TORONTO, June 25, 2025 – A pair of Grade 2 turf events, the $200,000 bet365 Highlander, and $175,000 Nassau, share the stage with a trio of other graded stakes as part of the Canada Day Racing Festival, Saturday at Woodbine. The world-renowned E.P. Taylor turf will once again showcase standout fields in this year’s editions of the six-furlong Highlander (for 4-year-olds and up) and one-mile Nassau (for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up). Patches O’Houlihan, My Boy Prince part of star-stacked Grade 2 Highlander TORONTO, June 25, 2025 – Patches O’Houlihan, Canada’s reigning Horse of the Year, takes to the turf for the $200,000 bet365 Highlander Stakes (G2T), Saturday at Woodbine, Scratched from his start in the $150,000 Jacques Cartier (G3) on May 31, Patches O’Houlihan breezed an easy half in :48.4 in the rain on June 19, in preparation for the six-furlong event for 4-year-olds and up, contested on the E.P. Taylor turf. “Disappointed would be an understatement,” said owner and breeder Frank Di Giulio, Jr., of missing out on the Jacques Cartier. “He was 1-9 [in the morning line] in a four-horse field, but unfortunately, those things happen. Bob (Canadian Hall of Fame trainer, Tiller) told me Patches left some feed, he had spiked a temperature ahead of the race and looked almost glassy-eyed – like a person would look when they are sick – so the decision was made to scratch him. “Regardless of the disappointment, doing right by the horse is all that matters. He’s okay now and that is the main thing.” The Highlander will mark the second start of 2025 for the multiple graded stakes-winning 5-year-old son of Reload out of the Silent Name (JPN) mare Maythefourthbwithu. The bay gelding, who has two wins from three career starts on the turf, heads into his latest stakes test off a sharp seasonal debut. Under two-time Canadian champion apprentice jockey Sofia Vives, Patches O’Houlihan won the $100,000 Thorncliffe Stakes, a 5 ½-furlong main track event for 4-year-olds and up, by four lengths as the 2-5 choice. Patches O’Houlihan and jockey Sofia Vives winning the Thorncliffe Stakes on May 4, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) He stopped the teletimer in a rapid 1:02.28, which bested the previous record mark of 1:02.62 set by Arzak on April 17, 2022. “I would think it [what impressed me the most] would be the time and how easily he did it,” Di Giulio said of the horse who was also feted as Canada’s champion male sprinter of 2024. “When I saw that he had run in 1:02 and change, I knew it was fast, but I didn’t know it was a track record. He seemed to do it pretty handily, so that was impressive as well.” Patches O’Houlihan – a nod to the Rip Torn character in the comedy movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – debuted in September 2022 and recorded a 4 ½-length score at 5 ½ furlongs over the Woodbine main track. Between May and September of 2023, Patches O’Houlihan reeled off six consecutive victories. His record stands at 12-1-0 from 15 starts, along with $748,590 (USD) / ($1,015,540 (CDN)) in purse earnings. “He’s been off for two months, so hopefully, he can come back to the way he was before,” said Di Giulio. “This guy is tough and hopefully, he will run his race again. I’m always nervous – when you have a horse who wins like he does everyone expects him to do it all the time – but it’s nice to be in a position to feel that way.” Patches O’Houlihan, who won the Nearctic Stakes (G2T) last October, has drawn comparisons to sprint superstar Pink Lloyd, the eight-time Sovereign Award winner and 2017 Horse of the Year in Canada – he was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023 – whom Di Giulio co-owned under the Entourage Stable banner. “They are two great horses, and I am truly blessed to be part of both,” said Di Giulio. “I hear about Patches being a fan favourite on the [Woodbine] broadcast. Being so close to him, it’s hard to comprehend what other people feel about him, but I really do appreciate it, that’s for sure.” Clifford Knight is the groom. Multiple stakes-winning My Boy Prince, Canada’s champion 2-year-old male, has crafted an impressive 7-4-1 mark from 16 career starts. A son of Cairo Prince out of the Silent Name mare Hopping Not Hoping, the gelding’s sterling resume includes victories in the 2024 editions of the King Corrie, Queenston and Plate Trial Stakes, as well as a one-length score in this year’s Elusive Quality Stakes over the outer turf at Belmont at the Big A on May 3, and a strong second to multiple graded stakes victor Ag Bullet in the Jaipur Stakes (G1T) on June 8 at Saratoga. “He is such a favourite of everybody,” said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant trainer to Mark Casse. “He’s coming in off a great second in the Jaipur, where he ran an exceptional race. The race before, he had another fantastic effort when he won the Elusive Quality. “He’s been training well, and we are just hoping for a good season up here with him. He’s lovely.” The Highlander marks My Boy Prince’s first start at Woodbine since the Woodbine Mile (G1T) last September. “When he ran in the Mile, he finished sixth, but he was actually right there,” said Sullivan, of the effort that left him 4 ½ lengths behind the winner and stablemate, Win for the Money. “He was coming on and he was taking on older horses, so it was actually a very good race.” Second in the running of the 2024 King’s Plate, the grey, bred in Ontario by Murray Graham Smith, has recorded $957,041 (USD) / $1,197,765 (CDN) in lifetime purse earnings. In 10 starts at Woodbine, My Boy Prince is 6-3-0 from 10 engagements. “We are just so proud of him and so happy to see him race again at Woodbine,” said Sullivan. “He’s a lovely horse.” My Boy Prince was the $115,000 (CDN) sale-topper at the 2022 CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling Sale. Ivan “Billy” Forde is the groom. Sid Attard won three straight editions of the Highlander, with Signature Red in 2010 and 2011, and Smokey Fire in 2012. The wagering menu for the Highlander includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10) and $1 Swinger. Field for the $200,000 Highlander (G2T) – Race 8 Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – My Boy Prince – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse 2 – Playmea Tune – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll 3 – Niagara Skyline – Dyan Davis – John Charalambous 4 – Its Time to Shine (S) – Jose Campos – John Ross 5 – Patches O’Houlihan – Sofia Vives – Bob Tiller 6 – Ms. Tart – Huber Villa-Gomez – Kevin Rice (cross-entered in Nassau) 7 – Old Chestnut – Eswan Flores – Martin Drexler 8 – Dresden Row (S) – Ryan Munger – Lorne Richards “We like to think she’s like Caitlin Clark”: Caitlinhergrtness looks to net Grade 2 Nassau win TORONTO, June 25, 2025 – Caitlinhergrtness, named after WNBA superstar Cailtin Clark, chases her second straight graded score, this time in the $175,000 Nassau Stakes (G2T), part of the Canada Day Racing Festival, Saturday at Woodbine. A one-mile turf event for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, the Nassau shares the spotlight with four other graded stakes offerings: $200,000 bet365 Highlander (G2T), $150,000 Dominion Day (G3), $150,000 HPIbet Marine (G3) and $150,000 Selene (G3). Trained by Kevin Attard, Caitlinhergrtness, last year’s King’s Plate winner and Canada’s 3-Year-Old Female champion, heads into her latest engagement off a stellar five-length triumph in the Belle Mahone Stakes (G3) on May 31 at Woodbine. Caitlinhergrtness winning the Belle Mahone Stakes on May 31, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) The 1 1/16-mile main track event, which drew eight hopefuls, was the chestnut filly’s 4-year-old debut. “That last race was obviously extremely impressive,” said Attard. “We were hoping she was going to run a big one and she did exactly that – very professional from start to finish. One of the things I’ve really come to appreciate about her is the ability to shift into another gear when the real running starts. Whether she’s chasing another horse down or looking to sprint away from the pack, she can put things into overdrive in a few strides.” Owned by WinStar Farm LLC, the daughter of Omaha Beach out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Belatrix debuted in the U.S. in 2023, where she made four starts. After finishing third in her debut at Saratoga, she broke her maiden next time out at Belmont. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a fourth in the Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct and opened her 3-year-old season with the same result at Gulfstream before heading north to Woodbine. Bred by Jesse Korona, Caitlinhergrtness was runner-up in last year’s Woodbine Oaks before taking the 165th running of The King’s Plate. She ended her sophomore season with a third in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland in October, and a fourth in the Valedictory Stakes, at Woodbine, on November 9. “Watching her compete is a real privilege,” said Attard, of the filly who has compiled a 4-1-2 mark from 10 starts, along with $772,414 (USD) / $1,004.898 (CDN) in purse earnings. “You know that when it’s game time, she’s ready to go and she’s up for the challenge.” Just like her WNBA namesake. “We like to think she’s like Caitlin Clark – athletic, all heart, clutch,” said Attard. Caitlinhergrtness recorded a pair of breezes ahead of the Nassau, both on the Woodbine dirt training track, a four-furlong breeze in :48.20 on June 14 and a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.40 on June 21. “She’ll be facing some tough competition, and she’ll have to bring her A-game again. We’re looking forward to it.” Troy Garnett is the groom. Crevalle d’Oro and Ready to Jam, both trained by Mark Casse, will also contest the Nassau. A 4-year-old daughter of Constitution out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Sonoma d’Oro, Crevalle d’Oro is 3-4-2 from 14 starts, along with $179,531 (USD) in purse earnings. Bred in Kentucky by Sandra Sexton, the graded stakes placed dark bay heads into the Grade 2 event off a 1 ½-length win at one mile over the Woodbine inner turf on May 31. “She’s a really nice, consistent mare, so we are looking for a good race from her,” said assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan, of the filly owned by Blue Crevalle Racing and Quintessential Racing Florida LLC. “We liked her effort last time and hopefully that translates into a big performance this weekend.” Dean Barrett is the groom. Ready to Jam, a 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready out of the Sky Mesa mare Third Dawn, brings a mark of 2-2-3 from 10 starts into Saturday’s tilt. Owned by Gary Barber and D.J. Stable LLC, the bay filly, who has recorded $148,323 (USD) in purse earnings, heads into the Nassau off a second, a half-length back of 70-1 winner Ms. Tart, in the HPIbet Royal North Stakes (G3T) on May 31. “She is doing very well coming into the race,” said Sullivan. “She is such a lovely filly. If you look at her races, she tries every time. She started the year off with a race at Churchill, where she rallied to finish third in a five-furlong turf race. So, two very nice efforts coming into this one.” Bred in Kentucky by John Gardiner, Ready to Jam was a $320,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale. Brooklyn Howard is the groom. Other starters include multiple graded stakes winner Mission of Joy, and graded stakes winners Ms. Tart and Ocean Club. The wagering menu for the Nassau includes Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, .20 Jackpot Hi5, and $1 Swinger. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and bet365.com. First post time is 1:05 p.m. Field for the $175,000 Nassau Stakes (G2T) – Race 10 Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Blueberry Fields – Daisuke Fukumoto – Brandon Greer 2 – Crevalle d’Oro – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse 3 – Ready for Shirl – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Roger Attfield 4 – Caitlinhergrtness – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard 5 – Ready to Jam – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse 6 – Metaphysical – Ryan Munger – Tony Gattellaro 7 – Ms. Tart – Huber Villa-Gomez – Kevin Rice (cross-entered in Highlander) 8 – Ocean Club – Sofia Vives – Tom Proctor 9 – Mixologist – Pietro Moran – Josie Carroll 10 – Sweet Rebecca – Dylan Davis – Chad Brown 11 – Misson of Joy – Eswan Flores – Graham Motion 12 – Austere – Declan Cannon – Brendan Walsh Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
