Gulfstream Park: Devil’s Cave takes Ocala in stakes debut

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It seemed like a pretty good bet that trainer Marty Wolfson would win Sunday’s $100,000 Ocala Stakes at Gulfstream Park. And, sure enough, he did.

But Wolfson did not win the one-mile Ocala with the horse most everybody figured would capture the final stakes on the 2013 calendar, My Pal Chrisy. Instead, Wolfson wound up in the winner’s circle posing next to Devil’s Cave, who edged away to an impressive two-length decision over Sweet N Discreet, with the 3-5 My Pal Chrisy a disappointing third.

Devil’s Cave joined Wolfson’s barn late this summer and was making both her stakes debut and her first start beyond six furlongs in the Ocala. With jockey Joel Rosario aboard for the first time, Devil’s Cave set the pace along the rail while dogged by Courtney Ryan through a 22.30-second opening quarter and a 45.10 half-mile. She ultimately was joined and briefly passed on the turn by Sweet N Discreet and fought back to gain control near midstretch before edging well clear at the end.

My Pal Chrisy, returning from New York off a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Go For Wand Handicap, sat a perfect trip off the embattled leaders, angled three wide while looming boldly into the stretch, but could not kick on, hanging late to finish a neck behind Sweet N Discreet in third.
Devil’s Cave, a 3-year-old daughter of Put It Back owned by Alpha Delta Stable, completed a mile in 1:34.74 and paid $11.40.

“She surprised me a little bit,” Wolfson said of Devil’s Cave. “A mile was something I wasn’t sure of because of her pedigree. When she broke like that, [Rosario] had such a nice hold of her. I wasn’t sure if she was going to get caught, but I thought the only one who would catch her was my other horse, My Pal Chrisy. I’ve only had this filly about four months, and she’s kept improving with every start. I don’t know how far she’ll go, but she definitely has a bright future going one turn.”

As for My Pal Chrisy, Wolfson believes the distance and the weight combined to keep the favorite from winning her fourth stakes of the season.

“I think a mile might be just a little far for her, and probably the 123, giving that kind of weight away, were the reasons she got beat,” Wolfson said.