HALLANDALE BEACH - Steve Landers Racing’s Destino d’Oro, benefitting from a brief freshening and some class relief after three straight graded stakes attempts, dueled with favored Gr. 1 winner And One More Time through the stretch before edging clear late for a hard-fought head victory in the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream Park.

    The 31st running of the Tropical Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies shared top billing with the 50th renewal of the $125,000 Tropical Park Derby for 3-year-olds, each going 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

    Ridden by Edgard Zayas for trainer Brad Cox, Destino d’Oro ($9.60) covered a firm turf course in 1:40.02 to earn her fourth win from seven career starts and second in a stakes following the Aug. 3, Gr. III Pucker Up at Ellis Park, her most recent victory.

    Destino d’Oro was unhurried early settled near the back of a 12-horse field as 60-1 shot Miss Mary Nell was hustled to the lead from her outside post and was in front through a quarter-mile in :23.34 seconds and a half in :46.60, with Souper Zonda chasing two wide in second and It Ain’t Two saving ground along the rail.

    When And One More Time and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano began to make their move from mid-pack rounding the far turn on the outside, Zayas gave Destino d’Oro her cue and tipped her to the center of the track. He was able to find room straightening for home and set his sights on And One More Time, who had forged a short lead, and the two favorites hooked up for a drive to the wire.

    “I thought it was an ideal trip and what it looked like she would get based off the form. It looked like there was speed in there, and there was,” Cox said. “Edgard was able to let her break well, kind fo let her find her way through the first turn and she settled well for him. It looked like going into the turn he kind of had his eyeball on the favorite and was able to get by late in the stretch.”

    And One More Time, who drifted out noticeably in deep stretch, was 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Ramsey Pond in third. Previously undefeated stakes-winner Souper Zonda, Souper Williwaw, Brown Sugar, Supa Speed, Miss Mary Nell, Smart Union, Nosleeptilbrooklyn, Mischief in Motion and It Ain’t Two completed the order of finish.

    “She ran huge. I was trying today to be not that far behind and not give her too much to do. My plan was to follow [And One More Time] the whole way and it worked out perfect,” Zayas said. “[And One More Time] at the end kind of like came out a little bit and bumped into me, but it didn’t bother her to win the race.”

    Destino D’Oro graduated in her debut last August at Kentucky Downs and was third, beaten a head, in the Gr. II Jessamine at Keeneland before going to the sidelines and missing the Breeders’ Cup. The Bolt d’Oro filly returned off the layoff in mid-August with a last-to-first rally over older horses at Churchill Downs to set up her run in the Pucker Up. From there she ran sixth in the Gr. III Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs and eighth in the Gr. I Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Oct. 11 at Keeneland.

    “We think she’s got a world of talent. She showed that last year as a 2-year-old with two really good starts,” Cox said. “We were pointing to the Breeders’ Cup and we had a setback. Her two runs off the layoff were really, really impressive and then we kind of hit a brick wall.

    “It was a little bit of not a clean trip at Kentucky Downs and just maybe not doing as well as we needed her to do to go into the Keeneland race. She wasn’t doing bad, just maybe not as sharp as she normally is. She ran a flat race,” he added. “We brought her down to Payson [Park] after the Keeneland meet and she’s done very well since. I think she showed that today.”

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