Itsmyluckyday looks as good as new in Best of the Rest

Itsmyluckyday took a small step towards what trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. hopes will be a big 4-year-old campaign when he cruised to an easy three-length victory over Sr. Quisqueyano in Saturday’s $75,000 Best of the Rest Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Making just his second start since suffering a fractured pelvis last July in Monmouth Park’s Pegasus Stakes, Itsmyluckyday stalked the early pace of Sr.Quisqueyano, readily took control approaching the stretch, opened a commanding advantage near midstretch, and won with something left under Paco Lopez. Sr. Quisqueyano held well once displaced on the lead by the winner and was easily second best, finishing 2 1/4 lengths in front of the rail-skimming Joshua’s Comprise.

Itsmyluckyday, a son of Lawyer Ron owned by Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa, won for the third time in five starts at Gulfstream. He captured the Grade 3 Holy Bull and Gulfstream Park Derby at 3 while also second best behind Orb last season in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

Itsmyluckyday completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.38 under jockey Paco Lopez and paid $3.

“It’s somewhat of a vindication. They dismiss horses and people very quickly in this sport,” said Plesa, who watched the race from his tack room on the Monmouth Park backstretch. “He’s been off the radar for some time and that’s okay, because he should have been. He ran the race I expected him to run. Anything other than how he won and I probably would have been somewhat disappointed. He is a class horse. I think before the year’s out we’ll be talking about him as one of the top handicap horses in the country, barring the unforeseen.”

Plesa said he plans to find a couple of easy spots for Itsmyluckyday before “we go hunting the heavy heads.”