Wicked Runner got a stiff challenge in his victory in the Clasico George Washington (G3) Feb. 16, but the Eddie Woods training grad repelled Tio Gangue by three-quarters of a length for his third graded stakes win in just six lifetime starts.

Based in Puerto Rico, the 3-year-old son of Wicked Strong has won five of six overall for Sonata Stable.

The victory avenged Wicked Runner's lone loss to Tio Gangue in a Grade 1 last December. Wicked Runner got the lead soon after the break in Monday's 1 1/16-mile contest, until Tio Gangue put his head in front at the half-way point. The duo were nearly inseparable until the final sixteenth, when Wicked Runner edged clear for the win.

The winner was bred in Kentucky by George Bates Trustee. He is the first foal out of Herman's Wildcat, who is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Annie's Candy.