Stately Defence Ready for Forward Gal

Coming off a third-place finish in her last start, Stately Defence will be making her stakes debut on dirt in Saturday’s $200,000 Forward Gal (G2) for 3-year-old fillies.            

“She’s coming into the race very good. No complaints,” trainer David Fawkes said. “She tries hard, this filly.”            

Owned by Norma McKathan, the dark brown or bay daughter of Grade 1-winning sprinter First Defence returned to the main track in her most recent outing, a one-mile optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream on Jan. 2, where she gave up the lead late and finished two lengths behind highly regarded filly Penwith.            

“She ran a good race last time,” Fawkes said. “The Forward Gal didn’t come up real tough, so that was part of the decision. The other thing was last time, she kind of inherited the lead a little earlier than I would have liked to have seen her.            

“I don’t think that’s her running style. I think she needs to sit back a little bit so, hopefully, things will turn around in here and she’ll run a better race.”            

Fourth choice in the program at 6-1, Stately Defense is the most experienced of six horses entered for the Forward Gal, making her sixth career start and third on the main track at Gulfstream, where she has a win, a second and a third. She had one sharp work since her last start, a five-furlong breeze in 1:00 on Jan. 18, and cuts back to seven furlongs for the Forward Gal. “I think it’s going to be a benefit,” Fawkes said. “That way, she won’t be pressing the lead so early.” After running for a tag in her debut, Stately Defence broke her maiden by nine lengths on Oct. 19 then ran twice on the Gulfstream turf, finishing fourth after a rough trip in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes, beaten 4 ¾ lengths.            

“Early on I thought she was OK, but we ran her one time for a price,” Fawkes said. “She didn’t show as much early as she has now. She’s showing more and more the older she gets. She’s going in the right direction.”