TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon

Stepping into the Spotlight

This past Saturday at Santa Anita, Woodbine hometown favorite Moira proved to the horse racing world that she can run with the best of them.

The 4-year-old filly took her talents outside of Woodbine to test herself against some of the top contenders in her class in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1T). Fitted with a 12-horse field, the $2 million affair featured several accomplished runners, namely 5-2 favorite Insprial (GB), who entered the race with an 8-2-0 line from 13 starts.

While the European star ended up being too much for the field, Moira, who closed at 13-1, pushed hard for a well-deserved third-place finish.

Alone, the strong showing rewarded a pay out of $6, while a $1 – 6-2-4 trifecta returned $129.40.

Exclamation Mark

White Abarrio already had a strong case for 2023 “Horse of the Year” honors before Saturday, but it appears the colt wanted to put any remaining doubts away for good.

The 4-year-old put on a show in the weekend’s main event, taking home the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1T) in comfortable fashion. It was the second Grade 1 triumph of the year for the Kentucky-bred, who boosted his earnings total for the year to $3.8 million. Altogether, White Abarrio is 3-0-1 in five 2023 starts.

Knowing his pedigree, it’s no surprise he closed as the 5-2 favorite. For making good on his favorite status, White Abarrio paid $7.20 for the win.

Going out on Top

One of the greatest horses and stories in recent memory put the finishing touches on a storybook career this past Saturday.

Cody’s Wish (4-5), named after Kentucky teen Cody Dorman, who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, went out a champion after winning a second consecutive Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) title. The fifth Grade 1 victory of his storied career was his eleventh overall, and fourth of 2023.

In 16 career runs, Cody’s Wish has not once missed the podium, galloping to an extraordinary 11-1-4 line.

The career-closing score didn’t pay a whole lot ($3.60), but the value of the win far exceeds that of any monetary reward.

Two Decades of Dominance

There’s a reason Auguste Rodin (IRE) rode in to the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) as the favorite and it had just as much to do with his conditioner as it did the colt’s own success.

The Irish star made good on his 5-2 status, securing his first North American win and fifth overall Group/Graded score.

While that’s no doubt exciting, the win meant that much more to Aidan O’Brien, who became the first trainer to win the same Breeders’ Cup race seven times. His dominance in the BC Turf started back in 2002 with High Chapparal, who won the race again in 2003, continued in the early-to-mid 2010’s, and returned in 2023 after a brief hiatus.

O’Brien and Auguste Rodin paid $7 for the win.

Not so Fast…

Back north of the border, Woodbine held two stakes’ races on Saturday, both of which produced unlikely winners.

Starting with Race 8, the $150,000 Grey Stakes (G3), it was Barb Minshall trainee Two Ghosts who stole the show at 6-1. With multiple graded stakes winner Justin Stein at the helm, Two Ghosts relied on a late surge to slide past 2-1 closing line favorite Piper’s Factor. The gelding’s second career win paid a handsome $14.90.

Following immediately after the Grey Stakes was another $150,000 event. The Mazarine Stakes (G3) featured a smaller six-horse field headlined by 3-5 closing line favorite Tripolina, but just like the race before it, this one also didn’t go according to plan. Witwatersrand (4-1) hit the jets around the final furlong marker to wash away the hopes of Tripolina, en route to securing career win number two.

Witwatersrand paid $10.30 for the win.