BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Unsuccessful in a dozen previous attempts against stakes horses, Florida-bred Prevent wrestled the lead from fellow Florida-bred I Know I Know coming out of the clubhouse turn and never relinquished the advantage thereafter to win the $75,000 Soldier’s Dancer at Gulfstream Park Saturday. Trained for the first time by Carlos David for Brian Cohen’s BC Racing Stable, Prevent defeated seven other 3-year-olds and older at a mile-and-70-yards on the all-weather course for his first career stakes victory.

Jockey Edgar Zayas guided Prevent to a good start from post four as Tocayo and Leonel Reyes broke best of all from post six. Jockey Jonathan Ocasio hustled I Know I Know from the inside post to join Prevent and Tocayo into the clubhouse turn, but despite the ground-saving trip, could not beat Prevent to the six-furlong marker.

Prevent was a length in front of Tocayo down the backstretch as I Know I Know dropped back to third after they finished the first quarter in :23.63. Prevent stretched his margin to almost two lengths through a half mile in :46.58 and held off Tocayo around the second turn. Prevent turned for home two lengths in front and despite drifting out in the lane, was able to kick clear and win by three-and-a-quarter lengths in 1:39.31. Kalik finished second, a neck in front of I Know I Know in third. Just a Photo, Tocayo, Spy Novel, Relampago Verde and Eddie the Great completed the order of finish. Grand Mo the First was scratched.

Prevent paid $14.40 to win.

 

“He was drifting out a little bit late but he’s the type of horse if you start fighting with him, he gets to messing around,” Zayas said. “He drifted out but there was no one to the outside and he was running pretty good so I let him go.

“I feel like he’s a really tough horse to deal with and he can get a little rank. There was some speed in the race so I was trying to let him go and see if he could settle a little bit, but he didn’t. He just took the lead and [I] just kind of let him run and do his thing and he held on.”

Zayas capped a three-win day for Zayas, who earlier won the $75,000 Smile Sprint on Implementation.

“It’s been a great day,” said Zayas, who tops all Gulfstream riders with 74 wins. “I’ve been getting on some good horses and getting pretty good support from all the trainers and owners. It’s been really good.”

In two previous starts this year, both at Gulfstream, Prevent was unsuccessful against stakes company. He was seventh behind winner Ninja Star in the $75,000 Sunshine Turf for Florida-breds at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the all-weather course on Jan. 18 then took on open company in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida going 11 furlongs on the turf. There he encountered a difficult trip, as jockey Jorge Ruiz had to sharply check him early in the race and he finished last of 11. Also seventh in the Showing Up won by Silent Heart in November three starts back, Prevent’s last win came in an upper level, $75,000 optional claiming going a mile-and-70-yards on the synthetic course at Gulfstream in September.

With Saturday’s victory, Prevent improved his lifetime record to five wins, five seconds and a third in 21 starts and the first-place check of $43,650 boosted his career earnings to $300,947.

Bred in Florida by Katia Perez Ozuna, Prevent is by Neolithic, who stands in Florida at Pleasant Acres Stallions, out of Bossy Gal, by Pioneer of the Nile. Cohen purchased Prevent for $15,000 out of the Las Palmas Farm consignment at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company Winter Mixed Sale.

Bossy Gal has three starters, all winners from four foals. She has an unraced 3-year-old Florida-bred filly, Princess Safeerah, by Breaking Lucky, who has several recent works, two in June, at Ocala Horse Farms Complex. 

Prevent is the seventh Florida-bred winner in eight runnings of the Soldier’s Dancer joining Me and Mr. C (2023), Hot Blooded (2022), Muggsamatic (2020), Second Mate (2019), Salute the Colonel (2018) and Mystic Sky (2017).

Prevent is the 43rd Florida-bred to win an open stakes thus far in 2025.

Return to the July 5 issue of Wire to Wire