Layabout Holds Off Tiz Dashing in Tropical Park Derby

Three-year-olds were in the spotlight on the Gulfstream Park turf course Dec. 13, and both the colts and fillies provided the grandstand with a thrill in nail-biting finishes. Both $125,000 stakes races ended with a closer's late surge attempting to snatch victory in the final strides. In the Tropical Park Derby, the photo fell in favor of the horse, Layabout, attempting to hold on. Sitting in the clear down the backstretch as longshots Roar of the Beast and Tank sped off to their own match race—setting fractions of :23.63, :47.70, and 1:11.13—jockey Junior Alvarado inched the son of Laoban closer around the far turn. Tank held tough in the upper stretch, but Layabout was able to wear him down inside the final sixteenth. Meanwhile, Tiz Dashing and Javier Castellano had cleared themselves from traffic and were mounting a furious rally. The two bobbed heads on the wire, and the camera declared Layabout the narrow winner. Completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.73, Layabout paid $7.40 to win. Tank stayed on for third. Trained by Patrick Biancone for Kevin Doyle, Layabout earned his second stakes win over the Gulfstream turf and improved his course record to 3-1-0 from four starts. Biancone told Gulfstream publicity that he hopes the gelding will receive an invitation to the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) over the course Jan. 24, with races in Saudi Arabia and Dubai further targets. "He's a very good horse," Biancone said. "He's still immature. He was difficult initially, but we found the key and the jockey rode him very well." Overall, his record improved to 4-1-0 from nine starts for earnings of $274,225. Bred in Kentucky by Newbyth Stud, Layabout is out of the winning Big Brown mare Batalla Sindical. Destino d'Oro gets up late in Tropical Park Oaks Meanwhile in the Tropical Park Oaks, it was the filly making the final surge, Steve Landers Racing's Destino d'Oro, who emerged on the winning end. Winner of the Pucker Up Stakes (G3T) at Ellis Park in August, the 3-year-old Bolt d'Oro filly bounced back off a pair of off-the-board efforts. Fresh off a two-month layoff, she was ready to fire. "We kind of hit a brick wall," trainer Brad Cox told Gulfstream publicity about her last two starts. "We brought her down to Payson (Park) after the Keeneland meet and she's done very well since. I think she showed that today." Settled 6 1/4 lengths off the lead by Edgard Zayas behind fractions of :23.34, :46.60, and 1:10.37, Destino d'Oro inched forward around the far turn, following the move of Castellano aboard the favored grade 1 winner And One More Time. Turned loose in the stretch, Destino d'Oro continued to grind away at the favorite's lead. And One More Time drifted out drastically late, but that could not stop Destino d'Oro from surging by for a head win, completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.02 and paying $9.60 to win. Ramsey Pond was third. Bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm and James Greene Jr., the bay filly now holds a record of 4-0-1 from seven starts with two stakes victories and $544,884 in earnings. She is out of the grade 1-placed Lion Heart mare Heart of Destiny and was purchased by Steve Landers Racing for $185,000 at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.