Through most of yesterday afternoon at the Big A, jockey Jerry Bailey’s homecoming from winter quarters in Florida wasn’t going well at all.

In the third race he finished sixth on even-money Tiger Ridge, and in the sixth settled for second on Sahara Gold at 2-5.

So when he rounded the far turn aboard 1-2 choice Finder’s Fee in the Grade 3, $100,000 Cicada Stakes with a pair of tough customers, Apollo Cat and Southern Sandra, in front of him and no room to run, Bailey must have been a bit nervous.

But then Jerry got his rail pass as front-running Apollo Cat drifted off the fence, and Finder’s Fee kicked into gear. Apollo Cat dug in tenaciously, but the favorite finally clawed her way to the lead, winning by three-quarters of a length. Southern Sandra finished a nose back of Apollo Cat in third.

“It looked like speed was holding up, so I started to get into her on the backstretch to get her involved,” Bailey said. “I was going to take her off the rail and try to split horses, but it looked like (Southern Sandra) had enough left to keep me pinned so I stayed inside.

“I had to get into her in the lane, but I didn’t want to be overconfident because I went outside horses earlier (on Sahara Gold) and couldn’t get by.”

Finder’s Fee, who’ll make her next start for trainer Shug McGaughey in the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct April 21, ran the seven furlongs in 1:23 to pay $3.10, keying a $9.30 exacta and $19.60 trifecta.