Dancin in Da’nile, trained and co-owned by Gail Cox, will bid for his first graded stakes victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes at Woodbine. The 1 3/8-mile contest on the inner turf has drawn six runners, with Cox’s gelding among the main contenders following his strong runner-up finish in the Niagara Stakes last month.
The six-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile, out of the Awesome Again mare Dance Again, finished fourth in last year’s edition of the Singspiel, beaten less than three lengths. Bred by Sam-Son Farm, he carries the bloodlines of champion Dance Smartly, his fourth dam, and has compiled four wins, three seconds and two thirds from 28 starts, with earnings of $333,932.
Owned in partnership with Ralph Murray, John Menary and Michael Balaz, Dancin in Da’nile comes into this assignment after closing strongly in the Niagara on August 2. Sent off at long odds, he rallied wide under jockey Jose Campos to claim second in the 1 1/4-mile test on the E.P. Taylor course.
“It was a very nice effort,” said Cox, who previously won the Singspiel in 2020 with Count Again. “We were very happy with it. There was no speed in the race – and he doesn’t have speed either – and I thought he ran great. I think he is definitely a turf horse, and he needs a distance. He’s just a nice horse and has always been. I loved him right from the start.”
The gelding has worked sharply since, breezing five furlongs in :59.00 on August 23 and four furlongs in :47.20 on August 30, both over the Woodbine main track. “He’s doing great,” Cox noted. “He’s coming into the race exactly how we want him to be. He ran a good one last time out and now he gets more distance.”
The Singspiel field also includes Haunted Dream, Venencia, Legal Catch, Tosen Wish, and Roscar. The race is named for Singspiel, the Irish-bred champion who captured the 1996 Canadian International. Trainer Roger Attfield has dominated the event’s history, winning five consecutive runnings between 2009 and 2013 and eight editions overall.
Aristella Poised for Wonder Where Finale
Saturday’s card also features the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, the concluding leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies. Aristella, trained by Rachel Halden for Flying Zee Racing Stables, will take her place in the compact field of five.
The daughter of More Than Ready heads into her seventh consecutive stakes engagement after finishing third in the Bison City Stakes on August 9. She had previously scored her first stakes victory in last November’s Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
“She is doing very well,” said Halden. “She didn’t fire in the Woodbine Oaks and didn’t run her race. But I thought it was a very good effort in the Bison City. She has worked extremely well, and she seems to be in a very good place right now. Based on the last race and how she has been working, she definitely deserves the opportunity to be here.”
Aristella broke her maiden in her third career start over the Woodbine main track and will be making her third appearance on turf. Rafael Hernandez will take the ride.
Her rivals in the Wonder Where include Oaks winner No Time, Bison City winner Winterberry, along with Scat Girl and Shifty. The race honours Wonder Where, Canada’s 1959 Horse of the Year and a Hall of Fame inductee. Past champions of the series include Sealy Hill, who swept all three Triple Tiara legs in 2007.
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