Nine 3-year-olds are set to go postward in Sunday\u2019s $400,000 Breeders\u2019 Stakes, the final jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, at Woodbine.<\/p>\n
The final event of the tri-surface series for Canadian-bred sophomores concludes on the inner turf with the longest leg of 1 \u00bd miles. Mansetti won the 166th edition of The King\u2019s Plate on Aug. 16, and Runaway Again took the second jewel in the series, the Prince of Wales Stakes, on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 Stakes.<\/p>\n
A son of Silent Name out of the Oratory mare Myrtle\u2019s Gray, Ciunas was an impressive debut winner on July 6. Sent off as the 5-2 choice in the 6 \u00bd-furlong race that drew 11 runners, the gelding rallied from last early to post a 1 \u00bc-length score in 1:17.65.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a powerful late kick,\u201d said Attfield. \u201cThat\u2019s the way we kind of want him to run.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his most recent effort, at 1 1\/16 miles on the grass, Ciunas, bred by Jeff Zlonis, who co-owns along with Richard Hogan, once again employed a powerful late turn of foot to record a one-length score in 1:44.44 over firm ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe relaxed early in the race, and he came with his run very effectively,\u201d said Attfield. \u201cThat\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe caught my eye right from when we started breezing him, actually,\u201d said the 85-year-old, whose outstanding resume includes a record-tying eight King\u2019s Plate victories as well as three Canadian Triple Crown triumphs \u2013 With Approval in 1989, Izvestia in 1990, and Peteski in 1993. \u201cHe always looked like a nice horse, and he\u2019s done everything right so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 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\u2019s why we nominated him for this race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
The decorated trainer, whose first Breeders\u2019 Stakes success came with Carotene in 1986, sees similarities between Ciunas and another horse once under his tutelage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had his half-brother, Gray\u2019s Fable, for years,\u201d Attfield said of the 10-year-old son of Gio Ponti, who won the 2021 Kitten\u2019s Joy Stakes (G3T). \u201cHe has gone on to win nearly $700,000, and he was the same kind of animal [as Ciunas] in the respect that he was always looking to achieve, wants to train, and loves to run.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ciunas posted a pair of five-furlong breezes over the turf training track on Sept. 14 (:59.60) and Sept. 21 (:58.80) ahead of the race.<\/p>\n
Attfield, whose most recent Breeders\u2019 Stakes victory came in 2015 with Danish Dynaformer, is expecting another strong performance from his pupil on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has worked extremely well. He worked faster than I wanted him to go this past weekend, but he did it within himself. I had to be pleased with that, and his gallop out was very good. It put the green light on as far as the decision for the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trainer Rachel Halden, who finished first and second with Roscar and Saccharine, respectively, in last year\u2019s Breeders\u2019 Stakes (both homebreds for Chiefswood Stables), sends out a pair of hopefuls in this year\u2019s running.<\/p>\n
Aristella arrives at her eighth consecutive stakes engagement off a rousing score in the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, third leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara, on Sept. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d said Halden. \u201cIt was a great effort and she has come out of it very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
A daughter of More Than Ready out of the unraced Street Cry mare Back to Love, Aristella, who won last year\u2019s Princess Elizabeth Stakes, is 3-0-1 from 10 starts.<\/p>\n
Owned by Flying Zee Racing Stables LLC, the bay debuted with an off-the-board finish on the Saratoga inner turf last July, and was fifth in her next start, a 1 1\/16-mile race over the E.P. Taylor turf at Woodbine that September.<\/p>\n
Aristella broke her maiden in her third start, a 1 \u00be-length triumph over a mile and 70 yards on the Woodbine main track last October.<\/p>\n
Bred by Peter A. Berglar Racing Interests, LLC & Anderson Farms (Ontario), Aristella was a $70,000 (U.S.) purchase at the 2023 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale.<\/p>\n
Adrian Harewood is the groom.<\/p>\n
Halden\u2019s other starter, Borealis Trail, broke through in a big way last time out.<\/p>\n
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 \u00bd-length score at one mile over the E.P. Taylor turf on Aug. 3.<\/p>\n
A bay son of Quality Road out of the Pulpit mare Aurora Lights, Borealis Trail debuted with a sixth over one mile on the Gulfstream main track on April 19.<\/p>\n
He followed it up with a third at 1 1\/16 miles on the Woodbine main track on June 22 and a sixth over the same course and distance on July 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that last one on the grass, he ran a big race,\u201d said Halden, of the 22-1 upset. \u201cWe were thrilled with that effort from top to bottom. This is a step up the ladder, but he\u2019s been doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray Perez is the groom.<\/p>\n
The most recent Triple Crown winner was Wando, who won the 2003 Breeders\u2019 Stakes with jockey Patrick Husbands aboard for trainer Michael Keogh and late owner\/breeder Gustav Schickedanz.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Since then, A Bit O\u2019Gold (2004), Pender Harbour (2011), and Tone Broke (2019) also claimed two-thirds of the Triple Crown by taking the last two legs. In 2020, Belichick won the Breeders\u2019, denying stablemate Mighty Heart a Triple Crown sweep.<\/p>\n
The longest shot to win the Breeders\u2019 Stakes was Miami Deco in 2010. The Ontario-bred son of Limehouse returned $132.10 for a $2 win bet. Catherine Day Phillips became the first female trainer to win the race courtesy of A Bit O\u2019Gold in 2004. One year later, she was in the winner\u2019s circle again, this time with Jambalaya.<\/p>\n
Post time is set for 1:05 p.m. ET, with the 135th running of the Breeders\u2019 Stakes scheduled as the ninth race (approximately 5:39 p.m. ET). The race will be broadcast live from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET on Sportsnet+.<\/p>\n
The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 9-10-11), and $1 Swinger.<\/p>\n
Breeders\u2019 Stakes \u2013 Race 9<\/p>\n
Scat Girl (S) \u2013 Daisuke Fukumoto \u2013 Mike De Paulo<\/p>\n
D\u2019aurum (S) \u2013 Pietro Moran \u2013 Kevin Attard<\/p>\n
Borealis Trail \u2013 Jose Campos \u2013 Rachel Halden<\/p>\n
Ciunas \u2013 Sahin Civaci \u2013 Roger Attfield<\/p>\n
Aristella \u2013 Patrick Husbands \u2013 Rachel Halden<\/p>\n
Watsonville Red \u2013 Leo Salles \u2013 Mike De Paulo<\/p>\n
Faber \u2013 Pietro Moran \u2013 Kevin Attard<\/p>\n
Sedburys Ghost \u2013 Ryan Munger \u2013 Barb Minshall<\/p>\n
Tom\u2019s Magic \u2013 Rafael Hernandez \u2013 Michael Stidham<\/p>\n
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report<\/a> on Sep 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nine 3-year-olds are set to go postward in Sunday\u2019s $400,000 Breeders\u2019 Stakes, the final jewel in the OLG…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[73101,33607,9581,73102,3004,7765,101,14245,56,54,55,12466],"class_list":{"0":"post-160714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-breeders-stakes","9":"tag-canadian-triple-crown","10":"tag-race","11":"tag-rachel-halden","12":"tag-racing","13":"tag-roger-attfield","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-triple-crown","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom","19":"tag-woodbine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}