Woodbine will host the inaugural $150,000 Caledon Stakes on Sunday, with six Ontario-bred runners set to line up for the 1 1/16-mile contest on the main track. The race will serve as the first of four new stakes introduced for registered Ontario-breds aged four and older.
The Caledon Stakes Woodbine will be contested as Race 7, giving the newly established series its first test on the track.
At the head of the field is Runaway Again, a proven stakes performer who will arrive at Woodbine with a strong record of recent form. Trained by Sid Attard for owner and breeder Stronach Stables, the four-year-old son of Hard Spun has finished among the top three in each of the past five starts.
Runaway Again enters the race after a narrow second-place finish in the Seagram Cup (G3) on August 1. The gelding was beaten by only a head by Paramount Prince in that 1 1/16-mile event, continuing a productive run through the stakes ranks.
The Seagram Cup followed victories earlier in the season that established Runaway Again as one of the leading Ontario-bred performers in the division. On June 27, the gelding secured the first graded stakes victory of the career in the Dominion Day (G3).
He also has a significant success from the previous season on his résumé, having won the 2025 Prince of Wales Stakes, the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Runaway Again has now recorded four wins, one second and two third-place finishes from nine starts, with purse earnings of $382,887 in US currency. The consistency of his recent performances will make him a key figure in the six-runner field.
One of Runaway Again’s notable characteristics is the way he approaches his races. Rather than being committed to a particular position early, the gelding has shown an ability to settle where comfortable before building his effort when the race begins to develop.
That style could be particularly relevant over the Caledon Stakes distance. With only six runners expected to take their places, the early tempo and positioning may have an important bearing on how the race unfolds.
His recent second in the Seagram Cup also demonstrated that he remains competitive against established stakes company. A return to the same distance at Woodbine provides another opportunity for him to build on that performance.
New Chapter for Ontario-Bred Stakes Racing
The Caledon Stakes is part of a new four-race programme announced earlier this month by the Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program. Each of the $150,000 stakes is restricted to registered Ontario-breds aged four and older and will be staged at Woodbine.
The inaugural running therefore carries significance beyond its prize money. It marks the beginning of a new series designed specifically for older Ontario-bred horses and gives the programme a high-profile starting point.
Runaway Again brings the credentials of a graded stakes winner and Canadian Triple Crown race winner, but the five other runners will have their own opportunity to become the first name on the Caledon Stakes roll of honour.
The inaugural Caledon Stakes will provide a new focal point for Ontario-bred racing at Woodbine, with Runaway Again carrying a particularly strong résumé into the first running of the race.
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