Awesome Strong cruises to victory in the $200,000 Affirmed S. - Lauren King

Awesome Slew’s brilliant 2-year-old colt scored his second stakes win in a row Saturday with a three-length victory in the $200,000 FSS Affirmed S. at Gulfstream Park.

The chestnut colt has now won his three lifetime starts by a combined 13 ¾ lengths and is the leading earner for Awesome Slew, who has a total of seven winners and is in the top 10 nationally on the First-Crop sire list.

Awesome Strong broke alertly then backed off a pair of dueling frontrunners to take up a spot in the clear in third. He cruised up to the leaders three-wide on his own while rounding the turn, taking the lead with ease. With no real threat the rest of the way, he finished up the seven furlongs in 1:24.77 on a fast track.

“It’s very emotional. We’re excited the way he performed,” trainer Jorge Delgado said. “He showed me today he is a special horse. He can run on the front, he can race in the mid-pack and he likes to win.”

Awesome Strong, who won the $100,000 Dr. Fager S. on Aug. 6, has now earned $218,000.

“We’re blown away by the progression Awesome’s had. He keeps getting better and better and better. It’s something else. He surprises us every time he runs,” added Alex Childs, part of the ownership group CSLR Racing Partners.

Awesome Strong was bred by John B. Penn and is out of the unraced Pleasant Ring, who has produced five winners, including the multiple stakes winner Bad Debt.