GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Desert Gate gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his fifth win in the $300,000 Texas Derby on Monday, when he darted to a 6 1/4-length victory over Chad Allan. It was another nose back in third to Maximum Effort. The Texas Derby was one of six stakes on the Lone Star Million Day card. The races were worth a total of $1.2 million. Desert Gate ($2.40) joined Vintage Cowboy on the lead early on, and raced with that one through an opening quarter in 23.49 seconds. Desert Gate went on from there, increasing his advantage as he put up fractions of 47.54 seconds for the half-mile and 1:12.45 for six furlongs. He finished off the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.53. The track was rated fast after being upgraded from good earlier on the card. There has been a rash of wet weather over the past few days. Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard Desert Gate on Monday. “He broke okay,” Ortiz said in an interview conducted by Lone Star. “He tried to break fast. He missed the jump, but he recovered so quick and easy at the same time. But it was very smooth the way he made the lead. I didn’t force him to do anything crazy, I just let him be him – he kind of like made the lead on the backside and from there he took me every step of the way.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Ortiz said Desert Gate handled the surface particularly well Monday.  “He was taking me,” he said. “He was traveling so, so smooth. I felt I was going at a good pace and he still kicked home, so that was so nice.” Ortiz was riding at Lone Star for the first time in his career Monday. The start was the first local appearance for Desert Gate, who shipped in from Baffert’s base of Southern California. Baffert has been a regular participant in the local stakes program since Lone Star opened in April of 1997. He won the inaugural Texas Derby with Anet, and added another in 2006 with Wanna Runner. Baffert’s other winners in the race were with Mythical Power in 2009 and Game On Dude in 2010. The race was previously called the Lone Star Derby. Desert Gate was Baffert’s first Lone Star starter in eight years. He’s now won a total of 22 stakes races at Lone Star from 44 starts at the local track. He is a member of the Lone Star Park Hall of Fame.   Desert Gate is a son of Omaha Beach who races for the partnership of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. He was winning the third stakes race of his career behind the Grade 3 Best Pal at 2 and the Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park one start prior to the Texas Derby.  Desert Gate has now won 4 of 7 starts for earnings of $549,300. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.