Prom Queen and Javier Castellano in the winner’s circle, Coglianese Photo
Gulfstream Park Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Gary and Mary West homebred Prom Queen, making just her third career start and first against stakes company, powered past pacesetting My Miss Mo in mid-stretch and pulled clear to a 2 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s $275,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2).
The 56th running of the 1 1/16-mile Oaks for 3-year-old fillies was the fifth of 10 stakes, five graded, worth $2.675 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race program anchored by the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa, the country’s premier Triple Crown prep celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Completing Gulfstream’s series of stakes for sophomore fillies at the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, the Gulfstream Park Oaks offered a total of 200 qualifying points for the May 1 Kentucky Oaks (G1) to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis.
Ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano for trainer Brad Cox, Prom Queen ($8.20) covered a fast main track in 1:44.40 to earn her first points and move into a tie for third place on the Oaks list. It was the first Gulfstream Park Oaks win for Cox, who is a three-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks, most recently in 2025 with Good Cheer.
“For sure we’ll target that race moving forward,” Cox said. “We’ll ship her back to Kentucky at some point and prepare for that. Hopefully she does well over the next five weeks.”
The outcome was a measure of revenge for Prom Queen, who ran second as the favorite in her Jan. 23 unveiling at Gulfstream, a one-turn mile maiden special weight, behind She Be Smooth, who went on to win the Feb. 28 Davona Dale (G2), also at a mile, and was sent off the 4-5 Gulfstream Park Oaks favorite.
Castellano settled Prom Queen on the rail in fifth as My Miss Mo, runner-up to She Be Smooth in the Davona Dale, ran an opening quarter-mile in 24.13 seconds tracked to her outside by stablemate Nasti Z, a 30-1 longshot coming off a debut maiden claiming score sprinting 5 ½ furlongs Feb. 21. The top two went unchanged through a half in 48.52, with Castellano guiding Prom Queen into third racing between horses.
“Proud of her performance,” Cox said. “Big run from her. Javier put her in a good position. She’s got a big, long, flowing stride. She was able to put herself in a good position turning for home, and she stayed on.”
The leaders began to distance themselves while leaving the far turn after six furlongs in 1:12, when Prom Queen ranged up to even terms with My Miss Mo and edged clear straightening for home. My Miss Mo stubbornly dug in along the inside but could not match strides with Prom Queen, making her second straight start around two turns following an eight-length maiden romp Feb. 12 at Gulfstream.
“It seemed the track was favoring speed and I didn’t want to be too far back,” Castellano said. “It’s beautiful the way she moves and strides. It seems to me the longer the better for her. The way she finished was very impressive. I rode her all the way, a mile and an eighth, let her gallop out, and she did really well. I had a lot of horse.”
My Miss Mo was a clear second, 3 ¾ lengths ahead of late-running She Be Smooth, who found herself trailing all but one horse leaving the backstretch. The two horses are now tied on the Kentucky Oaks list with 75 points apiece, good for fifth overall. The 1 1/8-mile Oaks is limited to a maximum of 14 starters.
Betty’s Pearl, off at 20-1, was fourth, earning 10 points, while Nasti Z picked up five points for finishing fifth. Twice Grade 2-placed Just Singing and Haute Diva, winner of Gulfstream’s one-mile Cash Run Jan. 1, completed the order of finish.
Run as the Bonnie Miss from its 1971 inception through 2010, the Gulfstream Park Oaks illustrious roster of past winners include Hall of Famers Inside Information (1998), Open Mind (1989) and Davona Dale (1979); champions Banshee Breeze (1998) and Christmas Past (1982); Kentucky Oaks winner Dispute (1993); Swiss Skydiver, who went on to take the 2020 Preakness (G1) against males; and subsequent Grade 1 winners Power Squeeze (2024), Birdonthewire (2015), Devil May Care (2010), Glitter Woman (1997), My Flag (1996), Charon (1990) and Miss Oceana (1984).
