Fraser Aebly, 22, is from Grande Prairie, Alberta, which is 460 kilometres (265 miles) northwest of Edmonton. Before starting his riding career at Hastings Park in 2022, Aebly went to Vancouver to gallop horses for trainer Steve Henson. His first career win was on September 18th of that year with Quagmire at Hastings Park. Aebly, who also rode at Assiniboia Downs and Century Mile, arrived at Woodbine in October 2023. His first Woodbine win was on October 13, 2023, with Lulu’s Lullaby, a daughter of Wicked Tune, who was trained and owned by Krista Cole. Since his first win, Aebly has won nearly 250 races and has multiple graded stakes wins under his belt, including the Grade 1 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes with Ontario-bred Corsia Veloce. He also won the Queenston Stakes with Notorious Gangster. Corsia Veloce and jockey Fraser Aebly winning the Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes on September 13, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) Aebly’s agent is former rider Gerry Olguin, who also started at Hastings before moving east to Woodbine, where he had a successful career before announcing his retirement in 2017 after winning his 2,000th race. “Gerry had mounts booked for me before I even set foot at Woodbine,” said Aebly. “I rode the Monday in Vancouver, and he had mounts booked for me for the whole week. Every day, he had a mount booked for me before I even came here. Nothing’s possible without him. He’s awesome – he’s a great person, a great agent. Nothing but good things to say about him.” What do you remember about the race itself and how you felt as it unfolded? “It was the Friday of the racing week, and it was my second day riding at Woodbine, and my first time racing on the grass. We were going 5/8ths. We broke well, we sat in the pocket, and we kind of tipped out at the head of the lane. She fired for me turning for home, and she ran a really good race that day. I felt really good and grateful for the opportunity that I was given, especially being very new at Woodbine. To get a good opportunity to ride a horse that had a good chance, I was very grateful.” Lulu’s Lullaby and jockey Fraser Aebly winning Race 1 on October 13, 2023 (Michael Burns Photo) Did you have anyone there for the big moment? “My parents were in. I was moving my tack from Vancouver to Woodbine, and my dad drove my car from Vancouver to Toronto. My mom flew with me from Vancouver to Toronto to get me set up here. I’m always super happy to be able to ride in front of my parents; they’ve always been super supportive of me, and any chance I can get them in the winner’s circle is good, and to get a picture with them.” What do you remember about the horse you won with? “Krista (Cole) told me she’s a neat filly. You’ve got to let her do her thing a little bit. She was very game that day. I rode her a few more times after that, and we had some continued success. I think she had a good year last year at Fort Erie. She liked the grass. She kind of seemed like a grass horse. In warm-up, she was kind of eyeing it up, and she enjoyed it a lot.” Fraser Aebly (Michael Burns Photo) Where do you have the win photo from the race? “My parents have it at their house in Alberta. They have a lot of my apprentice wins out there at the house. It’s cool to look back and see whenever I get a chance to go back out there. Take a little bit of a stroll through memory lane with some nice horses that I used to ride and still ride.” What impact did that win have on your career? “It kind of jump-started my career and gave me a good opportunity to get into some different barns and definitely gave me a good foundation to start at Woodbine.” Sophie Charalambous, for Woodbine Share This:Share
