Felix Vasquez Jr. celebrated a major career milestone at Gulfstream Park on Saturday as the apprentice jockey guided Pretty Geisha to a convincing 1¾-length victory over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta course. The Felix Vasquez Jr. Gulfstream Park breakthrough came on his 44th career mount, rewarding the young rider’s persistence and steady progress in professional racing.
Owned by Garrett Arscott and Carlton Samuels and trained by Arscott, Pretty Geisha completed the distance in 1:45.11. The four-year-old daughter of First Samurai secured her second career win and her first victory in five attempts on the synthetic surface.
Vasquez positioned Pretty Geisha in fifth along the rail as Dream Diamond established the early pace, covering the opening quarter-mile in 23.73 seconds and the half-mile in 48.77 seconds. The apprentice remained patient around the far turn, waiting for an opportunity to move forward. When a gap opened at the top of the stretch, Pretty Geisha accelerated through the inside and established a clear advantage. Calling the Shots finished strongly but had to settle for second.
The victory marked an important step for the 27-year-old Venezuelan jockey, who made his professional debut at Gulfstream Park on September 29, 2024. After two rides that autumn, he returned to racing in May 2025 at Monmouth Park, having spent time galloping horses for leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. He subsequently gained experience at Delaware Park, Parx and Fairmount Park before returning to Gulfstream on October 18, 2026.
Vasquez credited the people who supported his development, including his younger brother, Wilfred, who also rode professionally at Gulfstream and earned recognition as an apprentice jockey in Venezuela. Their father, Felix, was also a jockey in Venezuela and rode for trainer Juan Carlos Avila.
Golden Palm Scores Impressive Maiden Victory at Gulfstream Park
Golden Palm delivered another notable performance on Saturday, winning a maiden special weight for two-year-old fillies by 1¼ lengths over a mile on turf. Owned by Mountmellick Farm and Fergus Galvin, the promising juvenile defeated 11 rivals under jockey Leonel Reyes.
Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Golden Palm completed the two-turn contest in 1:38.29 on a turf course rated good. Reyes settled her in third during the early stages before moving away from the rail approaching the stretch. The filly responded with a strong run to take the lead and hold off stablemate Starship Patriot, who finished second on her first career start.
Golden Palm had finished eighth on her debut over 6½ furlongs at Kentucky Downs on August 29. Her latest performance represented a marked improvement as she handled the longer distance and turf conditions with greater effectiveness.
Purchased for $240,000 as a two-year-old in training in March, the bay filly was by Bolt d’Oro out of the Irish-bred Scat Daddy mare West Palm Beach. Her strong finish provided an encouraging indication of her potential for future races.
The meeting also featured a notable maiden success for Teotihuacan. The Saint George Stables homebred rallied along the rail in the stretch to catch Articulated close to the finish in Race 6. The grey or roan colt, a son of Tapit, entered the contest after finishing outside the placings in two previous starts at Colonial Downs.
Herrera and Meneses Record Riding Doubles
Saturday’s programme also produced two jockey doubles. Diego Herrera won aboard Vol Du Condor in Race 1 and Scarlett’s Law in Race 7, while Marcos Meneses partnered Holy Stick to victory in Race 2 before guiding Teotihuacan to success in Race 6.
The results added further depth to the meeting, which was highlighted by Pretty Geisha’s breakthrough performance under Vasquez and Golden Palm’s maiden victory on turf.
Felix Vasquez Jr. secured his first career riding victory aboard Pretty Geisha at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, winning by 1¾ lengths on the Tapeta surface. Golden Palm also recorded a maiden success on turf, while Teotihuacan produced a late rally to win Race 6. Diego Herrera and Marcos Meneses each completed riding doubles during the meeting.
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