HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Kertez overcame a bit of an adventurous trip to get up in the final strides and win Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Pan American by a nose at Gulfstream Park. In his North American debut and first start since last September, Kertez was a bit headstrong early under Joel Rosario while racing on the inside in a tightly bunched field. Down the backside, Kertez got shuffled back to last, but only 3 1/2 lengths behind the pacesetting Candidate, who went a half-mile in 49.20 seconds. Around the far turn, some room opened and Rosario was able to get Kertez to the outside. Straightening for home, Kertez unleashed a solid turn of foot and, after Public Sector, overtook Candidate and Harry Hood overtook Public Sector. Kertez made the last a move winning one. Harry Hood was second by a neck over Tawny Port, the 3-5 favorite who finished three-quarters of a length in front of Public Sector. Lucky Curlin, Candidate and Street Ready completed the order of finish. Starting Over scratched. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Trainer Christophe Clement purchased Kertez last fall at the Arqana sale in France after he posted a record of 5-4-5 from 19 starts for Andre Fabre. “He had a remarkable campaign with Andre Farbe, I always followed him because I liked him,” Clement said of Kertez. “He’s a touch tricky, but he’s got a lot of ability. I’m delighted. I bought him as a 5-year-old gelding, everybody thought I was nuts at the time, but you know what? He just won the Pan Am so it’s okay.” It didn’t look like he was going to be okay during the running of the race. Rosario had to play tug-of-war with Kertez, who was buried on the inside while racing off the heels of stablemate Tawny Port. Kertez did settle into stride when Rosario got him back to last and then came with a late run when he got him in the clear. “Going to the first turn I found myself with four horses in front of me [and] for him it seemed like the pace was a little slow,” Rosario said. “He was nice in the bridle, he was handling everything well. … After what happened he was able to continue with that grinder of speed that he has and he got the job done.” Kertez, a 6-year-old gelding by Intello, covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.93 and returned $6 as the second choice. He was assigned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94. Clement said he felt good about Kertez’s chances when Rosario got him in the clear. “I knew he had a very good turn of foot in the morning, I thought he looked great on the turn,” Clement said. “He’s a lovely horse, I loved the way he trained, it’s nice when things work out.” Clement also trained Tawny Port, who finished third, beaten a neck under Irad Ortiz Jr. “Irad just came back and said ‘I’m sorry, you got into trouble, you should have won,’ “ Clement said. “I don’t know about that.” Clement said both Kertez and Tawny Port will be aimed at the Grade 2, $400,000 Man o’ War at Aqueduct on May 11. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.