Todd Pletcher won his third stakes race in two days when Anstu Stables's Friendly Island captured the $190,000 Maryland Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap (G3) on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

Sent off as the 9-to-5 favorite, Friendly Island tracked Kazoo through fractions of :23.35 for the quarter and :46.33 for a half-mile before easily passing the pacesetter in midstretch. The five-year-old Crafty Friend horse then ran on gamely to hold off Celtic Innis by three-quarters a length in 1:09.94 for six furlongs.

"I have all the confidence in the world when Todd leads a horse to the paddock," jockey Garrett Gomez said. "I got in front of [eventual third-place finisher] Gaff down the backside, and I loved my trip. I didn't want Kazoo to have soft fractions, and when my horse turned for home he responded. I was just a passenger."

"We really wanted to get that graded stakes win," said Stuart Subotnick, who owns Anstu Farm with his wife, Anita. "He's run in some graded stakes before but has just missed. We've done well in New York-bred stakes but wanted to step up. Todd's done a fantastic job. We wouldn't be here without him."

Friendly Island has won seven of 13 starts and earned $426,214. Bred in New York by Kildare Stud and Adrian Regan, she is out of the Ogygian mare Island Queen.

Pletcher, who is at Belmont Park to saddle Sunriver in the Peter Pan Stakes (G2), also won the Sir Barton Stakes with High Cotton earlier on the card. On Friday, the trainer scored with Pool Land in the Allaire duPont Breeders' Cup Distaff Handicap (G3).—Ed DeRosa