Nine 3-year-olds are set to go postward in the Sept. 28 CA$400,000 Breeders' Stakes, the final jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown, at Woodbine.
The final event of the tri-surface series for Canadian-bred sophomores concludes on the inner turf with the longest leg of 1 1/2 miles. Mansetti won the King's Plate Stakes Aug. 16 and Runaway Again took the second jewel in the series, the Prince of Wales Stakes, Sept. 9. Neither of those horses will contest the Breeders'.
Ciunas heads into his first stakes test off a pair of impressive victories, one on the Woodbine main track, the other over the Toronto oval's inner turf, for dual Hall of Fame conditioner Roger Attfield, who has won a record nine Breeders' Stakes.
In the Silent Name gelding's most recent effort, at 1 1/16 miles on the grass, Ciunas, co-owned by Richard Hogan and breeder Jeff Zlonis, employed a powerful late turn of foot to record a 1-length score in 1:44.44 over firm ground.
"He relaxed early in the race, and he came with his run very effectively," Attfield said. "That's what we have been looking for from him and that is what he has shown in both races. He can settle well at the start and then put in that nice run at the end."
Attfield, inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2012, was impressed with Ciunas well before his career bow.
"He caught my eye right from when we started breezing him, actually," said the 85-year-old, whose outstanding resume includes a record-tying eight King's Plate victories as well as three Canadian Triple Crown triumphs—With Approval in 1989, Izvestia in 1990, and Peteski in 1993. "He always looked like a nice horse, and he's done everything right so far."
Attfield, whose most recent Breeders' Stakes victory came in 2015 with Danish Dynaformer, is expecting another strong performance from his pupil Sunday.
"He's coming along very nicely. This is a big step up, but from everything I have seen of him, he should enjoy the mile and a half. That's why we nominated him for this race."
Trainer Rachel Halden, who finished first and second with Roscar and Saccharine, respectively, in last year's Breeders' Stakes (both homebreds for Chiefswood Stables) sends out a pair of hopefuls in this year's running.
Aristella arrives at her eighth consecutive stakes engagement off a rousing score in the Wonder Where Stakes, third leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara, Sept. 6.
"We knew it was going to be a tough race, but she was doing so well coming into the race and we felt she deserved to be there," Halden said. "It was a great effort and she has come out of it very well."
Halden's other starter, Borealis Trail, broke through in a big way last time out.
After three starts on the main track to launch his career, the homebred for Chiefswood Stables stormed past his rivals late en route to a maiden-breaking 1 1/2-length score at 1 mile over the E. P. Taylor Turf Course Aug. 3.
"In that last one on the grass, he ran a big race," Halden said of the 22-1 upset. "We were thrilled with that effort from top to bottom. This is a step up the ladder, but he's been doing well."
Woodbine, Sunday, September 28, 2025, Race 9Entries: Breeders' S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Scat Girl (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 123 Michael P. De Paulo - 2 D'aurum (ON) Pietro Moran 123 Kevin Attard - 3 Borealis Trail (ON) Jose Luis Campos 126 Rachel Halden - 4 Ciunas (ON) Sahin Civaci 126 Roger L. Attfield - 5 Aristella (ON) Patrick Husbands 123 Rachel Halden - 6 Watsonville Red (ON) Leo Salles 126 Michael P. De Paulo - 7 Faber (ON) Pietro Moran 126 Kevin Attard - 8 Sedburys Ghost (ON) Ryan Munger 126 Barbara J. Minshall - 9 Tom's Magic (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 126 Michael Stidham -
