Woodbine Picks for Hendrie Stakes Day, 7/25/2026

Key Takeaways:

• Woodbine's Saturday card features three graded stakes, with the Hendrie headlining a strong afternoon of sprint and route action.
• Warm weather is expected, but a chance of showers makes scratches and late changes worth monitoring before wagering.
• Lake Como Heist & Imperial War: Both offer upside over exposed rivals, with lightly raced profiles that make them attractive longshot plays.
• Empty Handed & Aretha: Two turf newcomers with strong pedigrees and tactical versatility could outperform their odds in a balanced Ontario Colleen.
• Design & Golden Sunshine: Design gets a favorable pace setup, while Golden Sunshine's proven all-weather form makes her a reliable late threat.

The summer meet at Woodbine is going strong. On Saturday, July 25, filly and mare sprinters get the spotlight in the Hendrie Stakes (G3), a 6 ½-furlong sprint that always has strong implications in the Sovereign Award races for Canadian champion female sprinters, and even the races for champion older female at large.

However, the Hendrie is not the only thing going on at Woodbine on Saturday. The Hendrie is one of three graded-stakes races on the 11-race card. The Ontario Colleen (G3) is a turf mile for sophomore fillies that drew a competitive field of nine, and the Trillium (G3) is a route on the all-weather that drew a group of nine fillies and mares led by Rashmi, who comes in fresh from a runner-up finish in the Gamely (G1).

The action gets underway at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Saturday is expected to be a warm day in the Toronto area, but there is a 30% chance of showers as of Thursday, according to Environment Canada. So, make sure to check for scratches and changes – they can affect the pace and class balances of the races, and can happen for any reason.

Horse Racing: Woodbine Racetrack Picks

These are three best bets on Saturday’s Hendrie Stakes day card at Woodbine:

Race 2: $10,000-$9,500 maiden claiming, seven furlongs on the Tapeta Lake Como Heist, Imperial War

FanDuel odds: 10-1 and 12-1

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This race is a seven-furlong maiden claiming race at the bottom level – it’s no place for the meek, but it’s an interesting betting race open for chaos because several of the horses who are likely to take a lot of money have proven themselves to be career maidens. This includes Ashuka, who is 0-for-29 with plenty of tries at this level, making her a prime backwheel candidate but a terrible choice on top, as well as the 0-for-29 Glorious Revenge (8-1 ML) and the 0-for-12 Castle Harbour (7-2 ML), both of whom have also had plenty of chances at the bottom level and have so far come up winless.

Lake Como Heist (10-1) is a second-time starter. So, unlike quite a few in here, he’s not a proven loser at this level. He debuted at the $15,000 level, one rung above this, over the same course and distance as this race. He showed a bit of speed before fading. Trainer Steve Bryant doesn’t run a lot of horses, but the ones he does start tend to do well on all-weather tracks and, even more importantly, it’s not impossible for them to move forward and win at a price second-out. A fairly quick return after his June 26 debut is a solid sign, as is a solid four-furling drill after the race. It’s also a positive that the other runner out of his dam is a winner who figured it out at third asking, and his dam won second out – there’s a little precocity here.

We still don’t know what Imperial War (12-1) is. He has only raced once – last year, as a juvenile. He hopped at the start and never figured, just trailing evenly around. He got a long winter off, came back to the worktab in late June, and has been drilling regularly toward the return. But, now he’s had some time to grow up. Trainer Randy Thompson can pop at a price with a layoff horse, and very frequently hits the board with layoff horses. And, though this is a serious class drop, it’s not an alarming one – he was already in for the tag in that maiden-optional claiming debut, so there weren’t towering expectations from the get-go. He can get a clean trip from the outside, as all three of his siblings to start are winners, and especially if he looks good in the paddock and post parade, he’s got far more upside than many of his competitors.

Race 8: Ontario Colleen Stakes (G3), one mile on the turf - Empty Handed, Aretha

FanDuel odds: 15-1 and 6-1

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This well-matched field of up-and-coming sophomores is a great place to look for a price. Empty Handed (15-1) has yet to try the turf and has yet to try two turns, but she has every reason to take to it: her dam won three times on the lawn, she has produced four turf winners already, and she is bred to handle the mile. Even her sire Neolithic? He was a hard-trying dirt horse, but his foals are winning at 15% on the grass. She has won from both the front end and off the pace, both ways under jockey Ryan Munger, who returns to the irons for this. And, trainer Julia Carey doesn’t often have graded-stakes runners, but they frequently click at a price. In other words, in a well-matched field, Empty Handed is full of upside.

Aretha (6-1) is another one trying the grass for the first time. She has the two-turn experience already: she has raced just once, but that was a debut win at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta coming from a few lengths off the pace. That tactical speed should help her get a good trip. The connections are easy ones to trust at Woodbine: Kevin Attard is a perennially high-percentage trainer who does well with last-out maiden winners, and jockey Pietro Moran has been on fire with the Attard barn lately. Turf is the question – but she is by Tiz the Law, a dirt horse who has emerged as a solid turf sire, out of Song of the Lark, the dam of four grass winners including Grade 1 winner Up with the Birds.

Race 10: Trillium Stakes (G3), 1 ⅛ miles on the Tapeta - Design, Golden Sunshine

FanDuel odds: 8-1 and 9-2

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In a race with quite a bit of speed, more one-way pace than usual for a 1 ⅛-mile affair, a horse who can come running from off a solid pace is well set. Design (8-1) is set to do that at a square price. She comes in from a pair of solid underneath finishes in allowance company, though many of those foes turn up here and it’s not as huge of a class jump as it appears on paper. It’s also worth noting that Hurricane Clair, who ran huge to win that race they were both in June 28, tends to bounce off her biggest efforts – so toss her this time and look at her close next out. Design, on the other hand, can string together good races. 1 ⅛ miles is the biggest question, as she ran off the board in her only try – but she popped the gate before that, meaning she probably expended too much energy before the race even started, and though she is by Munnings, she has enough stamina on the bottom side of her pedigree to suggest she can see out the trip.

Golden Sunshine (9-2) has not tried 1 ⅛ miles on the all-weather yet, but with good races this year going as short as a mile and as long as 1 ½ miles, she has proven she is versatile as can be when it comes to distance. And, as variable as her performance has been on the lawn, her all-weather record is a different story: five money finishes in six starts, including a win at 1 ¼ miles and a nose second at a mile this winter at Turfway. She is always making up ground in the lane. Trainer Eoin Harty knows how to bring a horse ready off of a freshening, and she’ll be a threat down the lane at a fair price.

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