Sentence:  Toying with her field in the <WSD>early</WSD> stages , Garden Fresh was asked for top speed only in the stretch by Jockey Philip Grimm and won by a length and a half in 1.24 3 - 5 for the 7 furlongs . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time