No More Mask, owned and trained by Jose Corrales, shook off pace pressure from Fancy Princess and pulled clear through the stretch to give 10-pound apprentice Christian Maldonado his first career riding victory Friday at Laurel Park.

No More Mask ($14.20), a 5-year-old Maryland-bred mare making her 29^th career start, was the 31^st mount for Maldonado, a 20-year-old native of Puerto Rico, and 22^nd since coming to the U.S. in late January after attending the famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica.

The six-furlong claiming event for fillies and mares 4 and up was the seventh lifetime win for No More Mask, racing for the first time since being clamed for $5,000 out of a runner-up finish March 3 at Laurel. The winning time was 1:12.76 over a fast main track.

“It feels amazing,” Maldonado said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. Two years at school and now this. I’m working hard in the morning every day and I’m so happy.”

Maldonado is the son of retired jockey Nestor Maldonado, a multiple stakes-winning jockey with 137 wins between 2001 and 2013 according to Equibase statistics. Christian Maldonado was winless in nine races at Camarero Race Track before making his domestic debut Jan. 27 at Laurel, finishing seventh on Leave Drama Behind.

“He’s a little green still but I told him to come to the states where I could help him. He came over and I started working with him a little bit, and I told him, ‘I’m going to put you on a winner,’” Corrales said. “I’m so happy for him because he deserves it. He works hard every morning and he’s going to do well.”

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