The seventh running of the Grade III We Get Signal Stakes has attracted what is probably its strongest field ever, getting two top ten fillies and six of the top 35.<\/P>
Two years ago, Empire Gold<\/B> set the stakes record and has followed it with a successful career, winning nine more races including two more graded wins.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No other past winner has ever won another graded stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Three other past winners have gone on to run in a Triple Tiara race, including last year\u2019s winner Wango Tango <\/B>who tried the Middle Flower, but none of them ended up being factors.<\/P> There seems to be some promising fillies today, and the winner just might be one to watch later this spring.\u00a0 There are already some fillies to watch right now.\u00a0 Two sprinters, Koko Taylor <\/STRONG>and Mike the Animal<\/STRONG> get the morning line nod, while Ghostly Breeze<\/STRONG>, who just knocked off the number one ranked filly figures to be right there at the end.<\/P> Here is a look at the field:<\/P> Got off to a sizable lead and seemed to be cruising to a comfortable win in her graded debut in the Sweet Nanette last time, but she fell apart at the half, losing to Ghostly Breeze, Gimme Vince Young and several others.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She can get the lead again today if she wants it.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There\u2019s not a lot of other early speed here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Needs a very capable ride to run the race she\u2019s capable of, and her jockey?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Well, my NCAA bracket is off to a more auspicious start, and I have George Mason back in the final four. Closed as fast as the door on a Jehovah\u2019s Witness last time in a listed stakes, and steps up in class off that effort.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her speed figures say she can compete with these.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The pace scenario is not the best here, and the class rise is substantial.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I\u2019m willing to let her try to beat me.<\/P> The Supers would like to have seen a wet track for their regally bred filly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>As it is, there are several in here with better figures on dry tracks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s been fading lately, so the lack of early pressure might be a good thing for her.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Capable of sudden improvement, but frankly needs it here.<\/P> She\u2019s tried graded stakes before and has picked up checks, but she\u2019s facing a tougher field here than she\u2019s seen before.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Comes in off a win in a four filly listed stakes with a time that does not strike fear in the others.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Lightly raced and trained by one of the best, she\u2019s eligible to improve.<\/P> Although she\u2019s rated number nine in the world, she\u2019s not been given much respect by the oddsmakers.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s the longest shot on the board.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Since her last win five months ago, she\u2019s showed nothing in six races, losing them all by an average of 11 lengths.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Granted, she\u2019s lost to some awfully tough company, but she needs to show some signs of life before she\u2019ll be worth a bet against the like of these.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s a prototype of a wonderful two year old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Barn chose, and probably wisely, to run her often during that time, but now it\u2019s time to drop her in class or at least give her a vacation.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>One more negative: as such a highly rated filly, she should have been able to attract a better jockey.<\/P> This doesn\u2019t happen very often.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sixteen fillies were entered in this race, and the one to just make it, the 14th<\/SUP> ranked filly \u2013 this one \u2013 ends up as the favorite by a fair margin.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s been in the money in all eleven sprints, earning some gaudy speed figures.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Lost a photo to Mike the Animal in the Backward Gal, but otherwise has looked awfully tough in distances up to 7 \u00bd furlongs.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She tried a route just once before, and it was not pretty.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Oddly enough, the only one she could beat that day was Jacobite Hot Sauce.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It seems there should not be much difference between 7 \u00bd furlongs with one turn and 8 furlongs with two, but somehow the difference is huge.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>One of singer Koko Taylor\u2019s greatest hits was \u201cI Got What It Takes.\u201d\u00a0 <\/SPAN>We\u2019ll see if her namesake does.<\/P> Closed smartly in last to bring the record of this lightly raced filly to three wins and a second in four dirt routes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Class jump makes all kind of sense \u2013 she\u2019s been winning and posting competitive times.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A close look at the competition she\u2019s been facing shows they haven\u2019t been very strong.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>How much can you hold that against her?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This is the graded debut in one with a lot of upside. Showed she belonged in graded company when she outfinished Koko Taylor to win the Backward Gal Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her second last time earned her the only triple digit speed figure in the field and put her record at five wins and six seconds in 12 dirt starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This is her first try in a route.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Closing style says she should handle it, but sire\u2019s limited get in the Sim have not done well in routes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>My guess is that she\u2019ll handle it. After beating the number one rated filly Sisson\u2019s Chant last time in the Grade I Sweet Nanette, this one has earned the right to claim to be the best there is.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She now has six wins in seven starts and a pair of graded wins at the distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The Lenny Empire won eight stakes last week.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>These odds are ridiculously generous.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/P> Steps up in class after two straight wins, last time in a minor stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With five finishes in the money in her six routes, she had a lot of upside.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Speed figures are a bit on the light side compared to several others in here, but they\u2019re improving.