Little Teddy Defends Zadracarta Title

TORONTO, August 29, 2026 – Canadian champion Little Teddy overcame an awkward start and recomposed herself brilliantly to repeat in Saturday’s $150,000 Zadracarta Stakes at Woodbine.

Ridden by regular pilot Austin Adams, Canada’s reigning Champion Female Sprinter was off a beat slow from post position two and trailed the field of seven briefly, in the five-furlong inner turf sprint for Ontario-bred fillies and mares three-years-old and up.

Unfazed, Adams and the five-year-old grey/roan daughter of Frac Daddy, quickly regrouped and advanced smartly up the rail and into fourth through an opening quarter mile in :21.60. Up front Dolce Fortuna was setting the pace with Olivia Rose in second and the maiden Alpha Gamma Girl tracking in third.

Around the bend, the Santino Di Paola trained Little Teddy, moved comfortably into third and turning for home, moved into second, through a gaping opening on the rail. With superior momentum, Little Teddy rolled by inside of Dolce Fortuna, taking over the lead in a half mile time of :44.32 and kicked on professionally to score by one length in a final time of :56.08.

Adams guided Little Teddy (Frac Daddy – Explosive Leah, by Silent Name) to a five and half-length win in the 2025 Zadracarta, for which she earned a career high 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Today’s win was more eventful to be sure. ​

“She kind of came out a little to the side. Olivia (Rose) really didn’t break that great either. ​ I kind of had to go to Plan B. I was expecting her to be up front.” said Adams. ​

With the Zadracarta repeat, Little Teddy improved to 4-1-0 from 5 lifetime starts on the lawn, a fact not lost on Adams.

“She’s a different horse on the turf, I can really feel it,” he said. “She’s got a different kind of kick out here.”

Going third off the shelf, Little Teddy entered her Zadracarta defense off a disappointing fifth place finish in the six-furlong Ballade Stakes over the local Tapeta surface, but Di Paolo was confident his charge was in a winning frame of mind on Saturday. ​

“I was soaked head-to-toe bathing her coming over,” laughed Di Paola. “Oh my gosh, she was Teddy today. Last time she was lethargic. She had us all worried all day, and this time I was like, ‘okay, let’s go get them.’“

Little Teddy was a $15,000 (CDN) purchase in the Canada September 2022 yearling sale and became a stakes winner in career start number five, rallying to win by a neck over rival Olivia Rose in the 2024 Georgian Bay Stakes. The tardy beginning Saturday didn’t shake Di Paola’s confidence as he watched the break.

“My brother (groom Joe Di Paola) was actually the first one yelling out ‘that’s okay Austin’,” said the youthful conditioner. ​ ​

“We watched the Georgian Bay back this morning and I said ‘get her legs under her, let her find her stride, come with a run.’”

“She broke last with Kazushi (Kimura) in the Georgian Bay that day and came running like she did today.”

Owned by York Tech Racing Stable and bred in Ontario by Susan Rasmussen and H. Lothian, Little Teddy improved her winning batting average to an impressive 9-4-2 from 18 career starts. ​ ​ ​

Little Teddy opened at 7-5 on the morning line, was bet down to 1-5 and returned $2.70 for the win, the fourth triumph in her last five starts. Pacesetter Dolce Fortuna was second, Ballade Stakes winner Sinclairity rallied to be third and Olivia Rose was fourth. ​ ​

Phil McSween, Woodbine