TORONTO, June 26, 2025 – Essex Serpent, fresh off an impressive score, looks to notch his second career graded tally, this time in the $150,000 Dominion Day Stakes (G3), part of the Canada Day Racing Festival, Saturday at Woodbine. A 1 1/8-mile main track event for 4-year-olds and up, the Dominion Day shares the spotlight with four other graded stakes offerings: $200,000 bet365 Highlander (G2T), $175,000 Nassau (G2T), $150,000 HPIbet Marine (G3) and $150,000 Selene (G3). On May 10, Essex Serpent returned to race action after making his previous start last September in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie. Essex Serpent and jockey Patrick Husbands winning race 9 on May 10, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) And what a return was. Under Patrick Husbands, the 4-year-old son of Honor Code out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Eileen’s Girl romped to an emphatic 5 ¼-length score over 1 1/16 miles in a time of 1:43.09. “He’s an absolutely beautiful horse in every sense,” said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant trainer to Mark Casse. “Unfortunately, he ran two disappointing races last year when he was tenth in both The King’s Plate and Prince of Wales. But he had a great race to start the season, so we are hoping he can build on that and have a really good year. “We just liked everything about that last win,” Sullivan continued. “He just persevered the whole race and ran the race his way and didn’t let up. He took the lead and continued on with it – just very impressive, especially after a long layoff like that. I don’t think we saw all that he had to give on that day.” Essex Serpent made his first start in 2024 after sitting out the 2023 meet. After a debut win over 5 ½ furlongs on the Woodbine main track last April, the bay gelding was second in the Queenston Stakes, before a one-length triumph in the Marine Stakes (G3). “We had some issues with him as a 2-year-old and that’s why he never ran as a 2-year-old,” recalled Casse. “We sent him to our training centre in Ocala and gave him some time off.” A homebred for Manfred and Penny Conrad, Essex Serpent breezed four furlongs over the Woodbine main track in :47.20 on June 21. “He’s working well, he looks great and we’re hoping he can carry the momentum from his last race into the Dominion Day,” said Sullivan. Since joining forces with Casse, the Conrads have enjoyed success through multiple graded stakes winner and 2018 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint victress Shamrock Rose, and multiple graded stakes placed/multiple stakes winner Theogony. The Casse barn is also no stranger to success in the Dominion Day, including a 2024 triumph with Paramount Prince, and consecutive scores in 2013 and 2014 with Delegation and Sky Captain, respectively. Wayne Grant is the groom for Essex Serpent. Other starters include multiple graded stakes winner Fashionably Fab, multiple graded stakes placed Funtastic Again, and 21-time winner Fly the W. First post is 1:05 p.m. The wagering menu for the Dominion Day includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, and $1 Swinger. Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com. $150,000 Dominion Day Stakes (Grade 3) – Race 9 Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Bail Us Out – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard 2 – Fashionably Fab – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard 3 – Stanley House – Leo Salles – Mike De Paulo 4 – Fly the W – Sahin Civaci – Marty Drexler 5 – Funtastic Again – Victor Espinoza – Wesley Ward 6 – Dancin in Da’nile – Jose Campos – Gail Cox 7 – Essex Serpent – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse 8 – Classic Mo Town – Eswan Flores – Marty Drexler Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
