HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Donna Green Hurtak was confident her veteran Conquest Big E could compete with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and multiple graded stakes winner Irish War Cry if she could correct one issue. “He’s been having a little bit of a bad habit of hopping out of the gate and it’s costing him a good position, which has cost him the other two stakes races he has run in,” she said. “We did a little gate work with him trying to get him out of the habit and it’s great when you’re a trainer and things work.” Indeed, the gate work Hurtak did with Conquest Big E paid off handsomely Saturday, as Conquest Big E made the front coming out of the chute under Jose Batista and led the rest of the way, winning the Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Park Mile by three lengths. Always Dreaming, last year’s Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby winner, chased Conquest Big E throughout and settled for second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Tommy Macho. Page McKenney, Mr. Jordan and Irish War Cry completed the order of finish. It was the fifth win from 20 starts for Conquest Big E, a gelding by Tapit owned by Daniel Hurtak, the husband of Donna Green Hurtak. Troubled starts cost Conquest Big E in both the Fred Hooper, where he finished second to Tommy Macho, and in the Hal’s Hope, where he was fourth to Economic Model. “I knew he can run with these horses,” Green Hurtak said. “He’s a very, very talented horse; he’s also a Tapit and they can be a little quirky and we’re just pleased he got to [show] his ability today.” Conquest Big E ran a mile in 1:35.92 and returned $26.20. Always Dreaming was making his first start since he ran ninth in the Travers Stakes last August at Saratoga. Under John Velazquez, Always Dreaming stalked Conquest Big E from second, but never made a dent in the front-runner’s lead and was able to hold second. “The winner was a horse I was a little concerned about getting loose; I was hoping someone else would put a little pressure on him,” Always Dreaming trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The main focus for us was just having a positive start, we didn’t want to be the ones to send and put pressure on that horse. Hopefully it’ll be something he’ll move forward from for having the race.” The biggest disappointment in the race was Irish War Cry, who went off the slight favorite. He was following the winner from the middle of the backstretch to the top of the stretch, but was eased by Jose Ortiz in the final furlong. “He broke really well, he put me into a good position, but down the backside I was going four wide, I didn’t want to be four wide,” Ortiz said. “So I dropped in and followed Johnny and then I went to the rail and followed [Conquest Big E]. He was traveling well passing the half-mile, but when we went into the stretch he dropped the bit on me, got a little bit tired.”