2022 Ricoh Woodbine Mile Cheat Sheet: Get to Know the Horses

Racing
Grade 1 winners Town Cruise, Modern Games, and Ivar (left to right) are three contenders in a quality field set to contest the Woodbine Mile on Sept. 17. (Eclipse Sportswire-Eclipse Sportswire-Coady Photography)

The $1 million, Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes at Woodbine is one of the marquee turf races for milers in North America and regularly attracts elite turf horses from Europe as well.

The Sept. 17 race one of the highlights of the meet at the Ontario, Canada track, and the Woodbine Mile also a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile, providing the winner an expenses-paid berth to the race Nov. 5 at Keeneland

First held in 1988 and moved to turf and to its current distance in 1997, the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile has been won by star racehorses such as Dance Smartly, Skip Away, Leroidesanimaux, Shakespeare, Wise Dan (twice), Tepin, and World Approval.

The Woodbine Mile will be televised live on FanDuel TV and will also be shown on the “Woodbine Live!” livestream presented by America’s Best Racing and Woodbine.

Read on for information about all of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile horses.


Michael Burns/Woodbine

1. Mighty Heart (20-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Justin Stein

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owner: Lawrence Cordes

Career record: 20 starts – 6 wins – 2 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $1,112,675

Earnings per start: $55,634

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Dramedy – Emma's Bullseye, by City Place

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: One-eyed Mighty Heart captured the hearts of racing fans when he won the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes in 2020 before his Canadian Triple Crown bid came up short in the Breeders’ Stakes on the turf. He was named Canadian Horse of the Year in 2020 and again in 2021, when he won three stakes, including two graded stakes at Woodbine. Two factors play against the bay 5-year-old by Dramedy in the Woodbine Mile: he is winless in four starts in 2022 and he’s finished fifth or worse in his three previous starts on grass. Mighty Heart would need to show heretofore unseen aptitude on turf to have a legitimate chance to win the Woodbine Mile and thus he is tough to endorse as a serious contender despite his flashy résumé. Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll has never won the Woodbine Mile; jockey Justin Stein win the race in 2020 with the popular racemare Starship Jubilee.


Coady Photography

2. Ivar (4-1)

Jockey: Joe Talamo

Trainer: Paulo Lobo

Owners: Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R D I

Career record: 12 starts – 6 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $964,513

Earnings per start: $80,376

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 122

Pedigree: Agnes Gold – May Be Now, by Smart Strike

Age: 6

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: I’ve always found 6-year-old Ivar interesting as a Brazilian-bred by a Japanese sire who started his career in Argentina before developing into one of the leading turf milers in the United States over the previous two seasons. Ivar finished third in the 2021 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF after he was fourth, beaten by two lengths, in the 2020 edition of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. A Grade 1 winner in 2020, Ivar returned from eighth months off July 9 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he won the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes by a length as the 6-5 favorite. He’s been handled very carefully by trainer Paulo Lobo since coming to the U.S. from Argentina – making only nine starts since his stateside debut in May 2020 – but Ivar is capable of running a monster race at his best and should be primed for a big effort in his second start off the long layoff. A win candidate.


Michael Burns/Woodbine

3. Wakanaka (10-1)

Jockey: Manny Franco

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owners: Team Valor International and Gary Barber

Career record: 13 starts – 7 wins – 4 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $456,299

Earnings per start: $35,100

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Power – Storyline, by Kodiac

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Wakanaka was a four-time stakes winner in Italy, including a classic win in the Premio Regina Elena (Italian One Thousand Guineas), before she was purchased privately by Team Valor International and Gary Barber and transferred to trainer Bill Mott for her 4-year-old season. After the filly hit the board in three straight graded stakes from March to June, including a second in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game Stakes, Mott shipped Wakanaka to Canada and she turned in her best effort to date in North America by posting a 1 ¾-length score in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. The competition gets significantly tougher in the Woodbine Mile in a Grade 1 race against males, but she seemed to relish the turf course at Woodbine in her first try racing on it and she’s in terrific form for a Hall of Fame trainer. A victory might be a tall order but expect Wakanaka to run well and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her battling for the lead late. Mott won this race in 1997 with Geri; owners Team Valor and Gary Barber won the Woodbine Mile in 2006 with Becrux, who like Wakanaka began his career in Italy.


4. Finest Sound (10-1)

Jockey: Andrea Atzeni

Trainers: Simon and Ed Crisford

Owner: Sheikh Mohammed Obaid al-Maktoum

Career record: 20 starts – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 7 thirds

Career earnings: $234,741

Earnings per start: $11,737

Top Equibase Speed Figure: N/A

Pedigree: Exceed And Excel – Amplifier, by Dubawi

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Finest Sound is a European shipper who could fly under the radar as his record is very consistent but the 5-year-old Exceed And Excel gelding is still seeking his first career stakes win. With three runner-up finishes in group stakes, including the Group 1 Jebel Hatta Sponsored by Emirates Airline in March 2022, Finest Sound has established class and he’s run in the top three in 15 of his 20 lifetime starts. He’s been especially consistent of late with four straight quality starts, most recently running second by a neck in the Group 2 William Hill Celebration Mile Stakes Aug. 27 at Goodwood. If he can replicate that performance Saturday at Woodbine, it should most likely have him in the mix for a top-three finish in the stretch.


Eclipse Sportswire

5. Modern Games (7-5)

Jockey: William Buick

Trainer: Charlie Appleby

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 10 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,406,404

Earnings per start: $140,640

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Dubawi – Modern Ideals, by New Approach

Age: 3

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This colt ships into Canada to face older horses for European trainer Charlie Appleby, who amassed a remarkable eight Grade 1 wins in North America in 2021, including three at Woodbine and one with Modern Games in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Modern Games’ Juvenile Turf win was one of three for Appleby at last year’s World Championships. Appleby is back to his 2021 tricks this year as he’s added wins in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes with With the Moonlight and Grade 1 Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes with Nations Pride, so any entrant from this potent barn must be respected when crossing the Atlantic to compete. As for Modern Games, he won the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) in June and enters off a runner-up finish to unbeaten (10-for-10) Baaeed in the Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes July 27 at Glorious Goodwood. Appleby will try for his sixth Grade 1 win at Woodbine and first in the Woodbine Mile, and Modern Games very likely will be favored to get the job done. Jockey William Buick and owner Godolphin also are seeking their first win in the Woodbine Mile.


Eclipse Sportswire

6. Shirl’s Speight (12-1)

Jockey: Emma-Jayne Wilson

Trainer: Roger Attfield

Owner: Charles Fipke

Career record: 12 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $632,375

Earnings per start: $52,698

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Speightstown – Perfect Shirl, by Perfect Soul

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Shirl’s Speight strung together three terrific races in a row earlier this year, culminating with a nose victory over Masen in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes April 15 at Keeneland. He earned a career-best 110 Equibase Speed Figure in that race and an effort of similar quality would place the 5-year-old by Speightstown squarely in contention to win the Woodbine Mile. Problem is, Shirl’s Speight’s form has faded since that Grade 1 win as he’s been beaten by at least four lengths in three subsequent starts with his lone top-three finish a third on dirt in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile Stakes June 18 at Monmouth Park. Shirl’s Speight enters the Woodbine Mile off a fifth-place finish, beaten by 4 ½ lengths, in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup Stakes July 23 at Woodbine and would need a sharp turnaround against better competition be a win candidate Saturday. He showed in the Maker’s Mark Mile that he can excel at this level, but his last three races don’t inspire confidence that Shirl’s Speight is sitting on a peak performance. Trainer Roger Attfield won the race twice when it was called the Molson Export Million in 1990 with Izvestia and in 1993 with Peteski.


BENOIT photo

7. Homer Screen (10-1)

Jockey: Joe Bravo

Trainer: Neil Drysdale

Owner: Team Valor International

Career record: 10 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $56,493

Earnings per start: $5,649

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Adriano – Smile Jenny, by Wild Event

Age: 6

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Dominant in his native Brazil, Homer Screen won five of his six starts there with a pair of group stakes wins before he was purchased privately by Team Valor International and transferred to the U.S. barn of Hall of Fame trainer Neil Drysdale. Homer Screen has run well enough in four Southern California starts for Drysdale but is still seeking his first win for his new connections. His best race in that stretch was a second by three-quarters of a length to Hong Kong Harry in the Grade 3 American Stakes in June at Santa Anita Park at 28.80-1 odds. Homer Screen figures to be a big price in this race as well, but perhaps the extraordinarily firm turf in Southern California is not ideal for him and shipping north to Canada will unlock some of the magic he displayed in Brazil. He profiles as an intriguing longshot to fill out exacta, trifecta, and superfecta tickets for a trainer who has won this race three times: Labeeb (1998), Touch of the Blues (2003), and Becrux (2006) as well as once when it was the Molson Export Million with Prized (1989). Team Valor was co-owner of 2006 winner Becrux.


Chelsea Durand/NYRA

8. Get Smokin (10-1)

Jockey: Rafael Manuel Hernandez

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owners: Ironhorse Racing Stable, BlackRidge Stables, T-N-T Equine Holdings and Saratoga Seven Racing Partners

Career record: 20 starts – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $496,190

Earnings per start: $24,810

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Get Stormy – Hookah Lady, by Smoke Glacken

Age: 5

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: A graded stakes winner in 2020 and 2021, Get Smokin is winless in five races this season. He set the pace but could not hold on late when second in both the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in February and the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes June 4 at Churchill Downs. Admission Office caught him in the closing strides of the Arlington as Get Smokin came up just a head short in a big effort. Since that race, the 5-year-old Get Stormy gelding has finished fourth in the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple Stakes and Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap, both going this one-mile distance at Saratoga Race Course. He projects as a key player as far as the pace scenario but is probably a fringe win contender against this talented group, but he could hold on for a share if he relishes the turf course at Woodbine in his first start at the track. Trainer Mark Casse won this race in 2016 with Tepin and in 2017 with World Approval.


Michael Burns/Woodbine

9. War Bomber (20-1)

Jockey: Sahin Civachi

Trainer: Norman McKnight

Owner: Bruno Schickedanz

Career record: 11 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $212,392

Earnings per start: $19,308

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: War Front – Sun Shower, by Indian Ridge

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: War Bomber is a talented 4-year-old gelding taking a major step up in class in the Woodbine Mile. He led from start to finish on the synthetic Tapeta Footings main track at Woodbine most recently when winning the Grade 3 Seagram Cup Stakes Aug. 14 and he won a one-mile stakes race on the grass at Woodbine last September. He will face a significantly higher caliber of competition here while making his return to the grass after five straight starts on the main track. It will be interesting to see what tactics jockey Sahin Civachi and trainer Norm McKnight employ in a race that features several other runners that prefer to set or press the pace. War Bomber enjoyed success rallying from off the pace in his turf races in 2021, so perhaps Civachi will reserve his stamina for a late rally. War Bomber profiles as an intriguing longshot who could spice up the exotics with a career-best race.


Eclipse Sportswire

10. Town Cruise (20-1)

Jockey: Daisuke Fukumoto

Trainer: Brandon Greer

Owner: Brandon Greer

Career record: 17 starts – 6 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $799,121

Earnings per start: $47,007

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Town Prize – Candy Cruise, by Candy Ride

Age: 7

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Town Cruise set an uncontested pace last year under jockey Daisuke Fukumoto in the Woodbine Mile and cruised to a mild upset at 8.65-1 odds for owner-trainer Brandon Greer, winning by 2 ¼ lengths from Space Traveller. The bay Town Prize gelding peaked at the perfect time a year ago as he posted a pair of dominant, front-running allowance wins before leading into deep stretch when second in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes at one mile on the Woodbine turf. He set a much faster pace in the King Edward than he would six weeks later in the Woodbine Mile, and thus had more fuel in reserve late in that career-defining win. Town Cruise has been unable to take the early lead in three subsequent starts – a measure of respect after the Woodbine Mile win – and he’s been soundly defeated in all three races. He finished eighth, beaten by seven lengths in the 1 ¼-mile Niagara Stakes in his season debut in July and then was fifth most recently, beaten by seven lengths, in this year’s renewal of the King Edward. While eligible to improve in his third race after a 9 ½-month layoff, there is no denying Town Cruise was in much better form at this time a year ago and there seems to be enough early speed to at least keep him honest up front. Setting the pace and holding on for third or fourth feels like the upside for Town Cruise in the 2022 Woodbine Mile.


Michael Burns/Woodbine

11. March to the Arch (12-1)

Jockey: Patrick Husbands

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: Live Oak Plantation

Career record: 33 starts – 8 wins – 5 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $1,017,124

Earnings per start: $30,822

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 118

Pedigree: Arch – Daveron, by Black Sam Bellamy

Age: 7

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The 7-year-old Arch gelding ran second in the 2020 Ricoh Woodbine Mile and finished fourth in last year’s edition, and he owns three stakes wins on the turf at Woodbine. March to the Arch has won at least one stakes race every year from 2018 through 2021, but he is still looking for his first victory of the year in 2022 entering his fourth start of the season. Winless in his last six races, March to the Arch would need to regain his peak form to be a threat to win the 2022 Woodbine Mile but he typically finishes willingly and could fill out a spot in the trifecta or superfecta with a late rally at a nice price for trainer Mark Casse, who won this race in 2016 with Tepin and in 2017 with World Approval. Live Oak Plantation owned and bred 2017 winner World Approval; jockey Patrick Husbands won the Woodbine Mile in 2001, when it was called the Atto Mile, with Numerous Times.

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