The connections of FIRE AND WINE never gave up on their big, bay gelding in 2026, and that faith, and patience, paid off on September 27 at Woodbine when the sophomore led all the way around the E.P. Taylor turf course to win the 1 1/2 mile Breeders’ Stakes, the third jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown worth $500,000.
It was a big win for the small stable as Fire and Wine, a $5,000 purchase in 2024, is the only horse owned by Paul Ryder, who has owned a claiming horse here and there for several decades and visited the winner’s circle a handful of times in the last 10 years. Fire and Wine, by Lexitonian from Double Latte by The Factor, came along through his longtime friend and trainer Zeljko Krcmar and daughter Mary Self, who helped pick the Ontario bred out of a February mixed sale in Kentucky.
Last fall Fire and Wine led all the way to win the 1 1/8 mile Coronation Futurity, the richest race for Canadian bred 2-year-olds and immediately went on the short list of King’s Plate contenders.
But things didn’t pan out for Fire and Wine when the journey to the Plate began. He was beaten 11, 25 and 11 lengths in his first three outings of the season, including the Plate Trial. In the Plate itself, under his new rider Jalon Samuel, Fire and Wine got his favourite spot early in the race, loose on the lead, and he stayed on fairly well to be third behind the filly Luster.
In the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie, Fire and Wine never saw a clear lead and finished fifth.
Undeterred, Krcmar and Samuel had a game plan for the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Breeders’, which lured just six starters without Luster or Prince of Wales winner Military Time. The plan was simple; get to the lead.
Without his blinkers for the first time since his career debut, Fire and Wine bounded straight to the front and, even though chased by Imyourmedicineman, clipped along through safe fractions of 25.15, 50.48 and 1:15.10. Strangely, the other four starters, including heavily favoured filly Katie’s Grace, were about a dozen lengths behind the top two and ultimately, used up all their power just to just in range of the front runner leaving the quarter pole.
Bond Market had motored up the rail, Katie’s Grace and Buium moved wide but they were all out of gas by the time the run for the wire began. Fire and Wine, flip-flopped his leads and then chugged away to a four length victory at 11 to 1 with Samuel celebrating his biggest win.
The final time was 2:30.57. Bond Market, by first year sire Bond Street (Ire) was second with Buium third.
“This is the biggest win of my career,” said Samuel, who is from Barbados and has won that country’s biggest race, the Gold Cup, seven times. “I’m very excited to be riding here in Canada at Woodbine.”
Samuel, who rode at Assiniboia Downs in 2014, Gulfstream in 2019 and Aqueduct in 2022 had ridden briefly at Woodbine during those years but after just a single win in New York in 2023, he returned to Barbados for a year. In 2025, he came back to Woodbine and won 26 races in Ontario. This year he had won eight races heading into Breeders’ day.
“I like to take my time and I like the way it’s going right now.”
It was also the biggest win for Ryder and Krcmar, who may have thought the Coronation Futurity was a career moment a year ago.
“I thought that was the biggest thrill but this is really something,” said Ryder. “I wasn’t sure when they came to him [but] he still had something left for the stretch.”
Krcmar was confident Fire and Wine could win a big race again if things went his way.
“The horse can run. If someone hooks him up he’s a chicken but if he gets to the front he’s as brave as they make them. This time he was free; he keeps on going.”
Fire and Wine was bred by the successful family at Shannondoe Farm, James Everatt, his daughter Arika Everett Meeuse and the late Janeane Everett along with Robert Marzilli.
Double Latte was bred by the Everatts and raced for the breeders, placing once in four races. The mare’s first two foals, Lemon Latte and Mo Latte were unplaced and unraced respectively.
The Everatts and Marzilli bred Double Latte to the Speightstown stallion Lexitonian who won the Grade 1 Alfred Vanderbilt Stakes, a dirt sprint, at Saratoga.
Fire and Wine now has three wins in 13 races and $529,763 in earnings.
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