Stolen Holiday gets up late to capture Suwannee River

Stolen Holiday surged late under jockey Junior Alvarado to win the Grade 3, $125,000 Suwannee River at Gulfstream Park.

Stolen Holiday, a 5-year-old mare trained by Shug McGaughey and campaigned by owner Annette Allen, covered the mile in 1:34.32 in taking down the one-mile turf event for fillies and mares.

Stolen Holiday, who returned $13.40 on a $2 win bet,was well back before unleashing a late stretch charge to defeat Lady Rockstar, with early frontrunner Bay Storm holding on for third.

Alvarado said the plan was for Stolen Holiday to be prominent in the early stages of the race, but that didn't work out.

"She broke good. I was getting in there behind the speed horses and somebody on the rail squeezed through, pushed me out, made me clip heels and after that it was Plan C or D to come from behind," he said. "She was just much the best. She overcame all the problems. I was just a passenger to try and give her as smooth a ride as I can. Turning for home, she just gave me a beautiful kick and I knew by the eighth pole that I was going to get there.”

The victory, which improved Stolen Holiday's record to 12: 5-2-1, also moved Alvarado to within six wins of 2,000 for his career.