HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Skippylongstocking may have been considered the second-best horse trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had running in Saturday’s $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday at Gulfstream Park. But in the end he was the one standing in the winner’s circle after edging away to a two-length victory over Pioneer of Medina in the Grade 3 event that served as the final major local prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational here on Jan. 28. Skippylongstocking’s more highly regarded mate, the Chilean bred O’Connor, finished a disappointing fourth as the 6-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday. With Irad Ortiz Jr aboard for the first time, Skippylongstocking broke well and cleared the first turn in perfect striking position, stalking the pace of Pioneer of Medina before giving Joseph some anxious moments when stumbling briefly upon entering the backstretch. “He scared me down the backstretch, he basically lost his stride and I thought something went wrong,” Joseph said. “Irad said there was a piece of poop on the track and he jumped it. It looked for a moment like he broke down.” :: Get ready for Gulfstream Park racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.  Once recovering from that little hiccup, Skippylongstocking continued to track the leader before sticking his head in front approaching the stretch while still well in reserve. Skippylongstocking edged clear when sharply roused by Ortiz leaving the turn, then held sway under strong handling to the end.  Prince of Medina controlled the pace from inside, could not match strides with the winner when put to pressure after six furlongs, but fought on gamely after being headed by Simplification near midstretch to gain second money, by a neck, in the closing strides. The latter loomed boldly outside the leaders turning for home, but failed to switch leads through the final furlong and hung late to be third. O’Connor, a Group 1 winner in his native Chile who registered a one-sided allowance victory in his U.S. debut here during the fall, had no visible excuse. O'Connor rallied wide to easy striking distance on the second bend before failing to sustain the bid, ultimately finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind his stablemate. The Harlan’s Holiday was the 50th graded stakes win this year for Ortiz. Skippylongstocking, one of six 3-year-olds in the eight-horse Harlan’s Holiday lineup and making his first start against older rivals, paid $8.40. Final time was 1:42.76 over the fast track. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 106. “Other than that (the stumble) he got a dream trip,” Joseph said. “A game effort by Skippy. He’s a horse that always tries. A disappointing effort by O’Connor, he’s much, much better than that.  Seeing how the race unfolded and the speed kept going around, maybe that’s an excuse.  I thought he made up ground and then he hit a flat spot. I hope that’s it, because we’d still like to give him a shot in the Pegasus, too. More distance will be better for him as well.” Joseph said maybe Skippylongstocking just doesn’t get the credit he deserves. “They’ve been training partners and if you asked me going in who was the better horse, I’d have said O’Connor,” Joseph admitted. “But he gets beat today. That’s how racing goes. And Skippy was the perfect backup.” Rampart Maryquitecontrary got the locals on the board early on Saturday when circling the field en route to a very impressive 3 1/2-length triumph over Colorful Mischief in the $125,000 Rampart, decided at one mile, for fillies and mares. Allworthy finished a distant third. Maryquitecontrary, a Florida-bred daughter of First Dude, did not begin her career until June but ended her brief but highly successful 3-year-old season with five victories in six starts, her only setback a second-place finish in the Azalea in her second lifetime start. The Rampart marked the first time she’d raced beyond seven furlongs and was her first victory against open company. She also captured the restricted Sheer Drama for statebreds here September 10. Maryquitecontrary is owned by her breeder, Rodney Lundock, and trained by Joe Catanese. Bet to 9-5 favorite, she paid $5.80 after completing the distance in 1:36.76 under regular rider Luca Panici. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.