Sunday at Woodbine was a big day for Dominic DiLalla of Centennial Farms Niagara, as G T FIVE HUNDRED, a gelding he recently purchased through the March Digital Sale hosted by Fasig-Tipton, won his first race for his new owner. And not just any race. A big six-year-old bay by Astern (Aus), G T Five Hundred had a dream trip under jockey Rafael Hernandez and powered to victory in the $100,000 Thorncliffe Stakes Sunday at Woodbine.
The Thorncliffe was the second stakes race run at the recently-opened Woodbine 2026 season and was run at 5 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta. The race had also lured one of last year’s most accomplished speedsters, Go Kart Mozart, but unfortunately the gelding got loose pre-race and was scratched.
That left Steve Owens’ rejuvenated Poulin in O T as the possible main speed in the dash based on his impressive victory at Gulfstream Park in March. But the returning Scorching had other ideas as he went right into a pace battle with Poulin in O T in his first race since finishing fourth in last year’s King’s Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes. G T Five Hundred, trained by Dale Desruisseaux, chased the two front-runners through a sizzling first two furlongs in 21.62.
Scorching bravely grabbed the lead in mid-stretch and just about held on in a super effort for trainer John Charalambous, while Poulin in OT was third over a fast-closing Dreaming of Kona, who was making his debut for owner Andrew Stronach. The time was 1:04.64.
It was the 10th career win for G T Five Hundred from 41 starts and he collected $60,000 for the victory. The Kentucky-bred, who had previously been claimed six times in his career, recently won his first stakes race, the Forego at Turfway Park, and was offered for sale by owners Michael Dubb and Doug Nachman. Bidding went to $160,000 (US) for the gelding, but he was listed as a buy-back.
“We’ve had him about six, seven weeks now, pretty straightforward horse,” said Desruisseaux.
DiLalla is a longtime owner at Woodbine and almost 20 years ago he raced the top sprinter Paso Doble (Bold ‘n Flashy) won won $1 million. Mark Fournier and Mark Casse were among trainers for DiLalla through the years.
Bred by Joe, John and Karen Mulholland, G T Five Hundred is from the Mineshaft mare Cocoanut Row, a winner once in eight races. Cocoanut Row is the dam of seven other named foals including four other winners. His sire Astern, a Group 1 winner in Australia, currently stands in Turkey.
More Woodbine Sunday
It was also a good day for the computer-assisted wagering syndicates which played havoc with several winners on the Woodbine card, leaving racing fans and bettors frustrated once again with the drastic change in odds.
The most unsettling occurrence was in race 5 when Ivan Dalos’ ARAMI’S FACTOR walked into the gate at 6-to-1 and led all the way, winning at 9-to-5. The five-year-old mare by The Factor had three races on dirt at Gulfstream with a third-place finish, but had finished third in her last appearance on Tapeta in November.
Listed at 10-to-1 in the morning line odds, the Josie Carroll trainee and jockey Fraser Aebly led most of the way and won the seven furlong allowance/optional race and paid just $5.70. One observer noted on ‘X’ that it was “appalling this was still happening.”
In the final race of the day, GIVEMEMYTHEMEMUSIC (Game Winner), at 10-to-1 in the morning line, was 7-to-2 in the gate and in front at the finish at 2-to-1 for Bruno Schickedanz and trainer Devon Gittens. The New York-bred, claimed for $17,500 from a seventh-place finish in February at Aqueduct, had never tried Tapeta. The gelding, ridden by Pietro Moran, ran in fast time for the day, 1:23.49, and he was claimed for $15,000 by Natural Eight Stable.
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Trainer KERRON PALMER grabbed his first win of the season when GUS’S DRUMBEET won the first race for $23,500 claiming maidens. The Ontario-bred four-year-old by Brody’s Cause touted himself pre-race and had a good time on the pace under Romero Maragh, eventually getting clear to win as a first-time gelding. Radcliffe Racing Stables owns the Track West and Don Whalen-bred.
DALE POWELL won his second race of the meet as ECHO WITH LAUGHTER went to the lead and zipped home under Sofia Vives in his season debut. Now a nine-time winner, Echo With Laugher was claimed by Powell for $5,000 in November. Powell was winning his 20th career race. He won one of 10 starts in 2025 and two of 80 starts the previous year.
DAKOTAH BLUE (Mendolssohn), a Kentucky-bred filly, won a maiden special weight, race 3, under Jose Campos. Trained by Rachel Halden for Flying Zee Stable, Dakotah Blue sat a nice trip behind the speed before rallying to win in her first race since July 2025.
Campos came back in the next race and brought William Thompson’s MASTERFUL MOMENT from far back to win his maiden for $40,000 claiming in his second career start. Nathan Squires trains the Caravaggio New York-bred.
WILLFUL WARRIOR, who had been working very well for trainer Mark Casse, glided to an impressive debut win in race six at seven furlongs only to be disqualified for a slight move a few strides out of the gate that caused Prime Edge to clip heels. The head-on replay was hard to examine as the wind made the footage shaky, but the winner, an Ontario-bred by War of Will, did come over a tad near the chute, although the disqualification was certainly a surprise. Casse won the race anyway (as did co-owner Gary Barber) as another Ontario-bred, BELIEVIN, was moved up and Fraser Aebly got another win. Believin, by Blame, was bred by Apricot Valley Thoroughbreds and he is co-owned by Baccari Racing.
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