Fresh off her first career stakes score, Quadruple (GB) has momentum on her side ahead of Saturday's $175,000 Bessarabian (G3).
The 5-year-old mare steps into the seven-furlong main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, following a statement victory in the Ontario Fashion (G3) on Oct. 17 at Woodbine.
Under the command of rider Ryan Munger, Quadruple strode to a confident 2 ¾-length decision at 16-1.
Munger, back in the irons for the Bessarabian, could feel the bay progressing with each start.
"Every run, she's got a bit better, and I've been able to figure her out more," said the multiple graded stakes winner. "Over her last three, she went third, second, first, and when she won her last race, she did it pretty well."
The South African-born rider was particularly impressed by Quadruple's instincts and execution in the Ontario Fashion.
"She won a very good race," Munger added. "The race worked out great -- I couldn't wait for the gaps to open and let her go for the kill, and she dug down and won well."
A bay daughter of Frankel (GB) out of the Kyllachy (GB) mare Soffia (GB), Quadruple's Ontario Fashion breakthrough was preceded by a game runner-up effort in September's Sweet Briar Too and third-place finish in August's Seaway (G3), all at Woodbine.
Conditioned by Josie Carroll, who shares the record for most Bessarabian wins by a trainer with Roger Attfield (four), Quadruple has made six starts since moving to Canada, recording a 1-1-2 line.
She broke her maiden at Limerick Racecourse in County Limerick, Ireland on June 22, 2024. Overall, Quadruple sports a 4-4-2 record and over $172,000 in purse earnings from 20 starts.
Eager to add to her career totals for new owner Mark Dodson, Quadruple will occupy post three in the Bessarabian, which has drawn 10 starters.
"With her getting better and gaining confidence every single run, it helps the rider also gain their confidence in the horse," said Munger. "We're both going into this race with our chests out and our tails up, ready to do it again."
Bred in Great Britain by Juddmonte Farms, Quadruple was a $291,355 (USD) purchase at the 2025 Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
Recent works: Quadruple covered four furlongs over the Woodbine main track in :47.40 on Oct. 29.
"Her [exercise] rider, Tyler Gaskin, works her and he does a good job with her because she is very difficult in the mornings," said Munger. "She's not easy."
Fast facts: Trainer Roger Attfield and Kinghaven Farms teamed to win the first two editions of the Bessarabian, in 1985 with Summer Mood and one year later with Playlist. The race is named after Canada's champion older female of 1986, a multiple stakes winning daughter of Vice Regent trained by Michael Doyle and owned by Eaton Hall Farm. She finished her racing career with an 18-5-4 mark from 37 starts.
Woodbine, Saturday, November 7, 2026, Race 10Entries: Bessarabian S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Home for a Rest (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 122 Robert P. Tiller 20/1 2 2Crystal Visions (ON) Keveh Nicholls 123 Stuart C. Simon 20/1 3 3Quadruple (GB) Ryan Munger 123 Josie Carroll 4/1 4 4Creed's Gold (KY) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 125 Mark E. Casse 3/1 5 5Ultimate Authority (KY) Pietro Moran 121 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 8/1 6 6Purr Factor (KY) Skye Chernetz 122 Devon Gittens 20/1 7 7Quiet Street (KY) Fraser Aebly 121 William I. Mott 12/1 8 8Reagan's Flame (KY) Edgard J. Zayas 125 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 5/2 9 9Pondering (KY) Sahin Civaci 121 Brendan P. Walsh 15/1 10 10Eponine (IRE) Emma-Jayne Wilson 122 Kevin Attard 6/1
William T Aims For More Graded Glory
William T rolls into Saturday's $175,000 HPIbet Autumn Stakes (G3) at Woodbine in peak form.
The 1 1/8-mile main track event for 3-year-olds and up has drawn six starters, including William T, who took the Durham Cup (G3), a 1 1/16-mile main track feature for 3-year-olds and up, on Sept. 19.
It was the first graded stakes triumph and second straight victory for the 4-year-old son of Frosted out of the Hard Spun mare Upper Brass.
"I would say it was a bit of a surprise," said MacRae. "We supplemented him to the race, so it was a last-minute thing, but everything just seemed to fall together. I was hoping he would run second or third, but he ran the race of his life and stepped up huge.
"He had every right halfway down the lane to be relegated to second, but he showed a great amount of determination. The last five or six strides, he showed what a good horse is supposed to do."
Once race earlier, William T romped to a 5 ¼-length score at the same distance in a race originally slated for the turf on Aug. 23.
"The win in August, I did see that coming. We struggled getting races that were two turns -- he kind of needs that -- so when we did get that opportunity, we hoped and believed he would come up with a big effort, and he did."
Bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms (Ontario) Inc., William T is 3-5-2 from 11 starts, with $261,487 in purse earnings.
"He's in good order and he's ready to run," said MacRae. "We just need to get him in the gate now. One of the big things we have done with him is take his tongue tie off. We put them on a lot of horses, but it seemed to be bothering him, so one day we said, 'Forget it. Let's take it off.' And it's relaxed him and it's been very beneficial for him."
Owned by Michael Lay, the roan broke his maiden in his fourth start, a six-length victory at 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine main track on July 13, 2025.
After an off-the-board finish in last year's King's Plate, William T, a $45,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, reeled off four consecutive second-place finishes ahead of his current win streak.
"It's nice to lead over a horse where you know you are going to get a genuine effort," said MacRae. "He's matured a lot. He enjoys what he does.
"I had a horse back in the day, Civil Code, who William T has emulated in a particular way. He likes to flex at other horses, like the guys in the bar who puff their chest out to try and intimidate others. He likes to do that when he's walking home, just to make horses flinch. He seems to get a lot of joy out of that."
Rochelle Fortune is the groom.
"Our bond is like nothing else," said Fortune. "Willy is my best friend. He is like my son. I am privileged to be able to come in every day to such an amazing soul. I am honoured to have him and that Donnie trusts me to always do what's best for him. Horses like him are the reason this isn't a job -- it's living the dream."
Recent works: William T worked four furlongs in :50.00 over the main track on Oct. 24. One week later, at the same distance and over the same course, he stopped the clock in :47.80.
"We have had four breezes in between his last race to this one," said MacRae. "Ideally, I would have liked to have seen the past two works reversed. The first in, he did it nice and comfortably and had a good gallop out. Last time, he breezed a little quicker than I wanted. He galloped out solid. As (trainer) Kevin Attard said, 'Good horses work quick, so don't be disappointed.' I keep replaying that in my head.
"His work on the dirt training track (four furlongs in :48.40) was freakish. I will, at some point, try him over the dirt next year. He just does everything effortlessly."
Fast facts: The inaugural running in 1902 was won by the filly Janice. Kentucky Derby winner and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Exterminator won the race three straight years. In 1991, Francine Villeneuve, who passed away this year, became the first female jockey to win the race when she guided Twist the Snow to victory. Roger Attfield has the most Autumn wins (5) by a trainer.
Woodbine, Saturday, November 7, 2026, Race 9Entries: HPIbet Autumn S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Runaway Again (ON) Ryan Munger 124 Sid C. Attard 4/5 2 2Wicked Django (ON) Keveh Nicholls 124 Carlos Grant 9/2 3 3War Court (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 122 Ronald H. Sadler 20/1 4 4Swift Delivery (KY) Pietro Moran 122 Mark E. Casse 6/1 5 5William T (ON) Fraser Aebly 124 Donald C. MacRae 5/2 6 6English Actor (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 124 Rachel Halden 15/1
Dixie Law tests new waters in Maple Leaf
A new challenge awaits graded stakes winner Dixie Law in Saturday's $175,000 Maple Leaf Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.
The 1 ¼-mile main-track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, represents the bay's first bout against older rivals.
"She's doing really well," said trainer Dale Desruisseaux. "It's going to be a test. It's the first time going against older mares. We've got to step out of the 3-year-old division, but she's coming into it good."
A 3-year-old daughter of Tiz the Law out of the Union Rags mare Bit of Dixie, Dixie Law arrives at her 11th straight stakes engagement and fourth graded assignment off a runner-up outing in the Ontario Damsel, a 1 1/16-mile main track affair for 3-year-old fillies, on Oct. 10.
"I thought it was a really good effort," said the multiple graded stakes winning conditioner. "She can be a tricky horse to ride -- you make the lead early, and she gets to floating, so Pietro (jockey, Moran) came back and said, in hindsight, that he probably should've kicked on around the three-eighths pole and let them try to catch her.
"He was hoping the horse in front of her would've tagged her along a little further, but the horse behind us got the jump on us a bit, and she tried to battle back but it was a gallant effort."
Dixie Law, who broke her maiden first time out last July, quickly emerged as a proven stakes competitor, capturing the 2025 Cup and Saucer, and Grade 3 Mazarine -- the latter by 1 ¼ lengths last November.
The homebred for Garland Williamson's Hillsbrook Farms led off her sophomore campaign with a Ruling Angel score on May 16, later adding the Wonder Where to her résumé on Sept. 6.
Standing at 2-2-1 through six starts in 2026, Dixie Law has been rock-solid for her connections.
"Obviously, you always want to do better," said Desruisseaux. "I thought her [King's] Plate was something of a perplexing effort for her [fourth], but we can't complain too much because she's made a lot of money and fought every dance. As a trainer, and as an owner, you always want more, but her season's been pretty good."
The four-time stakes winner has banked nearly $620,000 in total purse earnings across her 11-start career, which has seen her hit the podium eight times (5-2-1).
For Desruisseaux, Dixie Law's emergence as a consistent force reflects several standout qualities, chief among them her "natural ability."
"Right from day one, she's been a step above everything else I've had in the barn, and she's shown that in the afternoon."
Kyle MacDonald is the groom.
Recent works: Dixie Law covered five furlongs in 1:00.60 over the Woodbine main track on Oct. 28.
"She had a really good breeze," said Desruisseaux. "Pietro was really happy with her."
Fast facts: Conn Smythe, principal owner of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927 to 1961 and builder of Maple Leaf Gardens, leads all owners with seven Maple Leaf crowns. The race was inaugurated in 1892.
Woodbine, Saturday, November 7, 2026, Race 7Entries: Maple Leaf S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Fortyfiveseventy (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 121 Barbara J. Minshall 10/1 2 2Sultana (KY) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 123 Kevin Attard 7/2 3 3Scat Girl (ON) Rico W. Walcott 121 Michael P. De Paulo 20/1 4 4Lupa (IRE) Fraser Aebly 123 Josie Carroll 1/1 5 5Dixie Law (ON) Pietro Moran 121 Dale A. Desruisseaux 4/1 6 6Venencia (FR) Edgard J. Zayas 121 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 12/1 7 7Hurricane Clair (ON) Eswan Flores 122 Michael Wright, Jr. 8/1
