Ahead of the 2025 Woodbine Oaks taking place on Sunday, four trainers spoke about their fillies ahead of the race, sharing which professional athlete their horse reminds them of and why. Mark Casse has five fillies running in Sunday’s Woodbine Oaks. Winterberry and Shifty are owned by D. J. Stable LLC. No Time and War Signal are both owned by Gary Barber. His fifth filly in the race, Ella It Is, is owned by Heste Sport Inc. Casse noted that Winterberry (pictured, Michael Burns Photography), No Time, Shifty, and War Signal are similar in the sense that they are all high energy. He compares these four fillies to Caitlin Clark, one of the most recognized female professional basketball players in the WNBA, who currently holds the title of NCAA Women’s Division I all-time leading scorer. Her drive and talent inspired the “Caitlin Clark effect”, which has boosted interest in women’s basketball. “I would compare them to Caitlin Clark – high energy, good movers, and work hard. This is going to be a unique race because I have four fillies that really want to be on the lead or close to it, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Casse. Ella It Is’ (pictured, Michael Burns Photography) defining quality is how she’s an easy filly. “She’s a little more laid-back than the rest.” Casse shared how each of the fillies have been training ahead of the Oaks. “Ella It Is is fine, she looks well. We feel like Winterberry is really coming up to this race well. She’s training well, as is Shifty. No Time is a little more laid-back in her works but is doing very well. War Signal always trains well. We feel like we’re in a good place with all five of them.” Mike De Paulo trains R Canadian Apple, who is owned by Lou Donato, George Gronwall, Kim Valerio, Prakash Sham Masand, and Averill Racing LLC. “This would be her third race,” said De Paulo. “The first time she ran seven-eighths, she was third; she came flying. The next start, we were a bit disappointed, she ran fifth. She’s been training for this race in real good order. Her last work was :59 and change, it was a really good work. She’s doing really well. She’s by Street Sense and her mother, Bezarra, is by Medaglia d’Oro and her mother is half-sister to Wonder Gadot, who was a champion filly.” Groom Howie Pottins bathes R Canadian Apple. Michael Burns Photography De Paulo compares the filly to André the Giant, a professional wrestler who was 7’1.” He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. “She’d be like the female version of André the Giant. She’s a very large thoroughbred. She’s 17.1 hands. She’s like André the Giant, she’s an Amazon. She has a size 8 shoe. I can’t remember having another horse with a size 8 shoe. She covers a lot of ground, she has a huge stride. She worked really well the other day.” Aristella is trained by Rachel Halden and owned by Flying Zee Racing Stables LLC. Halden reflected on Aristella’s sweet nature, which is the filly’s notable characteristic. “She’s thankfully a very uncomplicated filly and easy to be around. She has a very kind and sweet nature, which makes our job a lot easier. “She’s been training very well. Her last breeze was very pleasing. We’re more than content with the way that she is at the moment. We’re sticking with our plan.” Crystal Visions (pictured below, Michael Burns Photography) is trained by Stuart Simon and owned by Simon and Brent McLellan. According to Simon, the filly has been training well and prefers blinkers. “She’s been doing well. We made a conscious decision to freshen her up for the Oaks. She ran a big race last time when we put the blinkers on her. With a little luck, she probably should’ve won her last start. She needs a bit of focus with the blinkers.” Simon compares Crystal Visions to Hayley Wickenheiser, as the trait that stands out the most is the filly’s professionalism, paired with her talent. Wickenheiser, a former champion hockey player, has competed in five Olympics, winning four gold medals and one silver medal. In 2022, she was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Like Wickenheiser, Crystal Visions is all business. “She’s a professional, classy filly. She’s good at what she does. How she conducts herself and how professional she is. She has the talent to go with it,” said Simon. -30- Sophie Charalambous, for Woodbine Share This:Share
