TORONTO, October 2, 2025 – Seven starters are set to contest the bet365 $175,000 Algonquin Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine. Highwaytothemoon, a son of Ransom the Moon out of the Society’s Chairman mare High Society Gal, heads into the five-furlong inner turf tilt for 2-year-olds off a third in the Simcoe Stakes on August 24. The gelding, owned by Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc., finished a length behind the winner in the 6 ½-furlong main track event for 2-year-old colts and geldings foaled in Canada. “I was a little bit disappointed, to be honest,” said trainer Dale Desruisseaux. “We got trapped down along the inside and had nowhere to go until the eighth pole and then didn’t really kick on from there. That was likely because he (jockey, Rafael Hernandez) was fighting him for a half mile being in behind horses. We thought it was his race to win, but that’s horse racing.” Highwaytothemoon debuted on August 2 in a maiden special weight race contested at 5 ½ furlongs on the main track. Sent on his way as the 9-5 choice in the field of eight, Highwaytothemoon dueled early before drawing off for a 3 ¼-length win in :58.71. “It was a very nice all-around effort,” said Desruisseaux. “That is what you hope for – a win in their debut. I thought he looked very good doing it, especially with the way he was able to pull away in the late going. He kind of surprised me a bit, in that I thought he wanted to go longer. That’s why I thought the race was his to win last time out.” The bay recorded a trio of four-furlong works ahead of the Algonquin, two on the main track and one over the turf training track. His most recent breeze, on September 27, was on the main track, when he covered four panels in :48.80. “He’s been working well, and he worked well on the grass, too,” said Desruisseaux, of the :46.20 breeze on September 21. “He worked with an older horse of (trainer) Steve Owens. I thought his action was a little better than what he shows on the dirt and the Polytrack. I thought there was less leg action on the turf, so maybe he moves up on the grass even though his breeding doesn’t have a lot of grass in it.” Bred by James Everatt, Janeane Everatt and Arika Everatt-Meeuse, Highwaytothemoon will be ridden by Rafael Hernandez. Robert Martin is the groom. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com. The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 7-8-9), 0.20 Pick 4 (Races 7-8-9-10) and $1 Swinger. Field for the bet365 Algonquin Stakes – Race 7 Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Rogue Legend (GB) – Walter Rodriguez – Wesley Ward 2 – Reb Five (S) – Fraser Aebly – Mark Casse 3 – Cy Fair – Sahin Civaci – George Weaver 4 – Highwaytothemoon – Rafael Hernandez – Dale Desruisseaux 5 – Gypsy Art (S) – Victor Espinoza – Wesley Ward 6 – Casson – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse 7 – Shak Town – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard Erie Shores chases Cup & Saucer crown TORONTO, October 2, 2025 – Erie Shores wades into the stakes ranks for the 87th edition of the $250,000 Cup & Saucer, Sunday at Woodbine. A 1 1/16-mile event for Canadian-foaled 2-year-olds run over the inner turf, the Cup & Saucer has drawn 10 hopefuls, including Erie Shores, a homebred for Chiefswood Stables Ltd. Groom Janen Lalsingh and Erie Shores The son of Yorkton, who was a multiple graded stakes winning homebred for Chiefswood, finished third in his debut on August 24, also at 1 1/16 miles over the Woodbine inner turf. Last of six early, Erie Shores, at one point 12 lengths off the leader, rallied to finish third, less than five lengths behind the winner. “We were hoping for a good effort,” said multiple stakes winning trainer Tony Gattellaro. “And we saw that from him. We were extremely happy with his performance. He was just starting to launch a bid heading into the final turn, and he got shut off – a horse in front of him came over into his path. He’s a big, long-striding horse – one of the best-striding horses I have ever had – and once he got his stride back, he started picking up horses and galloped out extremely well, about to the spot where he got stopped in the race.” Out of the Empire Maker mare Empire Rose, Erie Shores recorded a pair of breezes ahead of the Cup & Saucer, including five furlongs in 1:01.20 over the Woodbine main track on September 28. Gattellaro likes what he has seen from the bay gelding in the mornings. “His last work was awesome. He has a good mind, which is evident in training. I have two Yorktons and both of them are smart. The Yorktons in general – they have incredible minds. “Being a bigger horse, we wanted to give him some time after that first race. This is a race we have been looking at since the spring. We wanted to make sure he settled from his first race, and we’ve slowly been picking things up.” Gattellaro sees a bright future for his young pupil. “He is a very impressive, big, gorgeous horse, one we view as a King’s Plate prospect. He’s a May foal, so we are being very patient in the way we bring him along. Knowing all that, we are letting the horse come into himself. “Speaking with Rob Landry (Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey and General Manager of Chiefswood Stables), we are on the same page in terms of how we view the development and future of this horse.” Fraser Aebly, less than $75,000 away from reaching the $3 million mark in purse earnings on the campaign, once again gets the call. Janeen Lalsingh is the groom. Other starters include Dixie Law. Dixie Law and jockey Rafael Hernandez winning Race 4 on July 12, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) Trained by Dale Desruisseaux, the daughter of Tiz the Law is a homebred for Garland Williamson’s Hillsbrook Farms. The bay filly, out of the unraced Union Rags mare Bit of Dixie, made a winning debut on July 12 at Woodbine. Sent off as the 5-2 choice in the nine-horse field, Dixie Law rallied stoutly to record a 1 ½-length score in the six-furlong race over an E.P. Taylor course listed as good. The final time was 1:09.96. “She lugged in a bit, but it was a really solid performance,” said Desruisseaux, who has already set a personal-best standard in seasonal purse earnings. “We were all very happy with it. She had been training well heading into it, so we figured she had a good chance to win it. She went out there and ran a nice one.” Last time out, in the Natalma Stakes (G1T), Dixie Law, at 48-1, finished sixth, just 2 ½-lengths behind the winner, in the one-mile inner turf test for 2-year-olds. “I thought it was a very solid effort,” said Desruisseaux. “Turning for home, I thought we had a big shot, but when the real running started, she leveled off a little bit. She still continued on and galloped out very well, but when the real running started, I don’t think she had the foundation – it was over eight weeks from her maiden race to the Natalma. So, it wasn’t ideal, fitness-wise. “If she had run in the Catch a Glimpse (August 16), which we were looking to do, but had to scratch, maybe she could have finished higher. I won’t say she would have won that race, but it might have been a different scenario.” Dixie Law breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 over the main track on September 27 in preparation for her second consecutive stakes appearance. “We’re coming into this race in a good time frame, and her recent work was quite good. I know this is going to be against the boys, but this is the kind of the progression we have to take based on what is available for fillies. “She handles everything in stride and has a very good mind. She does have her quirks, but she never misses an oat, trains well and does everything you ask of her. There is a lot to like with her.” Kyle MacDonald is the groom. Hall of Fame trainer Jim Day has won 10 editions of the Cup & Saucer, including seven straight runnings from 1984-1990. Post time for Sunday is 1:05 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and bet365. The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta and $1 Swinger. Field for the Cup & Saucer Stakes – Race 9 Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Military Time – Jose Campos – Mark Casse 2 – Erie Shores – Fraser Aebly – Tony Gattellaro 3 – Gone With Duwyn – Ryan Munger – Barb Minshall 4 – Buium – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard 5 – Twentytwo Soles – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard 6 – Backstreet Emma – Eswan Flores – Mike De Paulo 7 – Princecrest (S) – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse 8 – Dixie Law – Rafael Herandez – Dale Desruisseaux 9 – Thundermaker – Sahin Civaci – Kevin Attard 10 – Oscar’s Encore (S) – Sofia Vives – Joe Sharp Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
