Stat caps Joseph's big weekend with Soldier's Dancer victory

After upsetting Saturday’s Smile Stakes with the longshot Comedy Town, what could Gulfstream Park’s leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. do for an encore the following day? How about capping off a four-win afternoon by sending out the top three finishers in Sunday’s $100,000 Soldier’s Dancer Stakes led by heavy favorite Stat, who registered a 1 3/4-length decision over stablemate Novo Sol?

Bluebirds Over rallied to finish third.

Joseph, who also sent out Honor D Lady to win the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap an hour earlier, won 11 races over the three-day holiday weekend at Gulfstream Park. He came within a head of sweeping all three stakes decided during that period as Catalytic was defeated by that margin in Friday’s Carry Back.

Eight of Joseph’s 11 winners were ridden by jockey Edgard Zayas, including Stat. Zayas won 12 races overall during holiday weekend, posting four victories on each card.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.

Stat, who showed a new dimension when rating off the pace to a well-graded allowance win in his last start 10 weeks ago, used similar tactics to win the one-mile Soldier’s Dancer. Stat stalked the early pace of the speedy Themanupfront under Zayas, assumed command entering the stretch, edged clear and was not seriously threatened thereafter.

Novo Sol rallied belatedly near the inside to be second-best while never menacing the winner. Bluebirds Over outlasted the others.

The win was the third in four starts this year for Stat, a 5-year-old son of Will Take Charge owned by C2 Racing Stable LLC. He covered the distance over a “good” course in 1:35.93 seconds and paid $3.80.

“Each one is important in its own right," Joseph said. "You win the Delaware Handicap and you have a good weekend, but it’s important that the horses run good in this stakes for these owners. So, you keep moving forward. You’re thankful for everything that’s happening. I’m just proud of the team. They work their butts off. They make me look good.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.