TORONTO, August 13, 2026 – Stakes winner Uncle Dodo takes aim at the $150,000 bet365 Soaring Free, a 6 ½-furlong race for 2-year-olds contested on the E.P. Taylor turf, Saturday at Woodbine. Part of a King’s Plate card that features six stakes, the Soaring Free, a key local prep ahead of next month’s $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes (G1T) has attracted eight hopefuls, including Uncle Dodo. Trained by Barb Minshall for owner and breeder Hoolie Racing Stable, LLC, the son of Uncle Mo out of the Shackleford mare Dream It Is broke his maiden in style, taking the Victoria Stakes, a 5 ½-furlong main track event for 2-year-olds, on July 12. “He had a bit of a foot issue going in, so his training schedule was a little disjointed,” said Minshall. “He was just very game, which was even more impressive considering he had missed a few days training heading into the race. Uncle Dodo and jockey Romero Maragh winning the Victoria Stakes on July 12, 2026 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) Uncle Dodo debuted on June 14 at the same distance and over the same surface as the Victoria. Off a step slowly, the bay colt was gaining fast down the lane and finished third, just over a half-length behind the winner. “He matured a lot off that first run,” said Minshall. “He was smart right from the beginning, but after that first run, he knew what it was all about.” Minshall, in the middle of another strong campaign, is looking for her young charge to take another step forward on Saturday. “He doesn’t really start running until he gets a little bit of ground under him. Once he gets a few furlongs under him, he really starts to find his gear. I think that is always an advantage when you have a young horse. “But it’s always a big question mark when you put horses on the turf for the first time.” Jessica Zehuancatl-Contreras is the groom. Recent works: Uncle Dodo breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02.20 over the turf training track on Aug. 7. “I think you have to race them on the turf to know if they can truly handle it,” said Minshall. “He handled the ground fine in his breeze and did everything right. The dogs were way out, and the grass might have been a little soft because of all the rain we had. The jock [Romero Maragh] was on him and said he had a ton of horse the whole time. He probably could have gone by his workmates pretty easily, but it was just a maintenance breeze to see how he gets over it and Romero said he felt very comfortable. We’ll just go from there and see if he can handle it on race day.” Fast facts: Soaring Free was Canada’s Horse of the Year and Outstanding Turf Male in 2004 after capturing the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. Soaring Free retired in 2006 at age 7 after trying for his third win in the Shakertown at Keeneland, losing by less than three lengths. He compiled a record of 15 wins (10 in stakes races) and four seconds in 27 starts and purse earnings of $2,110,371. The Sam-Son Farm homebred was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2013. Wagering menu for the Soaring Free: Includes Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 6-7-8) / 0.20 / Pick4 (Races 6-7-8-9) / $1 Swinger Field for the $150,000 bet365 Soaring Free Stakes Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer 1 – Uncle Kef – Carlos Barbosa – Kevin Rice 2 – Quipster – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard 3 – Mrs D – Jose Campos – Steven Chircop 4 – Humble and Kind – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse 5 – Uncle Dodo – Romero Ramsay Maragh – Barb Minshall 6 – Speaker’s Speech – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse 7 – De la Renta – Fraser Aebly – Kevin Attard 8 – Through the Years (IRE) – John Velazquez – Wesley Ward Chris Lomon, Woodbine Share This:Share
