Familiar cast for My Dear Girl Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Who will step forward and take control of the fillies’ division of this year’s Florida Sire Stakes? That question hopefully will be answered Saturday at Gulfstream Park when a well-matched and very familiar-looking field of 10 2-year-old fillies goes 1 1/16 miles in the $400,000 My Dear Girl Stakes.

The My Dear Girl, the 13th of 14 races on the card, brings together the first three finishers from each of the first two legs of the series. Go Astray led throughout to post a 4 3/4-length triumph over Awesome Mass and Pantyhose in the six-furlong Desert Vixen. But she weakened late to be third behind Starship Bonita and Dessert Honeys in the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl.

Dessert Honeys was hung wide before surging late to finish second by a head in the Susan’s Girl in her local debut. She is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the My Dear Girl, even though she’s still a maiden. A daughter of High Cotton trained by Eddie Kenneally, Dessert Honeys finished a late-striding fourth in her only other start, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash this summer at Saratoga.

“I thought she ran well down there,” Kenneally said. “She was closing nicely, and I think the added distance is really going to suit her, although you never know until you try. She’s trained very well back at Churchill Downs since the race, should benefit from having a race over the track, and should be a little more professional with two races under her belt after still racing a little green last time.”

Starship Bonita benefited from her rail draw to win the Susan’s Girl and give trainer Steve Dwoskin his first Florida Sire Stakes win. But Starship Bonita was not as fortunate in the draw for the My Dear Girl. She’ll break from the far outside in post 10.

“I’m not too worried about the post, I just want her to get in good position and relax off the speed,” said Dwoskin, who trains Starship Bonita for Starship Stables. “Her pedigree doesn’t scream distance, so we’ve done everything we could with her training, trying to help her to get the extra ground. We’ve put her behind horses in her works, let her run towards the end, and gallop out strong. I just hope she doesn’t make her move too early.”

Go Astray could have plenty on the front end while stretching out around two turns for the first time in the My Dear Girl. Go Astray was game in defeat in the Susan’s Girl after setting a contested pace through midstretch.

“The distance is going to be difficult for her, but she’s a very honest horse,” trainer Angel Rodriguez said. “She always tries, so we have to take a chance.”

Trainer Stanley Gold, who owns a record 18 Florida Sire Stakes wins, is hoping Awesome Mass can bounce back after losing as the favorite in both the Desert Vixen and Susan’s Girl.

“She just had too much ground to make up last time,” Gold said of Awesome Mass’s fourth-place finish in the Susan’s Girl. “Now, we’ll see how she does around two turns.”

Taylor’s Princess ships in from Louisiana Downs and tries dirt for the first time after finishing fourth in the Happy Ticket on turf last out.