Can't Beat It upsets in Hallandale Beach Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Marty Wolfson and jockey Eddie Castro orchestrated their second upset of a turf stakes at Gulfstream Park within the past two weeks on Sunday when combining with Can't Beat It for a 1 3/4 length victory over Mr. Silver in the $60,000 .

Wolfson and Castro pulled off their first shocker on Jan. 28 when the 45-1 Miesque's Approval defeated 3-5 favorite Silver Tree in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf. Can't Beat It's victory in the one mile and one sixteenth Hallandale wasn't quite as big a surprise, the son of Atticus going postward at 9-1 and returning $21.80 to win after covering the distance in 1:39.39 seconds over a firm course.

As expected, Mr. Silver set the pace under jockey Cornelio Velasquez with Castro content to let Can't Beat It settle near the middle of the 12 horse field during the early stages of the race. Can't Beat It began to pick up horses steadily while racing wide around the final bend then continued strongly once settling into the stretch to wear down Mr. Silver in the final 70 yards. Up an Octave raced well placed after a slow start and finished another half length behind Mr. Silver in third.

Lewis Michael, the 9-5 favorite, steadied behind rivals leaving the opening turn, raced well placed near the inside for most of the trip but lacked a final rally and finished fifth.

"He's the kind of horse who has a short fuse and you just kind of have to wait to make your run," said Wolfson who trains Can't Beat It for Chalotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation. "He's got a different style of running now and he's an improving horse. Most Atticus' do get better as they get older and I'm not going to rule out the possibility of putting him back on the dirt and perhaps even trying him in the Fountain Of Youth."