Woodwin W Preserves Record in James Murphy

Woody Weeks' Woodwin W preserved his undefeated record and added a stakes score May 16, winning the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes at Pimlico Race Course .

Later on the card, Lael Stable's Ageless defended her title in The Very One Stakes as the 6-year-old mare took advantage of a blistering early and kicked to victory in record time of :55.66 for five furlongs over a firm turf course.

Woodwyn W, a 3-year-old More Than Ready   gelding, came off a solid April 4 allowance victory at Pimlico to win his fourth straight in four starts for trainer Jaime Ness. He ran a mile on firm turf in 1:34.32 under jockey Jevian Toledo, beating 2-1 favorite Force the Pass by three quarters of a length.

"We were pretty confident coming into the race," Ness said. "Jevian had ridden him before and so far he has won every race. I told him to keep him close up and if he didn't do well it would be my fault. This is the first horse for these owners and they came up from Florida to see today's race. We haven't decided where to go with him next."

Bluegrass Singer showed the way in the James Murphy, setting early fractions of :23.20, :47.28, and 1:10.88 before Woodwin W was given his cue nearing the quarter-pole. The eventual winner took command leaving the three-sixteenths, spurted clear under strong left-handed handling, and held firm.

"My horse usually likes the front, but today we sat off the pace because of the early speed from the three and the five," Toledo said. "When I asked for run, he took off. This horse loves distance and wants to go longer."

Off at odds of 7-2, Woodwin W returned $9, $4.40, and $3. Force the Pass brought $3.40 and $2.60, while All I Karabout paid $3.20 after closing on the inside to get third. Syntax, Bluegrass Singer, First Spark, Commute, and Lysander The Greek completed the order of finish. 

Bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm and Peter J. Callahan out of the Danehill mare Josette, Woodwin W was a $225,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase by Marc Keller when consigned by Runnymede. Consigned to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s 2014 fall mixed sale by Niall Brennan, however, he only brought $12,000 when Weeks and Brennan purchased him together.

He has now earned $114,540.

In The Very One, Jewel of a Cat jumped out to the early lead under jockey John Velazquez, sizzling a quarter-mile in :21.75 and :44.09 for a half-mile. Ageless, starting from post 2 in the 11-horse field, was well back early, before Julien Leparoux was able to move the 6-year-old Successful Appeal   mare into a better position six wide.

Under aggressive urging from Leparoux, Ageless made up ground with each stride as the early leaders showed the effects of the fast pace and began to fade, with other closers picking up the place and show spots .



With her ninth victory in 19 starts, the Arnaud Delacour-trained Ageless returned $4.60, $3.20, and $2.20, with Joya Real, three-quarters of a length behind the winner, paying $8.00 and $3.80. There was a dead heat for third between Shrinking Violet ($2.10) and Aquinnah ($2.40), who were a half-length behind the runner-up.



Ageless, coming off a second in the Giant's Causeway Stakes at Keeneland in her first start of 2015, has now earned $548,154.

Bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, Ageless last year reeled off a three-stakes winning streak, with her win in The Very One sandwiched between victories in last year's Giant's Causeway and Royal North (Can-IIIT) at Woodbine.

"This is a really nice filly," Delacour said. "The race set up perfectly. I wanted Julien to sit off the pace and be mid-pack, because it's hard to make up ground here. It took her a while to get free, but when she found a spot, she really kicked in."

Delacour said Ageless would likely attempt to defend her Royal North title July 26.

"When we broke, I let her take me into a good position and we didn't have any trouble from there," Leparoux said. "At the top of the stretch, I was pretty sure we had it. She really kicked in."