Desert Gate rolls by 10 in Oaklawn Park’s Hot Springs S.

Desert Gate led start-to-finish in Thursday’s $200,000 Hot Spring S. at Oaklawn Park, drawing off at the top of the stretch to come home by officially 9 ¾-lengths on the wire.

Bob Baffert trains the 3-year-old colt for long-time partners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.

With the field scratched down to four from the original seven, Desert Gate was able to control the pace from the outset. Soldier N Diplomat was within a length of him through six furlongs, but once Flavien Prat called on Desert Gate, he quickly moved clear and was all alone in the stretch.

The final time for the mile on a fast track was 1:37.03 and earned Desert Gate a Beyer Speed Figure of 97, his best in six lifetime starts.

“I wanted to get him out of there and get him into his rhythm,” said Prat. “Obviously, concerned about drawing inside. He jumped OK and I was able to get him on the lead. From there after that, I thought he was traveling very well. I talked to (Bob) Baffert. He really wanted him to be forwardly placed.”

Desert Gate, who won the Best Pal S. (G3) and was second in both the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah S. (G1) as a 2-year-old, is now 3-2-0 in six starts and has earned $372,000.