The Woodchopper was one of two deployments at 1 1/16 miles on grass field on December 27 at Fair Ground Race Track and Slotsthe other is the $99,000 Pago Hop Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, a race won by Hear the queen .
Well positioned under Brian Hernandez Jr. in third place for about three-quarters of the Woodchopper Coco Cool And Yoyo Go With fractions of :23, :47.58 and 1:12, Montador tapped three wide for the stretch run and overpowered six fellow 3-year-olds en route to a 4 1/4-length victory. The Mike Stidham trainee hit the wire in 1:41.31 on a firm grass track, with a final sixteenth place finish in a fast :05.96.
“I was just a passenger today,” Hernandez said. “That performance, it’s all a testament to Mike and his crew. They did a great job, and all I had to do was give them the cleanest trip possible, and Montador did the rest for us.”
Juris doctor closed and took second place, giving Stidham a 1–2 finish with his two starters.
“Always nice to have the exacta,” said the trainer from the winner’s circle, his arm around his sister Cindy.
Faber came in third place late. Rescue Joejoe Go, starting slowly Flying Mohawk and Coco Cool completed the finishing sequence
Montador improved to 3-2-0 in seven starts and increased his earnings to $279,309 with Saturday’s win. Bay was the first and winner of the summer and autumn allowances in Kentucky and had only made one previous start in the stakes company, finishing a close fifth in the November 22 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) on Churchill Downs in his last start. He was the Woodchopper favorite, paying $4.20 for a $2 win bet.
“He’s very talented,” Stidham said. “He got into trouble with Churchill last time, and it was a good relief here today.”
Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin, Montador is one of two winners from his mother, the Gold Medal mare Lady Montdore winner of the 2018 Glens Falls Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course. Montador’s father, Nyquist is the 10th leading sire in offspring revenue in North America. He is in Kentucky with Darley, the stallion branch of Godolphin, and will receive a compensation of $ 175,000 in 2026.
Video: Lumberjack S. (BT)
Hear the queen being crowned in Pago Hop
Hear the Queen also recorded a first stakes victory, overcoming a difficult start in the Pago Hop. Jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. handled her patiently, saving ground as he paced the third before taking her to zero and approaching the stretch. She then scored with a length.
A brown daughter of WinStar Farm stallion Audible from dual-stakes production Animal kingdom mare See the queen Hear the Queen ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.31, returning $7.40 on a $2 win bet. She is a private breeder of Michael Pietrangelo and William Harrigan’s Miacomet Farm. Brad Cox trains the filly, who is 4-1-1 in nine starts with earnings of $225,831. The Pago Hop followed the filly’s first-level victory at Churchill Downs last month.
Cheetah lady came second, and Sea to sky came third.
Video: Pago Hop S. (BT)
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