G3 Winner Mythical ‘Ready to Rock and Roll’ in Any Limit

6F Sprint for 3YO Fillies First of Three $125,000 Stakes Saturday

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – When Arindel’s talented homebred Mythical lost for the first time last summer, she rebounded with back-to-back stakes wins to cap her juvenile campaign. Now, six weeks after dropping her sophomore season opener, the connections are hoping to follow a similar blueprint starting in Saturday’s $125,000 Any Limit at Gulfstream Park.

The 12th running of the Any Limit for 3-year-old fillies is the first of three $125,000 stakes on a 12-race program followed by the six-furlong Hutcheson for 3-year-olds, also sprinting six furlongs on the main track, and Captiva Island for older fillies and mares scheduled for five furlongs on the grass.

Post time is 12:50 p.m. ET

Mythical cuts back to six furlongs for the first time exiting the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Jan. 31, her first loss in four tries at Gulfstream. In that race she got away slowly and scrambled to set the pace for a half-mile before tiring to be fifth.

The outcome was not dissimilar to her first try at seven-eighths when she wound up fifth in the Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga after winning her first three starts including the Tremont against boys and Adirondack (G3) over the course earlier in the summer.

“Last time I think she just had one of those days. Maybe she waited too long in the gate and maybe she wasn’t expecting the break to go,” trainer Jorge Delgado said. “She didn’t have the best trip that day. But we regrouped and since then everything has gone pretty good.”

Mythical debuted with an 8 ½-length maiden special weight win last April at Gulfstream, where she capped 2025 with Florida Sire Stakes series victories in the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl and 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl by 15 ¼ combined lengths.

“She’s had five really good races and two OK races so she’s doing pretty good, I think,” Delgado said. “I think she’s going to bounce back again. She’s been training very forward. Her last few workouts have been very sharp and she’s looking like she’s going to be back.”

“The last few workouts for her have been superb, five stars. I’m very happy with her preparation,” he added. “The way she’s been preparing I think she’s ready to rock and roll.”

Mythical has breezed three times since the Forward Gal including a bullet three furlongs in 35.36 seconds Feb. 21. Edgard Zayas is named to ride from Post 5 outside all but one of her rivals. They are favored on the morning line at 9-5.

“Sometimes when the field is small you’re kind of like the target in the race because you’re probably going to be the favorite. You’re not going to get anything easy,” Delgado said. “Going six furlongs I think she’s pretty much one of the fastest fillies in the country.”

Also returning from the Forward Gal is OXO Equine’s Hollen Drive (Post 6, 7-2), a half to Grade 1-winning millionaires Hot Rod Charlie and champion sprinter Mitole. Trained by Will Walden, the daughter of Practical Joke was a two-length optional claiming allowance winner going 6 ½ furlongs Jan. 3 at Gulfstream. Jorge Ruiz rides from outermost Post 6.

Double 22 Stables’ A Fine Chardonnay (Post 4, 2-1) is the other stakes winner in the field, having rallied for a one-length triumph in the six-furlong Myrtlewood Oct. 24 at Keeneland. Unraced since finishing third in the 6 ½-furlong Fern Creek Nov. 29, she has been working steadily at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, for her return.

The Fern Creek was won by Brad Cox-trained On Time Girl, who came back to win the Forward Gal and run third in Gulfstream’s one-mile Davona Dale (G2) Feb. 28.

“She didn’t run a lot last year but she did everything great. She broke her maiden at first asking and then won the stakes at Keeneland. After that she ran a good third to Brad’s filly that came back and won the graded-stakes,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “She had a good year, so we just freshened her up.”

Tyler Gaffalione gets the riding assignment.

Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing and Laurie Plesa’s Sweet Ember (Post 2, 3-1), a $380,000 daughter of Mitole, is entered to make her stakes debut in the Any Limit for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. She has notched back-to-back wins after running second in debut Nov. 9, most recently romping by 9 ½ lengths in a six-furlong allowance against fellow Florida-breds Feb. 26.

We’ll look the race over,” Plesa said. “I’m sure we’re stepping up in company, but we’ll see what happens. She’s training great and doing well.”

Regular rider Jose Morelos has the return call.

Tizasweetlady (Post 3, 15-1), exiting a sprint allowance victory over Florida-breds on the all-weather Tapeta course Jan. 30, and Mythical’s stablemate Dee’s On Dow (Post 1, 15-1) complete the field.

Trained by late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, Any Limit was a five-time graded-stakes winner during her career for owner-breeder Joseph Shields Jr. including the 2007 and 2009 Hurricane Bertie (G3) and 2007 First Lady Handicap (G3) at Gulfstream.