On the rise: Christoff Douglas’ journey to Woodbine

TORONTO, May 15, 2025 – Apprentice jockey, Christoff Douglas, who started his 2026 campaign with a victory on Woodbine’s opening weekend, is confident that he can fill the void left by the extraordinary apprentices of the 2025 season, with his sights set on the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey Sovereign Award in Canada.

The 2025 Woodbine Racetrack meet saw several strong apprentices ply their respective trades, including King’s Plate winner Pietro Moran, Austin Adams and Xarel Forde.

Moran won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in Canada as well as the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in North America.

Christoff Douglas’s goals include replicating the success of Woodbine’s 2025 rising stars.

There was never a question as to whether or not Douglas would become a jockey.

“I was born into it, my dad’s a jockey, my grandma was a trainer,” he said. “It’s a natural path for me.”

After five wins, the apprentice, currently a 10-pound bug, will drop down to a 5-pound bug for his next 40 wins.

Douglas won his first race on November 27, 2025, aboard Kentucky-bred Kavala by Mohaymen in a $5,000 claiming race for trainer William Armata, at 5-1 .

The pair worked overtime for the victory, winning by a nose.

“It was a great feeling,” said Douglas. “I wasn’t sure if I got up with my first winner because he was pretty close, right? But then when I was coming back, I said to Pietro, I said – he’s the one that finished second – I was like, ‘I don’t know if I got you, bro.’ When I came back, I saw that I won. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go!’”

It was only his sixth career mount.

Armata acknowledged his rider’s talents and is frequently presenting the 22-year-old with opportunities on race days.

“I think he’s a very good apprentice,” said Armata. “His father has been working at Woodbine for a while, actually a couple years, about say five, six years ago he was working with my dad when I was working with my dad, so I know the gene is there that he can ride.”

Douglas started working at Woodbine Racetrack in 2019 as a hotwalker, later became a swing groom for a year and only learned to ride racehorses in the winter of 2021 at Colebrook Farms.

“In the wintertime on the farm, my dad taught me,” said Douglas. “I was learning in Jamaica a little bit, but I got better when I came here.”

He began galloping horses in the mornings in the summer of 2022 after which he left for the United States to work as an exercise rider for multiple Grade 1 stakes winning trainer, Saffie Joseph, Jr., whose stars include Pegasus World Cup winners Skippylongstocking and White Abarrio.

In 2024, Douglas returned to Woodbine to gallop thoroughbreds again.

Throughout his time as an exercise rider, Douglas galloped some of the most successful Woodbine horses of the last few years, including King’s Plate winners Cailinhergrtness and Mansetti for trainer Kevin Attard.

“It’s always a great feeling, you know, when you have a good horse,” said Douglas. “I try to keep them happy. I try to keep them comfortable and, you know, don’t get in their way.”

Armata thinks this is a good time for Douglas to break into racing and he is truly growing into his skills as a jockey this season.

“He waited and waited and waited to get his license and he came out at the right time, I feel,” said Armata. “I’m really happy with the way he rides. He’s gotten a lot more aggressive down the lane.”

“I feel the kid’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Armata went on to say that Douglas will get more mounts later in the season.

“As the year goes along, once the races start to go longer, he’ll be used more,” said Armata. “Because in general, Woodbine’s short races, they don’t really use the bugs too much. So I feel that he’ll be very busy and very popular.”

Douglas believes  getting some of the better mounts at Woodbine will help increase his odds of success across the board.

“I need the horses,” he said. “I need good horses to ride.”

“But also, I’m always trying my best because I want to achieve something out of this career and I want to be successful. So every time I go out there, I try my best.”

And even with early morning works and restrictions on food in order to make weight, Douglas is determined.

“I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” said Douglas.

He has set one specific goal for 2026.

“Hopefully, we can win a lot of races so I can win the Sovereign Award. That’s my plan, to win Apprentice of the Year.”

And who does Douglas aspire to emulate?

That would be 2026 Kentucky Derby winner, Jose Ortiz, who won with Golden Tempo for trainer Cherie DeVaux, at 23-1.

“I like his style,” he said with a smile.

Anna Jeffs, for Woodbine