Ron Correll
 Senior columnist
 Tracksideview.com

Perseverance paid off for Bim Bam as he hung on to win the Hallandale Beach by a nose over Interactif on Sunday at Gulfstream Park in South Florida.

The 3-year-old son of Deputy Wild Cat, ridden by Eibar Coa, was in charge from the start as he set fractions of 24.60, 49.91 and 1:14.11 for six furlongs. Interactif, under jockey Kent Desormeaux, pulled himself into second a quarter-mile into the race and stalled the leader until he made his move at the three-eighths pole.

Bim Bam would not let Interactif by until near the sixteenth- pole when it looked like Interactif got the lead by a half a head. Bim Bam lowered his head and got a nose in front as the pair hit the wire in 1:42.07 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth race over a firm turf course. Asphalt and Dean’s Kitten were third and fourth, but they never were a factor for the win.

“My plan was to sit right behind the speed, but when they let me go I was able to make the lead and then go that slow. And I know my horse is a fighter, and he doesn’t like to let horses go by. I knew if they challenged him he was going to fight back. When the other horse (Interactif) went by, I knew my horse was going to try, so I kept riding and digging because I knew he could come back, and he did,” Coa said.

The winner is trained by David Brownlee and owned by J.D. Farms.

“It didn’t look like there was much speed in the race, so our plan going in was to go to the lead and hope to slow it down, which is the way it went. From there it was up to Eibar (Coa). He knows the horse very well. We know he’ll fight back like he did the last time (beaten a neck in Dania Beach) and they went 1:08 (six furlongs) in that race. We’re going to stick to turf with him and he’ll come back in the Palm Beach here (March 6),” Brownlee said.

Bim Bam came into the Hallandale Beach off a second in a race on Jan. 16 at Gulfstream Park. Interactif hadn’t run since he finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.

Desormeaux was surprised that he didn’t win the race. “Was it the trip I wanted? Yes. It went very well. But I’m shocked. I didn’t think I could get beat from the quarter-pole.”

The public sent Interactif off as the 4-5 favorite. Bim Bam returned $10.60, $3.60 and $3 as the third betting choice.