The best news from opening weekend of the 71st Woodbine season is that horsepeople finally got a chance to race their horses and collect some purse money after a long and lean winter. It was made a bit easier to win as the fields were quite small, but there were only seven races on each day and the weather was cool, rainy, and even snowy.
HALEY’S HONOR, a speedy daughter of Honor Code, won the first race of the year on the pace under jockey Jose Campos, who missed the last few weeks of the 2025 season due to injury. Trained by Steven Chircop, Haley’s Honor won by 6 1/2 lengths and collected more than $22,000 for winning the $25,000 claiming race. Her time of 58.77 for 5 furlongs earned her a 76 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form, the highest number of the day.
Chircop, who winters at Penn National among other tracks, co-owns the five-year-old mare with Rob Marzilli and JDLP Holdings.
The seven races on opening day were won by seven different trainers and riders and there were some nice longshots for bettors mixed in with favourites.
Ten-pound apprentice rider Christoff Douglas squeaked a win on Vandoo in race two for Dale Powell, who had only 10 starters in 2025 and one win and two wins in the previous year. Vandoo, by Souper Speedy, is owned by MM and R Racing Stables.
Hall of Fame trainer ROBERT TILLER was in the winner’s circle on opening day with the fast filly MINIMUM FORTY, also by Souper Speedy, who remained unbeaten with a front-running score at 5 1/2 furlongs under Daisuke Fukumoto. The four-year-old filly is two-for-two and she is a homebred for 3 Sons Racing Stables. Minimum Forty’s full sister Maximum Fifty was the winningest horse at Woodbine in 2025, with six victories.
Daisuke Fukumoto (rail #1) aboard Minimum Forty turns for home into the stretch with #2 Barbara Joan (middle) in the 3rd race on opening day of the 128 day Thoroughbred race meet. (Michael Burns photo)
Trainer DEVON GITTENS was no doubt happy to be back at Woodbine after his first winter in New York. Most of the horses Gittens had at Aqueduct did not care for the dirt track and while GRETNA GREEN was in New York with him, she did not race there. Instead, she battled hard to win on Saturday for $15,000 claiming with Rico Walcott riding. A grey daughter of Where’s the Ring, Gretna Green is owned by Bruno Schickedanz.
An impressive winner on opening day was the first-time starter IMPULSIVE BID, a grey three-year-old by Liam’s Map who was a $55,000 yearling purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September sale by Camhaven Farms. Trained by Preston Ferris, who took over the Camhaven horses this winter at Fair Grounds, Impulsive Bid reeled in the filly Justine to win the 5-furlong dash handily before he galloped out far in front. Keveh Nicholls was the winning rider on the gelding, who had worked as fast as 33 seconds and change for 3 furlongs last summer.
DEBRA ROMBIS, who almost always has her horses ready in the spring, brought the eight-year-old mare CHROMEPLATED HEART back this season and the Kantharos mare also does well when she is fresh. She won on Saturday to the tune of a $25 payoff, out-battling Sinclairity to win for the fifth time in her career. Jeff Alderson had the heady ride on the chestnut mare. And wrapping up the day was ELGIN PARK (Spun to Run) who stole the thunder from his heavily-bet stablemate Frankness, leading most the way to win the maiden optional dash in his fourth career start. Bred by Ballycroy Bloodstock, the gelding was ridden by Ryan Munger for trainer Bill Tharrenos. Frankness, by Reload, was second.
SUNDAY
Munger was the boss on Sunday at Woodbine, winning three of the seven races, putting him at four for the weekend. The South African, who joined the Woodbine jock’s room in 2023, is on his way to perhaps challenging for top spot. Munger won on Freedom Farms’ VEGAS ROAD, a filly by Reload (who also had a good day), race 2, which was a $40,000 maiden/optional claiming race at 5 furlongs. Trained by Tara Neigel, also new to the Woodbine circuit, Vegas Road was winter-trained in Florida and was making her second career start. The filly was bred by Northern Dawn Stables in Ontario.
Munger won on another Reload in race 5 as MAGIC POWER took off and scored an upset in the $32,000 claiming dash for RCC Racing Stable. The gelding had come to life last fall with a win and three second-place finishes for trainer John Mattine. Northern Dawn and Kathy Biers bred the bay four-year-old.
Munger won race 6, too, guiding another speedster trained by Neigel, SPLIT STRIKE, to a handy win in the Welcome Back Handicap worth $60,000. The five-year-old by Goldencents was claimed by Canada West Racing a year ago in Florida for $12,500 and he was a winner this past February for $25,000.
Trainers Rombis and Mattine had two wins on the weekend. Rombis came back Sunday with Got a Complex, a filly who won her maiden for $25,000 with Jodeien Anderson riding, while Mattine and RCC Racing had another upsetter as QUADZILLA (Souper Speedy), won the last race at 18-to-1, leading throughout with a wind bias in his favour.
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