HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sweet Dani Girl, Time Passage, and Baby Steps are the speed and Charlie’s Wish the wild card in Sunday’s main event at Gulfstream Park, the $75,000 Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf. The headliner is restricted to Florida-breds and will be decided, weather permitting, at one mile on the grass. The pace should be honest in the Filly and Mare Turf with Sweet Dani Girl and Time Passage usually found on or with the lead in all their starts at a mile or farther, and Baby Steps stretching out off a steady diet of sprint races that included a wire-to-wire, 1 3/4-length victory in an open overnight handicap going 5 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta in her most recent start on Sept. 30. Sweet Dani Girl has changed ownership and trainers since closing out her 2023 campaign finishing second as the 8-5 favorite under allowance conditions at Keeneland on Oct. 21. She was transferred to the barn of Christophe Clement at Payson Park and has had four works at the training center in preparation for her first local appearance since a 10th-place finish in the Grade 3 Honey Fox 10 months earlier. Sweet Dani Girl will face Florida-breds for the first time since registering a gate-to-wire, four-length triumph in the Distaff Turf at Tampa Bay Downs on March 26. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Time Passage comes into the race in the best form of her career, having posted four consecutive victories, all over the Tapeta course, including the Miss Gracie and Cellars Shiraz stakes to ring down her 3-year-old season. She led at every call in each of those races. Charlie’s Wish is the big question mark in the field trying grass for the first time in the 12th start of her career. Trainer David Fawkes is both eager to see how she handles the new surface and elated at the prospect of a hotly contested early pace. Charlie’s Wish, winner of the seven-furlong Azalea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in July, returned from a four-month vacation to finish an even-running fifth in the City of Ocala Stakes for Florida-breds on Dec. 9. “We want to see how she’ll do on grass because it would give us more opportunities moving forward if she handles it well,” Fawkes explained. “She worked great on the Tapeta, had a bullet a couple of weeks ago, which gives us an indication she should be fine on the turf. “I thought she was a little short at Tampa in her last start and I’m delighted by the fact there seems to be so much early speed in this field. I just love the way the race should set up for her.” Both Sides, Tracy Ann’s Legacy, and Thelastbulletsmine complete the compact lineup. Leslie’s Rose, Gun Song both run well Thursday’s main event was supposed to showcase one major player in the locally based 3-year-old filly division, the 1-5 favorite Leslie’s Rose. Instead, it produced two, with Gun Song adding her name to that list after extending the odds-on favorite the length of the stretch before succumbing grudgingly to finish second in the seven-furlong dash. Leslie’s Rose entered the race off a 9 1/2-length maiden special weight victory at Aqueduct in her career debut Nov. 19. She appeared poised to register another easy win after stalking the pacesetting Gun Song under confident handling through the opening half-mile. But Leslie’s Rose had all she could handle getting past the stubborn leader before finally edging clear at the wire to win by a length under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. It was nearly eight lengths back from Gun Song to third-place finisher Sing Little Song. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Leslie’s Rose, a daughter of Into Mischief who brought $1.15 million from Whisper Hill Farm at the 2022 Keeneland September sale, registered an 87 Beyer Speed Figure for her first win and did that one better earning an 88 for her Friday performance. Gun Song received a career-best 86 Beyer in defeat. “She was very impressive in her debut and trained well since,” Pletcher said of Leslie’s Rose. “She has natural speed, but I think she’ll run farther. That’s a pretty nice filly she beat.” Leslie’s Rose gave the team of Ortiz and Pletcher back-to-back wins on the card. The pair teamed up 30 minutes earlier to win a maiden special weight dash switched from the turf to the Tapeta by 3 3/4 lengths with first-time starter Pretty Liam. The Vinnie Viola homebred by Liam’s Map is a half-sister to Danse Macabre, who won the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride on the turf here last winter for trainer Kelsey Danner. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.