HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Cara Oliver’s Hear My Prayer roared to the lead at the 1/8 pole before winning big in Friday’s $75,000 Abundantia Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Hear My Prayer broke from post 2 under Irad Ortiz Jr. at 9/1 odds and settled into a stalking position along the rail.
Tipped out near the top of the stretch, Hear My Prayer shot to the lead inside the 1/8 pole and drew off to win by 2 1/2 lengths.
The David Fisher trainee completed the 5-furlong firm turf sprint in :55.27.
“She broke good, put me right there,” Ortiz Jr. said. “The trainer said she was doing great. She put me in a good position. I held her together and she relaxed and came back to me. She waited for the time to go. When I asked her turning for home, she responded.”
Victory Kingdom rallied from seventh to take second by a 1/2-length over Tracy Ann’s Legacy, while the 8/5 favorite Jakarta necked out the fading pacesetter Lenzi’s Lucky Lady for fourth.
Dixieincandyland, Compensate, Spun Glass, Miss Deplorable, and Miss Auramet completed the order of finish.
Hear My Prayer’s win was her second at the stakes level following last March’s Melody of Colors Stakes over this same course and distance. The 4-year-old Florida-bred The Big Beast filly improved her record to 8-4-0-1 with $139,475 earned.
Hear My Prayer returned $21 to win, $10.60 to place, and $7.20 to show. Victory Kingdom brought back $9.20 to place and $5.80 to show, while Tracy Ann’s Legacy paid $9 to show.
