Jockey Xavier Perez donned the black-and-gold silks of Al Gold’s Gold Square LLC prior to Saturday’s ninth race at Laurel Park. Then he slipped on white gloves on which, in red, were the words “Anna’s Bandit.”

“These gloves haven’t been used since [Anna’s Bandit] retired,” Perez said. “I pulled them out for her, for him.”

Then he climbed aboard two-year-old Tartabull, found a seam along the rail, and rallied in the lane to prevail by a half-length in a Maryland-restricted maiden special weight contest.

“I don’t know if you could hear me, but when I hit the wire, I was yelling like I won the Classic,” Perez said afterwards.

Tartabull, by Tapit, is the first foal out of Anna’s Bandit, the Great Notion mare who won 17 races and earned over $800,000 for trainer Jerry Robb and his and his wife Gina’s No Guts No Glory Farm. Perez was in the irons for 14 of those wins; hence, the scream, the gloves, and the Anna’s Bandit tattoo on his arm.

“She never disappointed me even if she ran a bad race,” Perez said of Anna’s Bandit. “She’s in my heart. And she’s on the farm; I can go see her any time I want.”

The win was Tartabull’s first in three career outings. He had previously been well-beaten while finishing third and then fifth in a pair of maiden specials at Saratoga. The winners of those two races, Ewing and Talkin, had returned to be first in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special and second in the Grade 1 Champagne, respectively.

So the class relief on offer today had to be a benefit. And trainer Chad Summers made an interesting decision that may have helped Tartabull acclimate to his new surroundings: he shipped Tartabull down a week ago to Jerry Robb’s barn, where Perez’s wife, Jessica Lindsey, is top assistant.

“Tartabull is actually in Anna’s stall,” Lindsey said with a laugh. “Because we’re not superstitious at all.”

In addition to Perez’s gloves, Lindsey wore an Anna’s Bandit jacket. Both have Anna’s Bandit’s tattoos.

The extra time in Maryland likely helped Tartabull get used to his new surroundings. And it helped the humans get used to him.

“He’s a dude,” Lindsey said. “He’s very personable. Anna was very much, we worked for her. ‘Yeah, good morning. Glad you’re here. I need snacks. You can go now.’ She’s the queen.”

“He’s got a lot of personality,” Perez chimed in. “That’s good that he took that off his mother.”

Bettors made first-time starter Pont Aven the even-money favorite, and he was prominent throughout. Under JG Torrealba, the Phil Capuano trainee pressed the pace between rivals, with longshot Vida the early leader while Caseofthemondays pressed three wide.

Perez was able to save ground much of the trip before steering his mount around the tiring Vida. He got back to the rail and surged inside to earn the win, with Caseofthemondays finishing second, a length ahead of Pont Aven. Vida faded to sixth.

Running time for the six furlongs on a fast main track was 1:12.82.

“He showed talent today, being buried behind horses, and just coming through the rail like that showed he was brave,” Perez said.

Tartabull paid $8.60 to win, and the one-dollar exacta returned $12.40. Tartabull is now one-for-three with earnings of over $47,000.

Lindsey and Perez were there when Tartabull was born, the first foal out of one of the most important runners of their lives, and it’s been an emotional boost to have Tartabull where Anna’s Bandit lived for so long. Now, Lindsey says, there’s one other thing.

“We need you guys to convince Chad [Summers] to let him stay for the Maryland [Juvenile Stakes on Dec. 6],” she said with a laugh to reporters. “So you work your magic.”