G T FIVE HUNDRED (Astern (Aus)) has joined the stable of Dominic Delillo’s Centennial Farms Niagara and trainer Dale Desruisseaux and could appear in the Thorncliffe Stakes coming up at Woodbine. G T Five Hundred, a six-year-old gelding who has earned over $500,000, was bought after the March Digital Sale at Fasig-Tipton for a reported $160,000. The gelding won three races in succession at Turfway Park recently including his first stakes race, the Forego. The bay gelding is a nine-time winner.
G T Five Hundred is expected to meet Scorching, among others, in the Thorncliffe at 5 1/2 furlongs.
Desruisseaux recently brought back stakes winner filly PIPER’S GIFT to action for her three-year-old campaign. One of the favourites for the Woodbine Oaks, a finalist for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly last year, competed in Saturday’s Memories of Silver Stakes on yielding grass at Aqueduct. The Chiefswood Stables’ homebred, who won the Glorious Song Stakes and Princess Elizabeth on her preferred Tapeta surface, was one-paced in the Memories of Silver behind a slow pace and finished fourth, beaten seven lengths.
Desruisseaux told NYRA media last week that he expects to have horses in New York during the winter for the new Empire Series on Tapeta at Belmont.
The first four races in the Empire Trillium Series at Belmont Park will be run in December for foals of 2024 with purses of $200,000 each. The marquee events of the series at Belmont Park will be held in late January with the inaugural editions of the $300,000 Long Island Derby and Oaks. The New York section of the series continues in February with a pair of $200,000 sprints before the action shifts to Woodbine for six more stakes.
“It’s a really good thing to have between the two jurisdictions,” Desruisseaux said. “I think it will help both jurisdictions and I’ve heard a few Canadian trainers talking about taking horses down there this winter.”
Desruisseaux shipped Church and State to the Big A twice last year for turf stakes, including a strong third in the Grade 3 Hill Prince in November. He believes the opportunity to race on Tapeta in New York this winter will be attractive for Woodbine-based trainers.
“I think some people that have gone down there previously have struggled with horses that haven’t adapted as well to the dirt surface. With the Tapeta, I think it will be a lot better,” Desruisseaux said.
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LUZ DE LA LUNA is a favourite mare of many at Woodbine. She is certainly a favourite of Lisa McCallum Smith and Patrick Steane. McCallum Smith and Steane first claimed Luz de la Luna from Vidal Squires for $25,000 in November of 2022. They won four races with the daughter of Uncaptured before she was claimed by Bruno Schickedanz in October 2024 for $47,500.
In May of 2025, McCallum Smith and Steane re-claimed the mare for $50,000, but lost her back to Schickedanz a race later for the same price. Trainer David Borsk, for McCallum Smith, put a slip in to take the mare back once again on August 9 last summer for $50,000. They won with ‘Luna’ in October before, you guessed it, Schickedanz insisted on taking the mare back for $50,000 in November. Raced in Florida with Martin Drexler, Luza de la Luna was unplaced in two races and returned to her favourite track on Saturday with a $50,000 tag. She finished third, beaten 10 lengths and after the race, headed back to the Borsk barn. She was claimed for $50,000 for the seventh time.
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Popular exercise rider KORINA MCLEAN, who had dozens of stories written about her while she was prepping the great Moira for trainer Kevin Attard, has left Woodbine to work in Kentucky. McLean accompanied Moira to the U.S. when she raced there and was front and centre when the mare won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2024. She is also the rider of promising prospects Belle and recent graded stakes winner Sultana. McLean said she appreciated everything trainer Attard did for her, but felt it was time to move on.
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