HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The two-turn experiment behind her, speedy R Harper Rose will return to what she does best, sprint, when she takes on six other 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs in Saturday’s $125,000 Forward Gal Stakes. R Harper Rose won her first three starts by a combined margin of 16 lengths. The first two of those races at 5 1/2 furlongs, the third was at seven furlongs, where she pulled away to a convincing four-length victory over Honey Dijon in the Susan’s Girl division of the Florida Sire Series. But when the pair met again six weeks later at 1 1/16 miles in the My Dear Girl Stakes the outcome was different. Honey Dijon avenged her previous setback, readily running 2 3/4 lengths clear of R Harper Rose, who set the pace for nearly a mile before weakening gradually through the final furlong. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. gave R Harper Rose some time off to recuperate from her efforts, with his sights set from the outset on launching her 3-year-old campaign in the Forward Gal. “Obviously, a mile and a sixteenth is not what she wants to do,” Joseph said. “She was second best [in the My Dear Girl] after which we decided to space her out, give her a break, point for this one, and things have gone according to plan so far. As much speed as she has, six to seven furlongs is probably what she wants to do best.” R Harper Rose looks to be the controlling speed in the Forward Gal if her regular rider, Edgard Zayas, so chooses, although Fiona’s Magic also has a turn of early foot if she comes away running to her inside. “I think she’s fast enough to be in front, although breaking outside that other filly [Fiona’s Magic], we do have the option to sit and wait if we want,” Joseph said. “As much speed as she has, she will relax.” :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Fiona’s Magic brings a modest two-race win streak into her stakes debut, disputing the early pace in both instances before pulling away to a convincing seven-length maiden win going six furlongs on Nov. 9 and wheeling back just 18 days later to capture a first-level allowance dash going 5 1/2 furlongs by 2 1/2 lengths. Seven-pound apprentice Jon Rivera was aboard Fiona’s Magic for both of those victories, but with the jump to graded stakes company trainer Michael Yates will reach out to the veteran Tyler Gaffalione on Saturday. Should R Harper Rose and Fiona’s Magic ultimately find themselves mixing it up early on the front end, the race could set up nicely for a pair of recent maiden winners, Scalable and Nikitis. Despite not winning her maiden until her fourth start, Scalable is already graded stakes-placed, having rallied to finish second going 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 2 Chandelier at Santa Anita as a prelude to her fifth-place finish at the same distance in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Trainer Todd Pletcher turned the daughter of Speightstown back to a mile and dropped her back with maidens for her local debut, and Scalable responded with a popular and very easy six-length victory launching her 3-year-old campaign here Jan. 4. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. “I think she’s versatile enough. She’s a filly that can go longer and can handle two turns, but cutting back to seven-eighths is probably okay too,” Pletcher said. Nikitis also needed four tries to finally ewin her maiden, doing so at the same seven-furlong distance as the Forward Gal when rallying from midpack to a game neck decision over Curlin’s Girl at Aqueduct in her most recent start on Dec. 1. Witwatersrand is the only graded stakes winner in the field but looms a bit of a question trying dirt for the first time after making all three previous starts over the synthetic track at Woodbine. She closed her 2-year-old campaign with a relatively easy 2 3/4-length triumph in the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 4. Trained by Mark Casse, Witwatersrand has prepped exclusively over the main tracks at both Palm Meadows and Gulfstream Park since shipping to South Florida during the fall. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.