Mrs D, a sharp and professional winner on debut at Woodbine, will take the next step in her young career when she lines up in Sunday’s $125,000 My Dear Stakes, a 5 ½-furlong main track contest for 2-year-old fillies.
Woodbine My Dear Stakes.
Owned by JDLP Holdings Inc. and trained by Steven Chircop, Mrs D arrives at the stakes level with the sort of early promise that naturally draws attention in juvenile racing. Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms LLC, the daughter of Bolt d’Oro made an immediate impression on May 31, overcoming a less-than-perfect start before drawing clear in a 5-furlong maiden special weight at the Toronto oval.
That first outing had its rough edges, as many juvenile debuts do. Mrs D veered outward leaving the gate, but Jose Campos quickly gathered her up and allowed her natural pace to carry her into the race. By the time the field approached the turn for home, she had taken charge, and through the stretch she moved away to win by three lengths in :59.22.
“She won easily enough,” said Chircop. “Jose said she wasn’t getting tired, but when she built her lead, she was waiting on horses. She was pretty green not knowing what she was doing.
“She’s a well-behaved horse, too. She ran a big number, and she ran a big race, which we were expecting. Now the waters get deeper, so fingers crossed.”
For Chircop, the performance did not come as a surprise. The multiple stakes-winning trainer had seen enough in Mrs D’s morning work to believe she had quality, even if the filly was still learning the mental side of racing.
“We thought she was a good horse from the get-go,” he said. “From her first work, she was on top of her game.
“Typically, with the 2-year-olds in our barn, we like to keep them together in their works. And she just had this willingness to go forward from the very beginning. We felt she could have been one work short going into her first race, but I felt she was good enough to overcome that and she showed she was.”
The Woodbine My Dear Stakes will provide a clearer measure of her progress. Moving from maiden company into a stakes field is rarely straightforward for a young horse, particularly one still putting together the racing experience with the raw ability already on display.
Chircop, who last year recorded his third consecutive season with more than $1 million in purse earnings, is aware that Sunday’s assignment will ask a more serious question of Mrs D.
“It’s tough with young horses because at times, you can see the foundation of talent, but mentally, that might not match up with the physical abilities,” he said. “But she is pretty easy to train and is straightforward. That’s part of the reason she developed so fast and so early. It’s a step up, but let’s hope she’s up for the challenge.”
Mrs D has continued to prepare steadily since her winning debut. She recorded three 4-furlong works on the Woodbine main track ahead of the My Dear, covering the distance in :48.00 on June 20, repeating that mark one week later, and then working in :48.40 on July 5.
“She did all three very well,” said Chircop. “She could have gone faster, but with 2-year-olds you have to be careful because you don’t want shins to be an issue. She has had those three nice works, and it should set her up well for this race.”
Out of the Distorted Humor mare True Elegance, Mrs D was purchased for $100,000 at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. Dean Hardman is her groom.
For a filly who has shown speed, professionalism and room for improvement in equal measure, the Woodbine My Dear Stakes now becomes an important early marker. Her debut showed what she can do against maidens. Sunday will reveal how quickly she can carry that promise into deeper company.
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