The popular Yearling Sales Stakes at Woodbine, four in total, drew large fields for their renewals on August 30. The sales stakes, which received purse hikes this year, will be joined by the first running of the $150,000 Caledon Stakes for Ontario Bred 4-year-olds and upward
The 2-year-old sales stakes races are always strongly anticipated, as they are important to boosting pedigrees of yearlings entered in the sale, this year to be held on September 2.
The SIMCOE (known as the Yearling Sales Stakes in its early years), first run in 1953, has been won by some top Canadian-bred horses such as Queen’s Plate winner EDENWOLD, Breeders’ Stakes winner Pine Point and dozens of major stakes winners. The race was first run at Fort Erie racetrack and briefly at Greenwood (Old Woodbine) before landing at the current Woodbine.
This year’s edition is worth a whopping $300,000 (that is some $33,000 for third place) and has nine entrants, just two winners.
SOUPER SURVIVOR by one of Ontario’s top sires in the past decade, the late Souper Speedy, will be favoured based on his 10 1/4 length win in a maiden race first time on July 12. Bought back for $19,000 from last year’s CTHS Ontario sale, Souper Survivor is owned by Racing Canada Inc. and Natural Eight Stable and trained by William Tharrenos. who won last year’s Simcoe with Big Bold and First. Souper Survivor was bred by John Carey, who has more than a dozen yearlings in next week’s sale.
Barbara Minshall’s KING’S COUNSEL, bred by Bernard and Karen McCormack, has finished second in his last two starts and will be well bet in the Simcoe. The other winner in the field is ROAD TO GLORY, bred by Hill ‘N’ Dale Farms and Gabe Grossberg, is trained by John Charalambous, who won the Muskoka Yearling Sales Stakes with Countess Steffi in 1991.
The MUSKOKA STAKES, first run in 1969, is also worth $300,000 which would be a big payday for Stacey Van Camp’s HONOR MY LEGACY, a filly by Yorkton who won her maiden race on Aug.1 and cost $8,000 at last year’s sale. There are 14 entrants in the Muskoka including SWEET BORDEAUX, a placed daughter of Tom’s D’Etat and Miss Brown Sugar, who has a Big Screen yearling in this year’s sale for Spring Farm.
The ALGOMA STAKES and ELGIN STAKES, for 3 and 4-year-olds fillies and mares and colts and gelding respectively, are worth $200,000 and are 7 furlong Tapeta dashes. REGAL MOMENT, by Point of Entry, was third in the Algoma in 2025 and was bred by JWS Farms. She has earned over $157,000.
The Elgin is led by SEDBURYS GHOST third in the Grade 3 Seagram Cup in his latest outing, Bred by Yawen Yu, the son of Shaman Ghost has a yearling half sister by Souper Speedy int he same with Cara Bloodstock as agent.
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