Woodbine Racetrack will provide the setting for one of the most intriguing contests on Saturday, September 12, as the Ontario Matron Stakes will bring seven accomplished mares together for a $175,000 Grade 3 test over 1 1/16 miles on the main Tapeta surface. The race will form part of Turf Champions Day, a stakes-rich programme carrying more than $3.5 million in total purses, and will add considerable depth to an already competitive afternoon of racing.
Among the leading contenders, four-year-old Lupa will attract particular attention after producing a consistent sequence of efforts in graded company at Woodbine. The daughter of Lope De Vega will arrive with valuable recent experience, having finished third in the $200,000 Grade 2 Canadian Stakes presented by The Japan Racing Association on August 15. She will also have finished a close second by a head in the $175,000 Grade 3 Trillium Stakes presented by Don Julio on July 25.
Those performances will underline Lupa’s credentials as she prepares for another demanding assignment. Fraser Aebly, who will take the mount again, has described the mare as game, professional, hardworking and willing to fight throughout her races. Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, Lupa will have been purchased for $200,000 at the 2023 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by Mark Dodson.
Lupa will enter the Ontario Matron Stakes with three victories, one second and one third from eight starts for Dodson and Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll. Her lifetime earnings will stand at $141,733, while another Carroll-trained runner, Serendipity, will provide an additional point of interest in the field.
Ontario Matron Stakes Will Bring Seven-Mare Grade 3 Test
Serendipity will arrive with a notable résumé of her own. The four-year-old will be seeking her first victory of 2026 after winning the $150,000 Grade 3 Selene Stakes in 2025. John Velazquez will take the mount, giving Carroll a two-pronged challenge in the Grade 3 contest.
Kevin Attard will also send out War Painter, with Umberto Rispoli booked to ride. The mare will add further depth to a field that will include experienced riders and trainers from across the North American racing circuit.
Fantastical will be ridden by Rafael Hernandez for trainer Joe Sharp, while Speedy Freeze will have Emma-Jayne Wilson aboard for Ron Sadler. Hurricane Clair will carry the colours of her connections under Eswan Flores for trainer Michael Wright Jr., and Queen Azteca will be partnered by Edgard Zayas for Rodolphe Brisset.
The line-up will combine proven graded-stakes performers with runners seeking a significant breakthrough. With seven mares bringing different racing profiles and recent form lines, positioning, pace and the ability to handle the Tapeta surface will all become important factors over the 1 1/16-mile distance.
The Ontario Matron Stakes will also carry a distinguished history. The series will date back to 1979, when the inaugural edition was won by Hall of Fame mare La Voyageuse. She will also capture the second running, establishing an early association between the race and some of the most accomplished mares in Canadian racing.
Attard will arrive as the trainer behind the last two winners. Caitlinhergrtness will capture the 2025 renewal, while Fashionably Fab will take the 2024 edition. Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield will remain the record-holder with five victories in the Ontario Matron, achieved in 1987, 1992, 1994, 2002 and 2015.
Saturday’s renewal will consequently carry both immediate and historical importance. Lupa will look to turn her recent graded-stakes consistency into a breakthrough victory, while Serendipity will aim to rediscover the form that carried her to Grade 3 success last year. Around them, five other mares will arrive with ambitions of their own.
With seven runners, a valuable Grade 3 prize and a prominent place on Turf Champions Day, the Ontario Matron Stakes will offer a compelling contest in which recent form, class and racing experience will all come under close examination.
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