The Forward Gal Stakes (Grade 3) (KYO)- $150.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies Three Years Old
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 1, 2025

We picked Tactical Spin to win the Forward Gal Stakes, but were apparently in the minority, as she went off as a surprising 30/1 longshot, and was indeed the longest shot on the board. She would pay $62.30 to win, and we’re not really sure why she was not bet more. Were people that concerned about her cutting back on distance a little bit? All kidding aside, we all know how the odds on HRP can be very weird at times, and this was one of those cases. The winner is trained by Alydar Stables and now gives the trainer three of the top eight horses in KYO points. Of course, it’s early, but when you consider his studs on the male side as well, naturally including Daemon, that barn is in a great place right now. It’s the first Forward Gal win for Alydar Stables as well as for jockey F Geroux. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:22.10, which is right in line with the better winning times. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.02)- There are four horses out front at this point, and with a slight edge here is Funny Girl, who is in the third lane for LionKing Stables. Running evenly for second are Golden Anoush and Miss Beer, respectively for Our Athletes and Greyfriars Stable, and running nearby on the rail is the Red Fox Farms- trained Atomic Fury. Speed Five will stalk the pace Asgar, and it’s half a length to the eventual winner, Tactical Spin, who is in the third lane for Alydar Stables. Affair (D J C Racing Stables) runs between them. After a length, Fire Will Come (Williams9), Hollywood At Penn (Sim Speed Stable), and McGonagall (Delta Farms) run alongside one another, and trailing is Give Up On Style (Asgar).

(½ Mile- :46.50)- Completing the backstretch portion and moving into the turn, Funny Girl is still the leader and has two horses still running with her. That would be Atomic Fury and Golden Anoush, and each of them are still running well on her inside. The same cannot be said for Miss Beer, who begins to fall back. Speed Five continues to stalk and has Tactical Spin right to her outside. For now, Tactical Spin has to hold the lane behind Funny Girl, since Miss Beer will clog up her ability to move outside and make a run. It’s another length to Affair, and a slight gap to the rest of the field, which sees Hollywood At Penn ahead of Fire Will Come and McGonagall, while Give Up On Style takes a four wide trip for no apparent reason.

(Top of Stretch, 1.6F To Go)- Entering the stretch, the three frontrunners are still the same, but it is Atomic Fury now getting the upper hand on them as she runs along the rail. Golden Anoush continues to be her shadow to her outside, and Funny Girl tries to hang with them still. Tactical Spin, once Miss Beer had fallen further back, was able to make her four wide move and was positioned beautifully for the stretch run. Speed Five is still in a stalking position, without a lot of room to make a move of her own. Affair became more interested and started looking for her running lane, and those further back now needed to show what they were saving, if anything.

(Finish- 1:22.10)- Once she had that running lane, Tactical Spin simply had more power in her stride than her rivals did, and there was nothing that they could do about it. With every stride, she would pull further away, going on to win by an impressive two lengths. So, hopefully, whatever it was that convinced her to be a longshot can now be a thing of the past. Our pick to win delivers a massive price to win! Atomic Fury hangs on for second, as Speed Five eventually moved to the inside and nipped Golden Anoush at the wire for show. Late running McGonagall came on for fifth, catching Funny Girl. The rest were all non-factors, and will consist of Fire Will Come, Affair, Hollywood At Penn, extreme outside running Give Up On Style, and Miss Beer.

About The Winner- Tactical Spin, trained by Alydar Stables and ridden to victory by F Geroux, is a three-year-old filly by Racket Runner, is out of Tactical Deal. She was bred as a yearling by Alydar Stables in Ontario, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in eight starts and first stake win. Her career earnings are now $217.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :23  :46²  1:10²  1:22

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 1 Paid 186.80
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 1 – 3 Paid 1,302.20

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES