Five Iron made every pole a winning one to capture Saturday’s $127,750 Toronto Cup, at Woodbine. Five Iron, a chestnut son of Sharp Humor trained by Brian Lynch, came into the 1 1/8-mile turf stake off a front-running score in the Victoria Park Stakes and found that same style to be a winning one in […]

Nikkis Smartypants survived a speed duel with Little River to take Sunday’s Grade 3 $175,500 Royal North Stakes, at Woodbine. Trained by Bob Tiller for owner Ben Hutzel, the Ontario-bred daughter of Smarty Jones made her turf debut a memorable one with a determined effort in the six furlong sprint for fillies, three-years-old and upward. […]

Fifty Proof, Canada’s champion older male of 2011, returned from a lengthy layoff to take Sunday’s $126,600 Sir Barton Stakes, at Woodbine. Fifty Proof, trained by Ian Black and ridden by Justin Stein, had not competed since a second-place effort in the Grade 2 Nijinksy Stakes on July 24, 2011. Black patiently conditioned the six-year-old […]

Lateegra, at 9-1, under jockey Slade Callaghan, rallied stoutly down the long E.P. Taylor Turf Course stretch to take all the spoils for three-year-old fillies in Saturday’s $150,000 Carotene Stakes at Woodbine. The 1 1/8-mile grass race gave the Mike Doyle trainee her first stakes triumph. She was second, at 52-1, to Awesome Fire in […]

Robert Evans’s Irish Mission, ridden by Alex Solis, pulled off a 9-1 shocker Sunday afternoon in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies. At the finish of the mile and one-eighth classic, timed in 1:50.50, Irish Mission had fended off the stretch challenges of Northern Passion and Awesome Fire for the three-quarter length score. Pacesetter […]