LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CMC) — Jamaican jockey Shaun Bridgmohan produced a stalking ride aboard 5-1 chance Noble Bird and then held off a late bid from favourite Lea, to win the US$500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap by a neck at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Going a mile and eighth for the three-year-olds and upward, Bridgmohan swept the four-year-old chestnut colt to the front on the final turn before battling a fast-finishing Lea to the wire, to win in a time of one minute, 47.94 seconds.

“This horse is a very nice horse. Obviously, he’s won three out of four and got beaten in a heartbreaker on (Kentucky) Oaks day. I thought, if he tried as hard as he has been, he’ll be tough to beat,” Bridgmohan said.

“When he made the lead, he was just idling, waiting for the other horse, waiting for command, and he gave it to me when I asked.”

Paganol, at lengthy odds of 16-1, set the pace early on with fractions of 23.39 seconds for the quarter and 46.81 for the half. Noble Bird raced restrained in second, with Lea sat back in fourth but within striking distance.

Entering the final turn, Bridgmohan moved Noble Bird up on the outside to take command and Joel Rosario also moved with Lea, and the race became a two-horse contest in the stretch.

However, Bridgmohan kept the colt to task and he did well to just hold off Lea in the final metres.

The victory was one of three on the day’s 11-race card for Bridgmohan, to take his tally in the season to 20 from 91 starts.

He won race four over a mile with favourite Awesome Sky and followed up in race five over six furlongs with another favourite Top Clearance, to beat the three-year-old and upward maidens by half-length.