Montador, which in Portuguese means "assembler," put it all together in notching his first stakes win in the $98,000 Woodchopper Stakes.
The Woodchopper was one of two stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf Dec. 27 at Fair Ground Race Course & Slots, the other being 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 for about three-quarters of the Woodchopper as Coco Cool and Joejoe Go set fractions of :23, :47.58, and 1:12, Montador tipped out three wide for the stretch run and overpowered six fellow 3-year-olds on his way to a 4 1/4-length triumph. The Mike Stidham trainee hit the wire in 1:41.31 on a firm turf course, capped by a final sixteenth in a swift :05.96.
"I was just a passenger today," Hernandez said. "That performance—that'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 to grab second, giving Stidham a 1-2 finish with his two starters.
"Always nice to have the exacta," the trainer said from the winner's circle, his arm around his sister, Cindy.
Faber rallied belatedly for third. Savion, Joejoe Go, slow-starting Flying Mohawk, and Coco Cool completed the order of finish
Montador improved to 3-2-0 in seven starts and elevated his earnings to $279,309 with Saturday's victory. A maiden and allowance winner over the summer and fall in Kentucky, the bay had made only one prior start in stakes company, finishing a close fifth in the Nov. 22 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs in his last start. Favored in the Woodchopper, he paid $4.20 for a $2 win wager.
"He's very talented," Stidham said. "He got in some trouble at Churchill last time, and it was good redemption here today."
Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin, Montador is one of two winners produced from his dam, the Medaglia d'Oro mare Lady Montdore, winner of the 2018 Glens Falls Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course. Montador's sire, Nyquist , is the 10th-leading sire by progeny earnings in North America. He stands in Kentucky at Darley, the stallion arm of Godolphin, and will have a 2026 fee of $175,000.
Video: Woodchopper S. (BT)
Hear the Queen Crowned in Pago Hop
Also recording an initial stakes victory was Hear the Queen, who overcame a troubled start in the Pago Hop. Jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. handled her patiently, saving ground while tracking the pace in third before moving her into the clear approaching the stretch. She went on to score by a length.
A bay daughter of WinStar Farm stallion Audible out of the dual stakes-producing Animal Kingdom mare Behold The Queen, Hear the Queen ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.31, returning $7.40 to a $2 win wager. She is a homebred for 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 a first-level allowance win from the filly at Churchill Downs last month.
Cheetah Lady ran second, and Sea To Sky was third.
