BALTIMORE, MD., 05/16/15– Woody Weekes’ Woodwin W swept past pacesetter Bluegrass Singer at the top of the stretch and sprinted clear to keep his perfect record intact with a three-quarter length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes.

The 6^th running of the one-mile Murphy for 3-year-olds on grass was the first of eight stakes, four of them graded, on Pimlico Race Course’s 14-race Preakness Day program.

A gelded son of More Than Ready, Woodwin W ($9) improved his record to 4-0 in his stakes debut. Unrushed early under jockey Jevian Toledo as Bluegrass Singer took the field through fractions of 23.20 seconds, 47.28 and 1:10.88, Woodwin W swept to the lead outside and pulled clear to finish in 1:34.32 over a firm turf course. 

Favored at 2-1, Force the Pass rallied for second with All I Karabout finishing third.
  

JAMES W. MURPHY STAKES QUOTES

Winning trainer Jamie Ness (Woodwin W): “We were pretty confident coming into the race. Jevian (Toledo) had ridden him before and so far he’s 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.”

Winning jockey Jevian Toledo (Woodwin W): “My horse usually likes the front, but today we sat off the pace because of the early speed from the ‘3’ and the ‘5.’ When I asked for run, he took off. This horses loves distance and wants to go longer.”