Cool Arrow wins comfortably in Opening Lead

Cool Arrow was the easy winner of the $60,000 Opening Lead Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.

He paid $5.80 for his 4 1/2-length win over Garter and Tie in the six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up.

With Leonel Reyes aboard, Cool Arrow broke alertly from the inside post and, while hugging the rail, was content to let Running for Riz post interior fractions of 22.97 and 45.69 seconds under pressure from Royal Squeeze and Garter and Tie. Running for Riz drifted out coming into the stretch and the race was pretty much over when Cool Arrow burst through the opening.

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He quickly opened a 2 1/2-length advantage at the eighth pole and was never threatened. Garter and Tie forced the pace from the outside and after dropping back on the turn made a late move to get up for second over Royal Squeeze.

The final time over a track rated sloppy was 1:09.77.

Cool Arrow is trained by Terri Pompay, who was acting on behalf of My Purple Haze Stables when she claimed the 6-year-old gelding by Into Mischief for $62,500 on Feb. 7.

He was bred in Kentucky by H. Allen Poindexter.