GRAND PRAIRIE – Jockey Rafael Bejarano grinned from ear-to-ear as he posed for pictures in the winner's circle, the victory blanket of yellow and red roses draped over his shoulders.

He had reason to be happy after riding El Gato Malo to an impressive victory Saturday in the Grade III, $400,000 Lone Star Derby at Lone Star Park.

RICKY MOON / Special to DMN

El Gato Malo, with Rafael Bejarano up, narrowly wins the Grade III Lone Star Derby.

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El Gato Malo had come into the race with some question marks. The Lone Star Derby was his first race on a conventional dirt surface, his first race outside of his native California and his first race with blinkers.

None of that mattered. Bejarano followed the script perfectly, coming from off the pace with a huge stretch run to win by a half-length over Leonides and Samba Rooster.

"He gave me a perfect trip," Bejarano said of El Gato Malo, a 3-year-old owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and trained by Craig Dollase. "Everything went according to plan, and he was very comfortable the whole way. I was worried about him getting dirt in his face for the first time. He shook his head a little bit inside, but once we got out, he was ready to run."

Samba Rooster, trained by Bob Baffert, set a quick pace under Garret Gomez, then settled into a rhythmic stride before conceding the lead in the final 100 yards.

The victory provided some redemption for El Gato Malo, the slight race favorite. After winning his first three races by a combined 16 lengths, El Gato Malo finished fifth in last month's Santa Anita Derby.

"For whatever reason, he didn't have his best effort at Santa Anita, but we just decided to draw a line through that one and throw it out," said Jeffrey Bloom of West Point Thoroughbreds. "We were very confident that he would bounce back nicely today, and he ran the way we knew he could run today."

The win could prompt El Gato Malo's handlers to enter him in next month's Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown.

"We'll see how he comes out of this, but that's a possibility," Bloom said. "We just have to talk to Craig and see what he wants to do."

The 'other' half of entry wins: Snug was supposed to be an afterthought in the $125,000 Texas Stallion Stakes Stymie Division. He was coupled with stablemate Ablaze With Spirit, who was supposed to be the horse to beat.

But with jockey Justin Shepherd in the saddle, Snug stayed within two lengths of the leader the whole way, then stormed past the field to win by 3½ lengths.

Formal Flyer in a runaway: Formal Flyer drew away in the stretch to win by 10 lengths in the $125,000 Texas Stallion Stakes in the Got Koko division.

A Texas-bred 3-year-old filly, Formal Flyer bobbled at the start but got a nice ride from Quincy Hamilton to nab her second career victory.

Bob Thompson is a freelance writer in Plano.