White Mountain Boy stays perfect

White Mountain Boy had to work hard to keep his unbeaten record intact Saturday at Laurel Park.

Ridden by Abel Castellano Jr., White Mountain Boy ($3.60) overtook pacesetter Hands On at the sixteenth pole and earned a half-length victory in the $75,000 Goss L. Stryker Stakes for Maryland-bred 3-year-olds. It was just a head back to Thiruvengadam in third.

The win enabled White Mountain Boy to remain undefeated in four career starts. He covered seven furlongs over a fast track in 1:24.22.

"My horse was a little lazy today," said Castellano. "So I was going to wait until the top of the stretch and ask him to run and that's exactly what he did. The horse took off and just kept going."

Phil Schoenthal, who trains White Mountain Boy for owner Michael Gill, said the colt could be headed for the Triple Crown trail.

"At this point in time he is our most logical prospect for a possible chance to run in the Kentucky Derby," Schoenthal said. "We have several options but he likes time in between races so it could be the Illinois Derby and then possibly Churchill Downs. He's still undefeated so we have to keep dreaming."

The last two winners of the Stryker, Magic Weisner and Cherokee's Boy, went on to compete in the Preakness.