English Actor takes Leading Man Honours in Niagara

TORONTO, August 8, 2026 – English Actor authored a front running tour de force performance to win Saturday’s $125,000 Niagara Stakes at Woodbine. ​ ​ ​

Piloted by Fraser Aebly, the five-year-old chestnut son of English Channel broke sharply from post position 4 and led the field of 11 around all three turns in the 11-furlong inner turf marathon for three-year-olds and up.

Teaming with English Actor for the second consecutive race and fourth time in 13 career starts, Aebly led the field through a half mile in :48.83, six-furlongs in 1:14.57 and a mile in 1:38.52.

Inside the quarter-pole, the Rachel Halden trained English Actor was targeted by fellow Halden stablemates Side Street and Roscar, but Aebly and his gelding had plenty in reserve, kicking on to score in a driving finish by a length and three-quarters. The final running time in the mile and three-eighths route, on a course listed ‘firm,’ was 2:14.47. ​ ​

Aebly was aboard for English Actor’s first lifetime start in October 2024, finishing second in a mile and one-sixteenth main track maiden race, for former conditioner Layne Giliforte. Last time out, Aebly guided the favoured Chiefswoods Stables Limited homebred to a disappointing third place finish, over the Woodbine inner turf, also at 11 panels.

“Me and Rob (Chiefswoods General Manager Rob Landry) talked, once we got him out there, we thought he’d settle and come back to me. He made kind of one run when they kind of come at him and he seemed to do that today very well,” said Aebly. ​

English Actor achieved a career best 90 Beyer Speed Figure when finishing seventh in the 2025 Grade 1 Canadian International, his first and still only graded stakes try. ​ ​ ​ ​

“We ran him in the International, maybe we were a little bit too aggressive with him early. He didn’t really get to run his race,” noted Landry. ​ ​

Landry, himself a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey, was pleased with English Actor’s triumph and the performance of the other Chiefswood horses, Side Street who ran second and Roscar who was in range at the top of the lane but checked in seventh.

“He’s an English Channel and they’re gallopers and they run well. We expected them all to run well today and they did.” ​

English Actor broke his maiden at Woodbine in his three-year-old debut, the first race under the tutelage of Halden, winning a mile and one-sixteenth race, that came off the grass, by a length and a half under Sahin Civaci. ​ ​

In his sixth career start, English Actor beat winners, going wire to wire in a mile and one-sixteenth inner turf race, again under Civaci. ​ ​

“He’s pretty versatile,” said Landry. ​

“Obviously Rachel’s done a tremendous job with him and the other horses.” ​

Going fourth off the layoff, English Actor improved to 3-4-2 from 13 lifetime starts. ​

Listed at 15-1 morning line, English Actor went off at 8.30 to 1 and returned a tidy $18.60, while earning his first career stakes win. ​ ​

Stablemate Side Street was second, Swift Delivery was third and Sultana, the lone female in the race rallied late from eighth to finish fourth. Race favourite Truly Quality was sixth. Watsonville Red was scratched. ​

Phil McSween, Woodbine