Oaks Calling for Girl With a Dream After Forward Gal Victory

Girl With a Dream (3f Practical Joke x Henley, by Corinthian) put herself square on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks Saturday with a win in the Grade III Forward Gal Stakes.

Coming into the race after a win in the Letellier Memorial Stakes, the Gerald Isbister and Jim Bakke-owned chestnut shot to the lead in the seven furlong dirt race to set the pace with Lookin At Lucky’s Diamond Wow pushing her down the backstretch.

Girl With a Dream opened up as they entered the turn and Luis Saez looked confident at that point. He gave the winner a few taps down the stretch but Girl With a Dream didn’t need much encouragement to stay in front with the filly winning by a length with the third placed runner 7 ¼ lengths behind.

“We came to the top of the stretch and I felt like I had a lot of horse,” said Saez. “She kept battling, and she beat them. She felt pretty big in front. I felt like every step when the other filly came close to her, she responded more. I was pretty happy to be on top of her.”

Bred by Machmer Hall and D & J Racing Stables, the Brad Cox-trained Girl With a Dream is out of a half-sister to the multiple Grade II winner and Grade I-placed Mr. Commons and multiple stakes winner Jungle Fighter. Her graded stakes winning second dam is also a half-sister to three other stakes performers.

Earning 10 points on the Kentucky Oaks trail, Girl With a Dream is now the second graded stakes winner for Practical Joke. The second crop sire has six stakes winners and eight stakes performers overall among his 34 worldwide winners.