Days three and four of the 2026 Woodbine season were held this weekend and 11 of the 16 races run were won by horses who have been racing or training through the winter.
The featured race on Sunday was the Woodstock Stakes, won last year by eventual King’s Plate winner and Horse of the Year Mansetti. This year’s field had just four entrants; Gnome was a late scratch, and the overwhelming favourite was the Soaring Free Stakes winner TWO OUT HERO (War Front), a finalist for Champion Two-Year-Old Colt last year. Trained by Kevin Attard, Two Out Hero was third in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes in 2025 and wintered in Florida. He made two starts at Turfway Park, finishing a troubled ninth in the John Battaglia and seventh in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks.
Two Out Hero’s opposition was the fleet Kentucky-based colt ARBITER (Charlatan), winner of his first two races before he was eliminated at the start of the Texas Glitter Stakes at Gulfstream Park in March. Bull Page Stakes winner Silver Is Best and the maiden El Cap completed the field.
The Woodstock was essentially over from the start as Arbiter and jockey Pietro Moran jumped out to a clear lead. Two Out Hero gave a good chase to the turn before giving way. Arbiter won by six lengths in 1:10.31 over a slow Tapeta surface. Silver Is Best finished second.
Arbiter was a $375,000 purchase from the 2025 April Ocala Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale by Resolution Road Stable of Roy Israel and Laura Walker. The colt had been through several sales previously. He was a $175,000 weanling in 2023 at Keeneland and a $100,000 yearling in October of 2024. The colt is out of the Tiznow mare Bicolour, an unplaced half-sister to graded stakes winners Ragtime and Snowbell. Bicolour has produced four other named foals and one winner, the Woodbine winner Carlisle Bay.
The breeders of Arbiter were Hunter Valley Farm, Richie Galways, Frank Hutchinson and Lynch Bages Ltd.
It seems the CAW (computer assisted wagering) players were out in full force at Woodbine on Sunday with many horses dropping sharply in odds from the gate to the finish.
HEAVEN’S CHAMPION, a chestnut colt by Mshawish, was making his Woodbine debut for Valenti Racing Stable and trainer Jamie Begg in a $7,500 claiming dash for non-winners of two. It was race 2 on Sunday and it was a small field, but the colt had never sprinted after 11 starts. With Sofia Vives riding, Heaven’s Champion was 4-to-5 in the gate, lacked speed, and was at least 10 lengths behind the field early. He started moving at the quarter pole and flew past rivals to win big at just 1-to-5 odds.
In race 4, Florida-raced LAZIO (Bucchero) was also making his Woodbine debut and the Florida bred was 1-to-2 in the gate and 1-to-5 during the race. Under Emma-Jayne Wilson, Lazio, trained by Bill Tharrenos, rode the rail to the turn, angled out and drove on to a strong score in the $14,000 claiming dash at 5 1/2 furlongs for Natural Eight Stable.
Trainer Debra Rombis, who went two-for-two on opening weekend, was looking for another win in Sunday’s 5th race and her new claim VAMOS VIEJO was hammered down to 3-to-5 despite not having won since 2024. The gelding had a tough introduction to Woodbine however, as he broke behind the field, was checked sharply into the turn and then he closed fast, but too late to catch Robert Tiller’s Napa Spirit (Ire).
Napa Spirit, a seven-year-old, was winning for the eighth time in his 28th start and Xarel Forde was riding.
The 2025 Sovereign Award-winning rider RAFAEL HERNANDEZ won a pair of races on Saturday and added another on Sunday aboard the grey speedster THE GREAT OZ, owned by TEC Stable. An eight-year-old by Liam’s Map, The Great Oz was claimed by TEC in April 2024 and he won a trio of races for trainer Martin Drexler. Joe Sharp had been training the gelding in Kentucky this winter and Katarina Vassileiva took over with the horse this month. The Great Oz has won eight of 42 races.
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