Bridgmohan stays on form
Jamaican jockey Shaun Bridgmohan kept up his great form, combining with favourite Mr Misunderstood to win the co-feature US$75,000 (J$9.3 million)Woodchopper Stakes at Fair Grounds in Louisiana, last weekend.
The 38-year-old Bridgmohan kept the three-yearold gelding out of trouble just off the pace before bursting into contention in the stretch and dismissing his fellow three-year-olds by 1-3/4 lengths in a time of one minute, 35.95 seconds.
“He’s professional. He makes my job easy,” said Bridgmohan. “I was just the passenger. He was impressive today.”
The result left the Brad Cox-trained animal undefeated in eight outings on turf, and with his fifth added-money win following triumphs in the Super Derby Prelude Stakes at Louisiana Downs in August, the Super Derby the following month, and scores in the Jefferson Cup and the Grade III Commonwealth Turf at Churchill Downs in September and November.
Mr Misunderstood has now won nine times in 13 starts for career earnings of US$409 694 (J$51.6 million).
“He ran really well today. Shaun rode him well and put him in the right position,” Cox said.
“We backed him back up to a mile in this race and he handled it well. He’s very impressive on the turf.”
EARLY FRACTIONS
Going a mile in race eight, 69-1 longshot St Louie Guy posted the early fractions, with 24.25 seconds for the quarter and 49.09 for the half.
Kitten’s Cat stalked in second with Bridgmohan hovering in third with Mr Misunderstood.
When the race swung for home, Bridgmohan kicked the gelding on and he grabbed the lead in the upper stretch, storming to the finish with no real serious challenge afoot.
The victory was one of two on the 11-race card for Bridgmohan who won the final race of the day, steering 3-1 choice Watch My Smoke to a handsome 3-3/4 length score over the three-year-old and upwards going a mile.