Tank, a colt trained by Carlos David, won his third straight stakes race on Saturday, leading all the way in the $75,000 Not Surprising Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The rising turf star, the third betting choice in his two previous starts, finally earned respect from bettors and paid $5.40 to win. “He’s a fun horse to be around,” David said. “He’s getting better and better.” Several horses broke near the front at the start of the Not Surprising, but by the time the field of seven 3-year-olds entered the first turn Tank and jockey Emisael Jaramillo were comfortably in front through an opening quarter-mile in 24.08 seconds. Several rivals to his outside applied light pressure, but not nearly enough to significantly hurt his chances in the 1 1/16-mile race. After completing the half-mile in 47.67 seconds, the Florida-bred colt kicked clear to lead by 2 1/2 lengths coming out of the far turn. The only doubts remaining in the stretch concerned those in the mix for minor prizes. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Bakers Street, who finished seventh behind Tank in the $80,000 English Channel last time out, managed to rally along the rail for second at 17-1 odds. Stakes-debuting gelding Lastabitlonger chased the front-runner around the track and held for third. Neither horse came close to challenging Tank, who cruised home to win by three lengths, finishing in 1:39.93. David, who has come a long way with the colt since a statebred stakes victory at Tampa Bay Downs in March, said that he has been thinking of shipping north for some time. He nominated Tank for the Grade 3 Penn Mile last month but decided to keep him in Florida due to weather concerns. The next turf stakes restricted to 3-year-olds at Gulfstream, the $75,000 Bear’s Den, is not until early August, which could motivate David to finally make the move. “When you have a Florida-bred, you always lean toward staying in Florida,” David said. “Eventually, he’s going to have to face open groups like we did today. I think he’s up to the task. Maybe we’ll take him up to Saratoga next time.” Starship Impulsive wins Martha Washington On May 3, Starship Impulsive’s stakes victory at Gulfstream Park preceded Tank’s by two hours. On Saturday, the 3-year-old filly was an hour behind her male counterpart when she dashed away to win the $75,000 Martha Washington by 4 1/2 lengths. “I felt that none of them could run with her,” trainer Steven Dwoskin said. “I thought that if the jockey did what he was supposed to do, then we could win.” Breaking sharply in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies, Starship Impulsive and jockey Leonel Reyes never ran a step behind after hustling into the first turn Saturday. No times in the 1 1/16-mile race on turf were posted due to a timer malfunction, but she was clearly comfortable leading in the early stages. Last time out in the $80,000 Honey Ryder, Dwoskin’s filly had to duel for the lead on the backstretch and still found enough late to win. With a 1 1/2-length lead through a half-mile in the Martha Washington, her command in the stretch was all the more convincing. Earning her second stakes victory ahead of seven rivals seeking their first, she paid $4.00 to win. Miss Mary Nell stalked the pace and did all she could to give Carlos David the stakes double at Gulfstream Saturday, but she never challenged for the lead. Kicking clear of several rivals on the far turn, she hung on for second at 14-1 odds. Olivia Valentina, a last-out maiden winner trained by Rodolfo Garcia, closed from last to finish third. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.