LAUREL, MD. 02-25-12---The Lumber Guy lived up to the hype with an impressive victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel Park. The son of Grand Slam earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 in his only previous start, a maiden score at Aqueduct last month for trainer Michael Hushion.

This afternoon, The Lumber Guy bobbled slightly at the start, then quickly opened a comfortable lead on his five foes and rolled to victory under jockey Julian Pimentel. The colt covered the 7-furlong distance in 1:23.22 and won by 4-1/4 lengths over Brimstone Island. Rocky Gap finished third.

“He came out of the gate and he bobbled a little bit,” said Pimentel. “Right away, he took off. I tried to slow him down as best I could. Around the turn he relaxed for me and then when he felt that horse (Brimstone Island) come to him he took off again. He looks like a nice horse. He did that very easily. It was impressive”

The winner paid $2.80 as the 2-5 betting choice. The exacta paid $11. The triple returned $36.20.

Favorites won eight of the 10 races on the Saturday card. The average win mutual on the day was $5.20.