Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will aim for his fifth win in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks at Woodbine Racetrack July 20, where he brings a five-horse contingent to the 1 1/8 mile race over the all-weather track. A wide-open field of twelve 3-year-old fillies will line up in the Oaks Sunday.
Casse's most recent win in the race came in 2023 with Gary Barber and Team Valor's Elysian Fields. Prior to that, he won in 2006 with Kimchi; 2007 with Sealy Hill; and 2014 with multiple graded stakes winner Lexie Lou.
He will have five chances at securing a fifth win in the race with a pair of stakes-placed fillies in War Signal and No Time, multiple stakes-placed Ella It Is, graded stakes-placed Shifty, and the multiple stakes-winning Winterberry.
D.J. Stable's Winterberry broke her maiden on debut last summer by 5 1/2 lengths. The daughter of Frosted most recently won the Fury Stakes at Woodbine June 7, beating stablemate Shifty, Nata Trouble, and Aristella, whom she will face again on Sunday.
"She is interesting in that we thought all along that she was a sprinter," said Casse, of the filly with $168,030 in purse earnings. "But she has really matured. She was scratched twice before she ever ran because of her antics. I talked to (jockey) Patrick (Husbands) the other day after he worked her, and he told me that she is a different horse. I know that he is excited about her running.
"Winterberry may keep going. She is coming into the Oaks better than ever. I am still not 100% sure she can get the mile and an eighth, but she is very talented."
D.J. Stable also owns Shifty, a well-bred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro . She will be looking to rebound off a disappointing third-place finish in the Fury Stakes. Prior to that, she won an allowance optional claiming race May 11. Sahin Civaci will ride.
"Shifty is probably the most talented (of the group)," said Casse. "She has her quirks. If she can settle and get into a good rhythm, she will be tough. She's very talented."
Gary Barber's No Time comes into the race off a fourth-place finish in the Selene Stakes (G3) June 28. Hall of Fame jockey John Velasquez has the mount Sunday.
"I think No Time is a sleeper," Casse said. "I think she has a very good pedigree—both her and Shifty have very nice pedigrees. She is not easy to ride. She is another one that if she is happy, she is going to be tough."
Trainer Kevin Attard, who has two wins in the Oaks under his belt, will send out D'aurum, who is winless in seven starts.
Sunday's card also features the Plate Trial Stakes, a prep for the King's Plate Stakes Aug. 16. A field of 10 has been assembled, including Scorching, who was recently second in the Marine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine June 28.
Woodbine, Sunday, July 20, 2025, Race 9Entries: Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 War Signal (ON) Sofia Vives 121 Mark E. Casse - 2 Nata Trouble (ON) David Moran 121 W. V. Armata - 3 Ella It Is (ON) Jose Luis Campos 121 Mark E. Casse - 4 Innisfree Isle (ON) Fraser Aebly 121 Catherine Day Phillips - 5 Shifty (ON) Sahin Civaci 121 Mark E. Casse - 6 R Canadian Apple (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 121 Michael P. De Paulo - 7 Reveler's Row (ON) Pietro Moran 121 Katerina Vassilieva - 8 No Time (ON) John R. Velazquez 121 Mark E. Casse - 9 Crystal Visions (ON) Ryan Munger 121 Stuart C. Simon - 10 Aristella (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 121 Rachel Halden - 11 Winterberry (ON) Patrick Husbands 121 Mark E. Casse - 12 D'aurum (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 121 Kevin Attard -
