Gulfstream Park: Black Diamond Cat gets easy win in Montbrook

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Black Diamond Cat capped off a big day for jockey Jilver Chamafi by slipping up the rail for a 5 3/4-length victory over Grande Shores in Saturday’s $100,000 Montbrook at Gulfstream Park.

Black Diamond Cat gave Chamafi, who entered the day third in the jockeys’ standings, his fourth victory on the card. The win also was the second straight and third in the last four starts for the suddenly improved Black Diamond Cat, who also captured the six-furlong Housebuster here earlier in the session.

Chamafi allowed Black Diamond Cat to settle off a contested early pace, with Sr. Quisqueyano, Majestic Express, and Timeless Indy all fighting for the lead. Black Diamond Cat found ample room to slip through inside the leaders entering the stretch, quickly drew clear, and was not seriously threatened thereafter.

Grande Shores also came through along the rail to be second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of 3-2 favorite Majestic Express.

Black Diamond Cat, a 6-year-old son of Wildcat Heir, is owned by James Dodge’s Bluestone Thoroughbreds LLC and trained by Larry Bates, who was in Kentucky on Saturday. The winner completed a mile in 1:37.39 and paid $7. The win was the first for Black Diamond Cat beyond seven furlongs.

“We paid $6,000 for this horse as a yearling, and he’s turned into a really nice sprinter,” Dodge said. “In the Housebuster, we saw coming down to the wire he still had a lot in him. We thought he could get a mile under the right conditions, and it looks like he did it pretty easily.”