As the Breeders' Cup World Championships continue to take shape, all eyes will shift to Woodbine Sept. 14 for its big day of racing that includes three Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races.
The dozen races on the Saturday card feature six graded stakes, including four grade 1 events. Of those grade 1 races, three carry Breeders' Cup "Win & You're" in status with the CA$500,000 Summer Stakes (G1T) awarding a fees-paid spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), the CA500,000 Natalma Stakes (G1T) providing a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T), and the CA$1 million Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) awarding a start in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).
In further leaning into a big-day approach, this year's card features the addition of the CA$750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T), which previously had been run three weeks later. While the E. P. Taylor is not part of the Challenge series, the 1 1/4-mile turf race for fillies and mares certainly could produce a Breeders' Cup starter or two. Moira, who earned a placing in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T), enters off a victory in the Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) at Colonial Downs.
Noting he has prepped at Woodbine for some of his biggest Breeders' Cup and classic wins, Racing Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has entered runners in all four grade 1 events Saturday at Woodbine. He has eight runners entered in the Natalma, perhaps topped by debut winners Winterberry and Latin Fever; in the E. P. Taylor he has Fev Rover, who will try to defend her 2023 win.
Counting also-eligibles and cross-entered horses, Casse has nine entered in the Summer Stakes, including stakes-placed winner Dream On; and in the Woodbine Mile he has entered the trio of Filo Di Arianna, Win for the Money, and My Boy Prince.
The Woodbine Mile is a well-worn path to the Breeders' Cup Mile, with its past two winners sweeping both races in Godolphin homebreds Master of The Seas last year and Modern Games in 2022. Casse swept the races in 2017 with World Approval while Tepin won the Breeders' Cup Mile in 2015 for the trainer then won the Woodbine Mile in 2016, a year she just missed a repeat in the Breeders' Cup when a close second to Tourist at Santa Anita Park.
"It's a great, great weekend of racing," Casse said of Saturday's Woodbine card. "I just can never say enough great things about Woodbine. It's a great place to race. It's a great place to train. If you look at it, I think for five of my six Breeders' Cup winners Woodbine was instrumental in getting to the Breeders' Cup—and winning."
Besides Tepin and World Approval, Casse-trained Shamrock Rose won the La Lorgnette Stakes at Woodbine and Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland ahead of her 2018 score in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1). Catch a Glimpse won the 2015 Natalma before taking the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland.
"I've been all over the North America—California to South Florida. There's a lot of great places to race, great places to train," Casse said. "But in my opinion, there's no better place than Woodbine."
As usual, Saturday's Woodbine fields feature a number of European-trained runners that should both test the North American-based runners while providing some nuggets for handicappers sizing up the strengths of this year's grass runners from all corners of the globe.
Among those runners, Godolphin will try for a third straight Woodbine Mile win with Naval Power, who is listed as the even-money favorite on the morning line. In the spring the son of Teofilo finished second in both the Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Churchill Downs and the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland.
In the E. P. Taylor, Godolophin has entered Cinderella's Dream, who captured this year's Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) and the Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T). The daughter of Shamardal also boasts wins in Dubai and England. In the Natalma, Mountain Breeze, a group 2-placed daughter of Lope de Vega for Godolphin, is scheduled to make her North Amercian debut. Al Qudra, a stakes winner for Godolphin, is scheduled to make his North American debut in the Summer.
"Having the eyes of the Thoroughbred racing world on Woodbine for this Saturday's exceptional card is truly exciting," said Woodbine CEO Michael Copeland. "We take immense pride in our world-renowned E. P. Taylor Turf Course, so to have four grade 1 turf races, three of which are Breeders' Cup 'Win & You're In' events, all on the same day is one of the best showcases imaginable.
"It's well known that when people see the Woodbine brand, they think of our turf racing and a day like this coming Saturday. A huge thank you to our racing team for putting together such an outstanding card and to the owners, trainers, jockeys, and everyone else involved for their contributions to what promises to be an amazing day of racing."
