Zaajel takes big step up with Forward Gal triumph

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Zaajel made it through her first stakes test in workmanlike fashion Saturday when capturing the 39th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park.

Sent away an odds-on favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, Zaajel and jockey Luis Saez took command turning for home in the seven-furlong Forward Gal before finishing 1 1/4 lengths clear of a belated run from Lady Traveler. She paid $3.20 after finishing in 1:24.72 over a fast track.

Todd Pletcher is the trainer of Zaajel, a Shadwell Stable homebred by Street Sense. The bay filly was making just her second career start after winning her Dec. 20 debut here by 7 1/4 lengths with Saez up.

“She’s trained like a quality filly,” Pletcher said. “She overcame some adversity today, so we’re proud of her.”

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Zaajel was a tad slow into early stride and was ahead of just one rival when leaving the backstretch and moving onto the racetrack proper. Saez was in no hurry, however, and before too long the filly was menacing the longshot leaders on her own accord while maintaining a clear outside position.

Leaving the quarter-pole, Zaajel began edging away, and she was kept to a steady left-handed whip by Saez to maintain a safe margin to the wire. Lady Traveler, an 8-1 shot under Corey Lanerie, ran on well to be a half-length ahead of Wholebodemeister, with Dial to Win settling for fourth after racing closest to the winner for much of the stretch drive.

“She was misbehaving in the gate and she missed the break a little,” Saez said. “After that, she just kept coming and everything went well.”

“She got a little antsy in the gate and missed the break, and she put in a long, sustained run,” Pletcher said. “That’s hard to do, especially in her second start going from a maiden to a graded stakes.”

The Forward Gal was worth 17 qualifying points (10-4-2-1 for the top four) toward the April 30 Kentucky Oaks. It comes four weeks prior to the next Oaks qualifier at Gulfstream, the one-mile Davona Dale (50-20-10-5) on Feb. 27.

The $2 exacta (7-6) paid $17.40, the $1 trifecta (7-6-1) returned $47.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (7-6-1-5) was worth $38.66.