Doctor Mounty made a winning last-to-first run while favored Heart to Heart endured a difficult trip in finishing third in Saturday’s $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The complexion of the race changed when Heart to Heart, the 11-10 favorite and a confirmed front-runner, hopped in the air and was stuck four wide into the first turn.
Forced to come from off the pace, Heart to Heart made a bid in the stretch and took a brief lead, but Doctor Mounty and Your Only Man turned in stronger late kicks and passed the favorite en route to a one-two finish in the one-mile grass test.
“When he broke he threw his head up and hit me in the face,” jockey Julien Leparoux said of Heart to Heart. “After that he relaxed good for me and ran a nice race. We were too wide (around the first turn).”
Under Javier Castellano, Doctor Mounty won by one length and paid $12.20. Your Only Man, a 10-1 chance, nosed out Heart to Heart for second. Pacesetter White Flag weakened to fourth.
Owned by Larry Pratt and Dave Alden, and trained by Shug McGaughey, Doctor Mounty finished up in 1:34.62 on firm ground.
This was the second graded stakes tally for the six-year-old son of Street Sense, who captured the Baltimore-Washington Turf Cup (G3) last September at Laurel. He is expected to race next in either the March 2 Canadian Turf (G3) or March 29 Appleton (G3).
Castellano made it a riding stakes double when guiding Bellavais to a 3 1/2-length win in the $150,000 Marshua’s River (G3) for fillies and mares after finding room on the inside in the stretch.
The second choice in a field of eight, Bellavais rallied from fourth to win, while front-running I’m Betty G won a three-way photo for second over Valedictorian and Bombshell. La Signare, the 2-1 favorite, finished sixth.
Bellavais paid $6.60 after completing 1 1/16 miles on the turf in 1:41.98 for owner Bortolazzo Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher.
The five-year-old daughter of Tapit previously captured the $100,000 Ginger Brew at Gulfstream last January and the restricted $80,000 Drumtop at Suffolk Downs last August.
