TORONTO, October 29, 2026 – Rookies step into the Grade 3 spotlight for the $175,000 bet365 Grey Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine. Gold Standard Racing Stable LLC’s Speaker’s Speech will tackle two turns and the main track for the first time in the 1 11/6-mile test for 2-year-olds that drew seven hopefuls, including stablemate Play It Again, also owned by Gold Standard Racing Stable LLC. In his most recent start, Speaker’s Speech finished third in the Algonquin (G3T) on Oct. 3. After being stuck behind a wall of runners, the bay was full of run late and finished with a flourish. “This is a very nice horse, who is very smart,” said jockey Rafael Hernandez, who has a colony-leading 14 stakes wins in 2026. “In the last race, we were in behind a lot of horses, but he didn’t give up,” “When we got room, he was full of run. You could tell he wanted to chase the other horses down. He galloped out very strong, too.” The son of Speaker’s Corner out of the Summer Bird mare Danessa Deluxe made his career bow on Aug. 15, in the 6 ½-furlong Soaring Free Stakes, run over the E.P. Taylor turf, missing by a head to De la Renta, who will contest the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Oct. 30. “He was very game in his first start,” said Hernandez, who has teamed with Casse for a meet-leading 23 jockey/trainer wins, accompanied by a 34.84 percent strike rate. “He fought right to the wire against a very, very good horse. He showed what kind of fight he has. He has a lot of determination. “I’m really looking forward to seeing him stretch out. He has a great stride and does things very easily. He never fights you and he does whatever you ask him to do. He has a good mind and loves to compete.” Bred in Kentucky by Tommy Wente Jr. and Scott Stephens, the colt was an $875,000 purchase at the 2026 Ocala Breeders’ Sale Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Ivan “Billy” Forde is the groom. Recent works: Speaker’s Speech covered four furlongs in :49.00 over the main track on Oct. 18, duplicating the time on the same surface six days later. Fast facts: Notable winners include Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Horometer (1933), Kennedy Road (1970), Sunny’s Halo (1982, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1983), and Sky Classic (1989). Dancer’s Image won the 1967 race and went on to capture the following year’s Kentucky Derby (but was subsequently disqualified), as did Mine That Bird in 2009. J. K. L. Ross, owner of the first United States Triple Crown Champion, Sir Barton, won this race five years in a row with future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Henry McDaniel. Hernandez and Casse teamed with God of Love to win the 2021 running of the Grey. Hernandez has won three editions, while Casse has won on five occasions. Wagering menu for the Grey: Includes Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10) / $1 Swinger. Field for the Grade 3 Grey Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Play It Again – Fraser Aebly – Mark Casse 2 – Speaker’s Speech – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse 3 – Uncle Dodo – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Barb Minshall 4 – King’s Counsel – Daisuke Fukumoto – Barb Minshall 5 – Authentic Gold – Jose Campos – Katerina Vassilieva 6 – Okarito – Ryan Munger – Eoin Harty 7 – Freedom Hall – Pietro Moran – Michael Trombetta -30- Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
