HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.- California-based trainer Bob Hess Jr. said he shipped D'wildcat cross-country because he wanted to see how his colt stacked up against Yonaguska, generally regarded as the East Coast's top 3-year-old sprinter.

But even Hess didn't imagine that D'wildcat was this much better. "I can't say we thought that at all," Hess said.

He can think that now after D'wildcat blew past Yonaguska and Liberty Township in upper stretch turning for home and without feeling the leather from Corey Nakatani's whip, romped to a 10 1/2-length win in the Grade 3 $150,000 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. Tarek got up for second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Yonaguska.

A front-runner in California, D'wildcat showed the ability to rate in the Swale, settling about two lengths off a hot pace before rallying three-wide around the turn and drawing off in the stretch. A son of Forest Wildcat, D'wildcat covered the seven furlongs in 1:22.25 and returned $6.60 as the 2-1 second choice.

"I wasn't really surprised with the move he made on the turn and into the stretch," said Hess, who hadn't run a horse at Gulfstream since River Special finished third in the 1992 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. "Style-wise that is the way he's supposed to run. We taught him how to rate. I was surprised that he won so convincingly."

Yonaguska, the 4-5 favorite, raced three-wide outside of Liberty Township and Fistfite, and the trio were heads apart through splits of 22.28 and 44.42 seconds. Yonaguska was able to put away Liberty Township but could not hold off either D'wildcat or Tarek.

"The winner was much the best; I had no apparent excuse," said Jerry Bailey, rider of Yonaguska. "He's run a lot better than running that quick down the backside. It was not his best shot."

Hess said D'wildcat was to be flown back to California on Sunday and be pointed to the $100,000 Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland on April 8 and then the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 28. Hess said he doesn't expect D'wildcat to be pointed to the Kentucky Derby.