Prospective won for the first time since the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) in March when he overcame a stumble at the start to capture the $149,314 Victoria Park Stakes at Woodbine June 10 (VIDEO).
The son of Malibu Moon defeated three 3-year-old opponents as the 2-5 favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack event.
Prospective was making his first start since finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) after clipping heels May 5 at Churchill Downs. He recorded his fourth stakes victory in the Victoria Park.
The John Oxley colt, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Luis Contreras, defeated Patrioticandproud by 1 3/4 lengths in a time of 1:51.08.
Spendthrift Farm bred the winner in Kentucky. Prospective is out of the Awesome Again mare Spirited Away.
Casse, who entered the weekend as Woodbine's leading trainer with 21 wins from 104 starts, admitted he was concerned with Prospective's awkward start.
“When they came out of the gate, and he stumbled so hard, I said, ‘Oh no, not again,'" the trainer said. “But he got it done."
Settling off the pace in third following the bad break, Prospective tracked Holiday Promise through some soft early fractions (:24.54, :48.38, 1:13.31). He closed the gap leaving the backstretch and pressed the new leader Patrioticandproud on the far turn.
Prospective took command near mid-stretch after bumping with Patrioticandproud, driving clear in the final furlong for Conteras.
"My horse stumbled a little bit coming out of the gate, but after that he relaxed pretty good," said Contreras.
Prospective won the Grey Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine last October. In 2012, he was prominent in Florida in the winter and spring with wins in the Pasco Stakes and Tampa Bay Bay Derby and a second in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III), all at Tampa Bay Downs. He ran sixth in the Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) at Keeneland prior to the Kentucky Derby.
Casse said the multiple stakes-winning colt has a number of options for his next start.
"He’s had a pretty good campaign," said Casse. "We’ll talk to Mr. Oxley. I’m not sure that synthetic is his favorite. He likes dirt. So we may travel out of the country for his next one (start).”
Patrioticandproud briefly shook clear of the winner for jockey Eurico Da Silva in upper stretch before yielding late. He finished 9 1/2 lengths in front of Courtville, ridden by Omar Moreno, with Holiday Promise finishing last.
Prospective, who carried top weight of 121 pounds, paid $2.90 to win. He combined with Patrioticandproud for a $9.10 exacta. There was no place or show wagering available.
Moon Traveler was a stewards' scratch.
Prospective's fifth win in 10 lifetime starts increased his earnings to $535,235.
