Turnback fillies Gone and Forgotten, Tax Me Naught meet again in Arctic Queen

Gone and Forgotten and Tax Me Naught get a rematch as they cut back in distance for Monday’s $35,000 Arctic Queen Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for New York-bred fillies and mares at Finger Lakes.

Gone and Forgotten was a 5 1/2-length winner of the Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes on Aug. 15, with Tax Me Naught following her home in second. That race was at 1 1/16 miles. Gone and Forgotten is adept at both sprints and routes. She has won all five of her starts at the six furlongs of the Arctic Queen. Tax Me Naught has one win and one third from four starts at this distance.

Morning-line favorite Gone and Forgotten has won eight of 11 lifetime starts, all for trainer Michael Ferraro with Luis Perez in the irons. The filly won a pair of allowance-level races, at six furlongs and at a mile and 70 yards, to open her 2022 campaign. She was then second in an allowance before winning the Jack Betta Be Rite in her stakes debut.

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Multiple stakes-placed Tax Me Naught has not won since taking a two-turn allowance race to complete her 2021 season. However, she has not missed the board in four starts this year, all at Finger Lakes with Nazario Alvarado in the irons for trainer Linda Dixon.

Queens Dancer, who was stakes-placed at Finger Lakes last year, is coming off a front-running five-length allowance win. She is well drawn to use similar tactics from the inside post in this field of eight. She may get company on the front end from Gone and Forgotten. Depending on how the race develops, however, Gone and Forgotten could show some versatility, having come from midpack in her last two outings. Tax Me Naught will likely want to stalk the pace.

She’s a Big Deal is also likely to show speed, but will have to clear most of the field breaking from post 7. The mare has been competing out of state against open company for most of the year, winning an allowance race at Delaware and a claiming race at Laurel. Most recently, she won a sprint allowance race by 6 3/4 lengths at Finger Lakes. Sabreen and Steal My Heart are also coming off allowance-level wins sprinting at Finger Lakes.

The Arctic Queen is named for the racemare who was named the Finger Lakes horse of the year in both 1990 and 1991, was honored as champion New York-bred sprinter of 1991, and who was inducted into the track’s hall of fame in 1996. Arctic Queen won 11 of 13 starts, with six stakes victories including the 1990 New York Oaks.

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