Northern Invader topped a 1-2-3 finish for Eddie Woods Stables training grads in Friday’s $135,000 Gio Ponti S. at the Belmont at the Big A meet.

The victory was the first stakes win for 3-year-old Northern Invader, who broke his maiden by eight lengths over the Belmont Park turf course on July 1.

City Fever was the early pacesetter in the one-mile turf race, with Northern Invader patiently tracking the leader through the first three furlongs. Northern Invader took over the lead with a half-mile to run. He put three lengths on the field in upper stretch and handily held off Ohana Honor by a length in 1:35.25 on the firm turf.

“It took him quite a bit to mature into himself and now that we finally have him going, he’s proving that all the waiting was worth it," said Adrianne DeVaux, assistant to trainer Cherie DeVaux. “This is awesome. Everyone’s been really high on this horse, especially after he ran decent, big numbers on dirt and then the number he did on turf.”

Northern Invader is 2-2-0 in five starts and has earned $168,600 for West Point Thoroughbreds and David Ingordo. The chestnut colt was purchased by his owners for $310,000 out of the 2022 OBS March 2-year-olds sale.