All it took was a little rest and a sloppy racetrack to get Dean Delivers back to the form that has seen the 5-year-old gelding earn more than $500,000 in his career.

Sitting in a stalking position early in Monday’s featured $104,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park, Dean Delivers took command coming out of the final turn in the six-furlong feature and cruised to an eight-length victory.

The Florida-bred son of Cajun Breeze was making his first start for trainer Ned Allard and was coming off a two-month layoff.

The winning time over a track that was sloppy and sealed was 1:10.43.

“I didn’t have him before this race but I have trained for (owners Gil and Marilyn Campbell of Stonehedge LLC) for years and this is a Florida-bred so they felt they needed to keep him in Florida,” said Allard. “He tailed off there because of the heat. They decided to freshen him up a little bit. I got him about six or seven weeks ago and he has been training dynamite.

“But it took about a week for him to come alive again with energy and he did with the cooler weather.”

Ridden by Miguel Vasquez, Dean Delivers won for the first time since capturing the Grade 3 Smile Stakes at Gulfstream Park last July 1.

He entered the race with two wins and a third in three wet track starts.

“The slop helped but this horse was sharp,” said Vasquez. “When he broke well I knew we would be okay.”

Dean Delivers sat off the early speed of Hurricane J, with Hollywood Jet just outside those two, through an opening quarter in :21.67 and a half in :44.74.

Coming out of the turn he left his seven rivals competing for minor awards.

Hollywood Jet, who has five wins and two seconds in seven wet track starts, held second, two lengths ahead of Little Vic.

“I think he’s good on a fast racetrack also,” said Allard. “I think he just needed a little freshening up and it’s a little cooler here than it is in Florida. So I think the rest and the sloppy racetrack helped him today.”

In posting his sixth win in 22 career starts (with eight seconds and two thirds), Dean Delivers paid $11.80 to win.

Michael Yates had been his trainer in Florida.

Vasquez, meanwhile, had not ridden Dean Delivers since April 1 of 2023.

“He’s a little more mature compared to when I rode him last year and the year before that,” said Vasquez. “But he has always been good. He’s just a very nice horse. Being in a stalking position like he was in this race is when he is at his best. So I was very happy with the trip I got.”

Counterspy, the 3-2 favorite coming in off a four-race winning streak, broke last and was never a factor, finishing fifth in his first career stakes try.