The Girl Up Front

The second graded race on the card for this weekend in Florida will be The Girl Up Front (G2), which is set to go off at 2:55 PM EST this Sunday. The race is offering up a total of $375,000 in total purse money and is open to three-year-old fillies. To be held over seven furlongs on the dirt, the race should be going off under clear skies leaving us with a track set to fast at post time. It looks like we’ll have a relatively small field for this race, with a total of seven going to the starting gate. Let’s take a look at the contenders for this year’s running.  

1. In The Mud – lucky15 – O. Parker – 5/1 

Making her graded stakes debut this weekend, the chestnut filly has finished off the board just once in her seven-race career. The daughter of Munnings most recently started during a listed stakes race in Maryland over seven furlongs in December of last year. The filly was sent out of the gate to press the pace in second out of the gate. At the midway point of the race she would take command of the pace only to be caught by a late charger down the stretch to cross the wire in second. She would set a lifetime best speed figure in the race of ninety-four. In October of last year the filly would have her most recent win, this coming over the same distance against listed stakes company in West Virginia. She was a little further off the pace in this race in third out of the gate. She would be asked to challenge at the midway point of the race and would take control of the pace at this point and go on to win the stakes by a length. 

2. The Dragoneer – dragonrider5 – O. A. Haack – 4/1 

Coming into this race off of three consecutive wins, the light grey filly recently won in her debut against listed company. This race was last month over six and a half furlongs in Virginia. She faced a small field of four other horses in the race and was last out of the gate at the start. She wouldn’t make a bid for the front until the field came into the finial furlongs and she would go on to win the race by half a length while setting a speed figure of ninety-six, which is a lifetime best for the filly.  Her two other wins making up of her streak of consecutive wins both came at the allowance level, the more recent at six and a half furlongs on the dirt, and the later at seven furlongs on the turf. 

3. Theherowouldbeme – intoasr999 – B. Orazio – 6/1 

Taking a big step up in class with her start this Sunday, the bay filly by Into Mischief will be jumping from allowance company to graded stakes with this start. It will be the fillies first start against stakes company, graded or otherwise with this race. Her most recent start came during an allowance race last month in Kentucky over nine furlongs. The filly was sent out of the gate just off the pace in second. At the midway point of the race she would start to fade back slightly and would ultimately cross the wire in third, setting a speed figure of eighty-four. Her most recent win was in October of last year facing allowance company in Kentucky over eight and a half furlongs. Briefly in second out of the gate, she quickly took command of the pace early in the race and would win the race by a length while recording a lifetime best speed figure of eighty-five. 

4. Three Lil Birds – asmussen – R. Bokie – 7/2 

One of multiple fillies in the race sired by Tapit, the light grey filly has won four races in a total of six lifetime starts. Her most recent race was last month during a listed stakes over seven furlongs in Kentucky. Held off the pace early in sixth out of the gate, she made her move midway through the race and took control of the pace. She would go on to win the race going away by three lengths over a dirt track rated as good. The filly made only one other start against graded company, which came in December of last year. The filly was more forwardly placed in fourth, but she began to fade back towards the middle of the eight-and-a-half-furlong contest and would end up crossing the wire in sixth. 

5. PTS Blazing Nyght – pattribbett0 – E. Sharp – 4/1 

Seeking her first win against stakes company, graded or otherwise, the three-year-old chestnut filly most recently started late last month during a listed stakes race over a mile in Kentucky. She was sent out of the gate and went straight to the lead out of the gate. She maintained her front running pace right up until the final furlongs where she was overtaken by a closer and shuffled back into second, setting a speed figure of ninety-six, which is a lifetime best speed figure for the filly. Her most recent win came in her prior start, which came last December during an allowance race in Indiana over seven and a half furlongs. This time she was able to take the field from gate to wire and go on to win the race by a head bob at the wire. 

6. Wind Chill – gowansca – D. Zordich – 4/1 

One of two fillies in the race sired by Munnings, this bay filly is making her first graded start this weekend and is coming into the race off of a win in a listed stakes race that came last month in Massachusetts over seven and a half furlongs. The filly took the rest of the field from gate to wire in the race, opening up in the final furlongs to win the race by five and a half lengths and setting a speed figure of ninety-eight, which is a lifetime best speed figure for the filly. Prior to this the filly would cross the wire in second during a listed stakes race over eight and a half furlongs across the country in California. 

7. Mystic Harmony – jwest3 – M. Grunhard – 5/1 

Finishing off the board just once in her seven-race career, the chestnut filly is the only filly coming into the race this weekend with a prior win against graded company. Sired by the late Speightstown, the filly is coming into this race off a win in the Yanta Snez Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs across the country in California last month. The filly took the field from gate to wire in the race, winning the contest by a length while setting a lifetime best speed figure of ninety-five. This was the second graded win for the filly who formerly won The Schoolerville (G3) at six furlongs in New York midway through her two-year-old season. 

Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: Wind Chill 

Place: The Dragoneer 

Show: Mystic Harmony