Prevalence Wows in Maiden Win at Gulfstream Park

The debut of Stage Raider, a half-brother to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, generated the early attention before Gulfstream Park's sixth race Jan. 23, a $50,000 maiden race for 3-year-olds, but it was Prevalence that generated the talk after the race. The son of Medaglia d'Oro, owned and bred by Godolphin, was a blowout winner in his unveiling for trainer Brendan Walsh, scoring by 8 1/2 lengths over Stage Raider. Part of an early scramble for the lead, he began to edge away on the turn of the seven-furlong race and drew off down the stretch under confident handling from jockey Tyler Gaffalione. He was timed in 1:23 after splits of :22.66, :46.09, and 1:10.45. Runner-up Stage Raider gave chase throughout and weakened, though he still held a half-length advantage over third-place Ghazaaly in a race in which five of its 12 competitors are related to graded/group stakes winners. One of those well-bred types is Prevalence ($17.60), who is out of the Ghostzapper mare Enrichment—herself a full sister to multiple grade 1 winner Better Lucky out of the Seeking the Gold mare Sahara Gold, a daughter of 1995 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Desert Stormer. Prevalence is a half brother to two stakes winners, led by Estihdaaf (Arch), winner of the U.A.E. Two Thousand Guineas Sponsored by Al Naboodah Ashok Leyland Partnership (G3) at Meydan in 2019. The other stakes winner for his dam is Libreta (Girolamo), who captured the New York Stallion Stakes Park Avenue Division in 2016 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The mare has a 2-year-old colt by Quality Road and a Frosted colt born in 2020, and was bred to Uncle Mo for 2021.