Once he got going, there was no stopping Muggsamatic in the Soldier's Dancer

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - When jockey Edgard Zayas put Muggsamatic into a full-out drive at the three-eighths pole without much notable response it appeared the stakes-placed gelding was in danger of finishing off the board in Saturday’s $100,000 Soldier’s Dancer at Gulfstream Park.

But neither horse nor rider gave up. Maggsamatic eased out and rallied down the center of the course to run down Galleon Mast and register a one-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for Florida-breds.

Muggsamatic, a 6-year-old son of Any Given Saturday, was making his first since being transferred from trainer Jason Servis’ barn, following his indictment earlier this season, to trainer Mike Maker’s stable. A popular item at the claim box late last spring and summer at Monmouth Park, Muggsamatic entered the Soldier’s Dancer with three wins and a pair of seconds in his last five starts. He had been idle since finishing second in a starter-allowance stakes here on Feb. 17.

Zayas rated Muggsamatic at the rear of the scratched reduced six-horse field as Wild Medagliad’oro set the pace while pressed early by Class and Cash and Kroy. Muggsamatic didn’t readily respond when asked to go midway on the second turn but managed to get a second wind upon settling into the stretch, ultimately wearing down Galleon Mast despite not switching off his left lead until nearing the wire.

Galleon Mast rallied from off the pace to overtake the tiring leaders at mid-stretch before proving no match for the winner at the end. He in turn finished a length in front of the tiring Wild Medagliad’oro, who was third.

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Muggsamatic completed the distance over a course rated “good” throughout the afternoon in 1:41.63, more than a full second faster than the filly division of the same race, the Ginger Punch, was run an hour later. Muggsamatic paid $7.40.

“He’s a very nice horse. He’s one of my favorites since he came in,” said Nolan Ramsey, Maker’s assistant trainer at Gulfstream, who is recuperating from a broken leg suffered in a training hours mishap several weeks earlier. “He’s been a beautiful horse and has done everything right. He makes my job easy. Horses like him make it fun.”

Class won out in the $100,000 Ginger Punch for statebred fillies and mares on the turf after Kelsey’s Cross rallied under a well-judged ride by Luca Panici to win by 2 1/2 widening lengths over pacesetting Crown and Sugar.

Kelsey’s Cross was getting considerable class relief, returning against Florida-breds for the first time since her maiden win here more than a year ago after keeping a steady diet of graded stakes company in her previous five starts. Rated near the back of the field during the early going, Kelsey’s Cross angled wide commencing her bid after six furlongs, and rallied boldly down the center of the strip to prove much the best.

Crown and Sugar, also returning to meet statebreds for the first time in more than a year, quickly opened a clear advantage from her outside post, showed the way through mid-stretch, but proved no match for the winner while second best by three-quarters of a length over 31-1 Picara.

Bellera, the surprising 2-1 favorite in the Ginger Punch despite never having competed over the turf, was never a serious factor and finished seventh in the field of 11 fillies and mares.

Kelsey’s Cross, a 4-year-old daughter of Anthony’s Cross trained by Patrick Biancone, ran a mile and one-sixteenth in 1:42.94 and returned $7.80 for her third win in a dozen lifetime starts.

“It’s awesome,” said Biancone’s daughter and assistant, Andie Biancone. “We gave her a little bit of a break. We just eased up on her training for a while and she’s really developed from that and grown. We’re thrilled to have her back and ready for a good summer.”