more difficult assignment for Public Assembly, but one trainer Phil D’Amato said is a worthwhile venture. :: Playing Santa Anita? Get the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. “I think she’s on the improve,” he said. “She seems to like Santa Anita’s turf course. She came out of that race in great shape. I thought it was a good time to take another big swing. “I like everything about her. I like her progression and how she’s training. She acts like a filly that can take a step up.” Owned by Abbondanza Racing, Medallion Racing, and Lissa Ann McNulty, Public Assembly is part of a field of nine. Not that many are expected to start. Alpha Bella and Where’s My Ring were entered in Sunday’s Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes. Where’s My Ring is under consideration for the Grade 3 Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 31. Their presumed absences does not make Public Assembly’s task much easier. As impressive as she was in the Royal Heroine, rivals such as Be Your Best, Lady Claypoole, Liguria, and No Show Sammy Jo have won recent stakes good enough to prevail in the Gamely. The other runners are equally intriguing. The Irish-bred filly Expensive Queen flew through the stretch to win her American debut in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 18. Khinjani was an unlucky second in an allowance race at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 9 in her first start in more than 14 months. The Gamely is the stakes debut for Expensive Queen, who is trained by Brendan Walsh, and the Grade 1 debut for Khinjani, who is trained by Mark Glatt. No Show Sammy Jo and Be Your Best were seventh and eighth in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland on April 12 on a good turf course they did not prefer, their trainers said. For No Show Sammy Jo, the Jenny Wiley was her first start since a nose loss to Be Your Best in the Grade 3 Long Island Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Aqueduct last November. The Gamely distance is a better fit for No Show Sammy Jo, trainer Graham Motion said. “I was a little disappointed with the way she ran at Keeneland,” he said. “I think it was a little soft and a little short. She trained extremely well up to that race.” Be Your Best, trained in Florida by Saffie Joseph Jr., had a three-race winning streak in stakes end in the Jenny Wiley, a span that included a neck victory in the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park in January. Be Your Best was shipped to California for the Gamely to start on firm turf. “She wants a fast turf [course],” Joseph said. “That’s why we came out there. She doesn’t want a course that has any moisture.” Be Your Best may gain an unopposed lead in the Gamely, a style that led to her win in the Long Island Stakes. “She can run on the lead,” Joseph said. “If she tracks, she’s also fine.” Lady Claypoole and Liguria run from off the pace. Both won their last starts in turf stakes at Santa Anita in ways that suggest a top-three finish in the Gamely is possible. Lady Claypoole closed from last of seven to win the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on March 15 for her third consecutive win. Liguria has not raced since she rallied from last of six to win the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at a mile on turf on March 1. The layoff was by design, trainer Michael McCarthy said. “She seems like a bigger and stronger filly,” he said. “I don’t think the distance will be an issue at all. We’ve been looking forward to running her in this spot for some time.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.