TORONTO, July 23, 2026 – Nine fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, including Joe Sharp trainee Fantastical, will travel 1 1/8 miles on the main track in Saturday’s $175,000 Trillium Stakes Presented by Don Julio (G3) at Woodbine. A 5-year-old daughter of Air Force Blue out of the unraced Giant’s Causeway mare Wangari, Fantastical will make her second straight start at the Toronto oval after a strong runner-up effort in the Royal North Stakes (G3T) on June 27. Eighth early in the 7 ½-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, the chestnut mare was sixth at the half before putting in a spirited stretch run to finish three-quarters of a length behind the winner. “It was a tough beat,” said Sharp. “We were trying to get her to be a stakes winner, but it was a huge effort. She kind of got a little bit stuck in the turn or she probably would have got up [for the win]. She had a good trip other than that. We were really, really proud of her effort and definitely gave us a reason to come back.” Fantastical (Coady Media) On Feb. 11 at Turfway Park, Fantastical showed great resolve in holding on for a nose score at 1 mile over the all-weather. “She is a filly that hates to lose,” said Sharp. “Anybody who has ever ridden her has commented on how hard she tries. She’s won 5 ½ going on the grass, she’s won at a mile – she has just been very versatile. She showed a real willingness to win that day. She has always been an ultra-consistent filly.” Owned by Carl R. Moore Management, LLC, Fantastical broke her maiden in her fourth start, the milestone coming at 1 mile on the Turfway Park all-weather track on Feb. 7, 2024. From Jan. 3, 2024, to Mar. 30, 2025 – a span of 10 races – she went 4-4-2. She finished fourth in her first stakes appearance, the Dahlia, at Laurel Park on Apr. 19, 2025. Sporting a mark of 5-6-4 from 21 starts, along with $468,426 in purse earnings, Fantastical, bred in Kentucky by Paul Schwartz and James Reiley McDonald, Jr., will now try out the Woodbine main track for the first time in her career. “She’s coming into really well,” said Sharp. “The only question for me is if she wants to go a mile and an eighth. That’s stretching her distance a bit, but I was glad to see the horse to beat [Rashmi] drew inside of us, so hopefully, we can follow her around there and see who is best.” Fantastical was purchased for $75,000 at the 2022 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale. Godolphin homebred Golden Sunshine will also contest the Trillium. Trained by Eoin Harty, the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro out of the graded stakes placed Dubawi (IRE) mare Fitful Skies (IRE) will be ridden by Ryan Munger for the first time. “Whether I’ve ridden the horse before or not, I’ll go through all the replays and get an idea of how the horse likes to be ridden,” said Munger. “I’ll have a chat with Eoin the morning of the race, but I think the best thing you do in these situations is not overcomplicate it. “She’s definitely going to get the distance, and she should enjoy running on the all-weather course. She’s a well-bred horse. I have a lot of confidence in the trainer and when you add all of that up, she should run to the best of her ability.” Golden Sunshine, who was second two starts ago in the Bewitch Stakes (G3T), is 3-6-4 from 17 starts, accompanied by $415,726 in purse earnings. The Trillium will be her first start in Canada. “Eoin is a great trainer, and he’s traveled horses here with fantastic success,” said Munger, who will ride She’s All Charm for the same connections in Saturday’s $175,000 Hendrie Stakes (G3). “Riding for Godolphin is a huge plus already and you know their horses will always look like a million bucks.” Recent works: Fantastical covered 4 furlongs in :50.00 over the Turfway Park all-weather track on July 18. “It was a maintenance work,” said Sharp. “We wanted to give her a little spacing between the shipping. We feel good about how she is coming into the race. She’s a fit filly. She’s been stabled at Turfway and been training on the synthetic all along.” Fast Facts: Jockey Sahin Civaci has won the past three editions of the race: in 2023 with Il Malocchio, in 2024 with Solo Album and last year with Literate. Upperline won the inaugural running in 2011. Wagering menu for Trillium: Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / $1 Swinger Field for the Trillium (G3) Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Lupa (IRE) – Fraser Aebly – Josie Carroll 2 – Hurricane Clair – Eswan Flores – Mike Wright, Jr. 3 – Fortyfiveseventy – Daisuke Fukumoto – Barb Minshall 4 – Rashmi (S) – Pietro Moran – Jonathan Thomas 5 – Crystal Visions (S) – Keveh Nicholls – Stuart Simon 6 – Fantastical – Rafael Hernandez – Joe Sharp 7 – Design – Sahin Civaci – Mike Wright, Jr. 8 – Golden Sunshine – Ryan Munger – Eoin Harty 9 – Scat Girl – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mike De Paulo -30- Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
