Destino d’Oro picked the right moment to unleash her run on Saturday, producing a powerful late surge to land the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

Carrying the colors of Steve Landers Racing LLC, the Brad Cox-trained filly was dismissed by the betting public at 15-1, but she made those odds look generous with a decisive stretch kick under Junior Alvarado.

Breaking from the gate, Destino d’Oro was taken back to last in the 12-horse field and appeared to have plenty to do turning for home, still behind eight rivals as the race straightened. Alvarado angled her to the outside and, once she found daylight, the response was immediate. She swept past the leaders in the final furlong to score by half a length over Crevalle d’Oro, with Movin On Up another half-length back in third after briefly striking the front.

“She was always going to come from off the pace,” Alvarado said. “But when I started asking her, I couldn’t believe how much horse I had. She gave me a huge run late.”

Destino d’Oro stopped the clock at 1:40.33 for the 1 1/16 miles on turf. The result produced a lucrative exacta, with Crevalle d’Oro—sent off at 70-1—boosting the $1 payout to $281.80.

The win marked the fifth victory of Destino d’Oro’s career from eight starts and pushed her earnings beyond the $830,000 mark. It also continued a Gulfstream Park trend for the filly, who had edged home by a head in the Tropical Park Oaks over the same course on Dec. 13.

As a 3-year-old last season, Destino d’Oro showed graded-stakes ability when capturing the Pucker Up (G3) at Ellis Park in August. She then found the going tougher at the highest level, finishing out of the money in her next two starts, including the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland. That narrow Tropical Park Oaks win, however, persuaded Cox to roll the dice on Pegasus Day.

“She likes it down here,” Cox said. “She got the right pace setup and Junior gave her a perfect ride. Everything came together.”

The Filly and Mare Turf Invitational was the seventh of 10 stakes races—seven of them graded—on a stacked Pegasus World Cup Day card worth $5.675 million in total purses. The program was headlined by the 10th running of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).