Gulfstream: R Harper Rose is among winners of graded stakes

One turn remains no problem for R Harper Rose.

Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Harper Rose remained undefeated around one turn when she pulled away from Fiona’s Magic entering the stretch on way to a victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $125,000 Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

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The Forward Gal was one of first of five stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds, four graded, worth $850,000 in purses on a 12-race card anchored by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), Gulfstream’s next stop on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on March 31.

A daughter of Khozan ridden by Edgard Zayas and trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., R Harper Rose won her first four races, including the Susan’s Girl division of the Florida Sire Stakes, before finishing second in the 1 1/16-mile finale of the Sire Stakes. Turning back to one turn and seven furlongs Saturday, R Harper Rose didn’t have much problem with the distance or the competition.

Second down the backstretch outside Fiona’s Magic, who set fractions of 22.63 and 45.90 seconds, Zayas moved R Harper Rose to the lead midway around the turn before winning by two lengths over Fiona’s Magic. Chi Chi was third and Scalable fourth.

“I just let her break out of there natural and see where she was sitting,” Zayas said. “I had a great post position where the speed was on the inside, so there was no rush to take the lead.

“I think, sprinting, she can go against any filly. She’s really fast out of there. She could have been on the lead if I let her go.”

Joseph had no problem with R Harper Rose’s performance or keeping her at one turn.

“She’s so fast but she can settle, and back doing what she wants to do going one turn,” he said. “I’m just proud of her today. Everything went right into this race, and she showed it today. Edgar was very patient. They broke well, (Fiona’s Magic) wanted the lead and he didn’t force the issue. I think the first three-eighths of the race it worked to our advantage. It wasn’t a crazy pace.

“This is it for her, one turn. We’re not going to experiment. Last time things didn’t go right but we’re going to keep her to one turn. There’s a lot of races for her at one turn.

Repole's Life's an Audible captures Sweetest Chant

Repole Stable’s Life’s an Audible, unhurried in the early going, was swung outside approaching the stretch and came with a steady run through the lane to score a popular neck victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Sweetest Chant.

Life’s an Audible ($5.80) completed the distance in 1:39.36 over a firm turf course to earn her first graded-stakes triumph in her third try. She was second by a half-length in the Miss Grillo (G2) and eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) last fall, both times to Hard to Justify.

It was the second straight Sweetest Chant victory for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who teamed up last winter with Cairo Consort. Pletcher also won the Sweetest Chant in 1999 with Pico Teneriffe.

Macanga, a last out maiden winner Dec. 10 at Gulfstream was intent on the lead from Post 5 and took the field of eight through a quarter-mile in 23.59 seconds and a half in 47.06, pressed to her outside by Golden Ghost, riding a two-race win streak into her graded debut. Style Points tracked in third along the rail with Milliat fourth and Life’s an Audible racing second to last.

Horses began to bunch closer up front midway around the turn after six furlongs went in 1:10.36 when Ortiz gave Life’s an Audible her cue and she began to make up ground on the far outside. At the same time, Style Points squeezed through an inside opening in mid-stretch to forge a short lead before being caught by 9-5 favorite Life’s an Audible approaching the wire.

“I thought it was great,” Pletcher said. “(She) got a little further back than we had talked about prior to the race, but it seems like she’s kind of found her groove just wanting to settle and make a late run. She really delivered a good turn of foot.”

Dynamic Pricing was third, a neck behind Style Points, with 25-1 long shot Madame Mischief 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth. Macanga, Pharoah’s Wine, Golden Ghost and Milliat completed the order of finish.

“The filly broke a little slow today. After that, we went to Plan B and let her be her and let her relax,” Ortiz said. “She did well. The mile and a sixteenth helped her today because she wasn’t that close early. Last time she was finishing. Today, she got time to get there.”

Three of Life’s an Audible’s first five races came at a mile or less, including each of her last two, the most recent a closing second from outermost Post 10 in the Jan. 6 Ginger Brew at Gulfstream in her sophomore debut.

“She stumbled a bit, we had an outside draw and I think it was a little bit short of her best distance,” Pletcher said. “She appreciated the mile and a sixteenth today.”

First World War breaks out in Kitten's Joy

First World War, back on turf after two unsuccessful tries on the dirt, got a patient ride from Tyler Gaffalione behind long shot pacesetter Tocayo before powering through the stretch to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Kitten’s Joy by a half-length at Gulfstream Park.

It was the second win of the day for Gaffalione, who has been aboard Brendan Walsh-trained First World War ($7) in each of his five lifetime starts, and third in the Kitten’s Joy following Chess’s Dream (2021) and Grand Sonata (2022). The winning time was 1:39.78 over a firm turf course.

“All the credit goes to Brendan and his team. They brought the horse over ready and he fired big for us,” Gaffalione said. “Everything went to plan. The speed horse jumped out in front and my horse settled great behind him. He got into a great rhythm and he responded well for me down the lane.”

Front-running winner of the one-mile Dania Beach Jan. 6 on the Gulfstream turf in his prior start, Tocayo broke alertly and was in front after going opening quarter-mile in 24.44 seconds and the half in 47.97. First World War prompted the pace two wide with Edgartown tracking inside in third and Hammerstein fourth.

Tocayo straightened for home with the lead after six furlongs went in 1:10.97, but First World War quickly drew up on even terms in mid-stretch and edged clear inside the eighth pole with plenty left to hold off a late run by Edgartown.

“My horse was well within himself,” Gaffalione said. “He made the lead a little bit earlier than I would have liked him to and was waiting a little bit, but he finished the job.”

Tocayo stayed up for third, followed by Freedom Principle, Edgartown, Quokka, 6-5 favorite Noted and Deadpan. Agate Road was scratched.

First World War, who is owned by Qatar Racing and Hunter Valley Farm, made his first two starts on grass, graduating in a maiden special weight last September at Kentucky Downs and running fourth, beaten 1 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland. Given a chance on dirt he ran second in back-to-back races, most recently a half-length behind Otello in Gulfstream’s Mucho Macho Man on Jan. 1.

“He’s a tremendous talent. He’s still learning, but the sky’s the limit for him,” Gaffalione said. “If he keeps developing the way he is, I think we’ll have a pretty nice horse down the road.”

Frankie’s Empire Cruises to Swale Victory

Frank DeLuca’s Frankie’s Empire, a 14-1 longshot ridden by Miguel Rivera and running out of a new barn, took the lead from Billal inside the eighth pole and drove to a convincing 3 1/2-length victory in the 39th running of the Swale.

A 3-year-old son of Classic Empire out of the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Donna D, Frankie’s Empire covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.22.

A winner at 2 at Monmouth and Delaware and a third-place finisher in the Sapling, Frankie’s Empire entered the Swale off a victory Dec. 26 at Parx going 6 1/2 furlongs before making his 3-year-old debut a winning one for trainer Michael Yates.

Under Miguel Vasquez, Frankie’s Empire broke well and chased a pace of 22.46 and 45.24 seconds set by Billal. Moving four-wide around the turn, Frankie’s Empire drew alongside the pacesetter before driving away inside the final sixteenth.

“Susan Crowell, the previous trainer, I guess the weather was bad and (after) he won an allowance race they wanted to try him in Florida and see what shook out,” Yates said. “So they shipped him down and we picked it up and moved forward. We haven’t had him that long, maybe three weeks. Long enough to get to know him a little bit and get a breeze over the track.

“I was surprised that he was as close as he was, but after talking with Susan, he’s just kind of coming, mentally. He looks kind of like a lumbering horse. He trained like that prior to his breeze, and we breezed him in company, and he really woke up after his breeze. I was cautiously optimistic after I saw him go this week.”

Frankie’s Empire returned $30. Le Dom Bro for the place and Grand Mo the First, coming into the race off a third-place finish in the Zuma Beach (G3) in October, was third.