Forever Together, the champion turf female of 2008,
worked five furlongs on the Oklahoma turf
course Friday morning in preparation for her next scheduled start in the Grade
3, $100,000 Glens Falls
on Closing Day, September 6.
Trained by Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard, Forever Together
was clocked in 1:02 for five furlongs, ranking 17th of 34 horses at
the distance.
“She’s very good. I’m very happy with her,” Sheppard said.
“She’s been training well, and she came out of her last race well. We probably
didn’t have the smoothest of trips in that one, to be honest.”
Attempting to become the first horse to win three
consecutive runnings of the Grade 1 Diana Handicap, Forever Together stumbled
out of the gate, then ran into traffic trouble nearing the quarter pole before
making an inspired late run to finish third, a nose behind Shared Account, who
was a head shy of winner Proviso.
“The horse she was directly behind swung way out on the
turn, and we went up the inside of her,” Sheppard said. “As soon as we did
that, she came swinging back in and we got bounced around a little bit. Once
that situation quieted down, she put her head down and ran hard to the line. I
think she was in front a little after the wire.”
A 6-year-old daughter of Belong to Me, Forever Together had
two wins, two seconds and two thirds from six starts in 2009. She is 0-for-3 in
2010, with two seconds and a third, beaten a total of one length.
“You know how it goes,” Sheppard said. “We’ve had some good
luck and some not so good luck. But, I think she’s the same horse probably as
she’s always been; very honest and a pleasure to be around. She’s quite a
character and we all love her in the stable.”