Attard champions Caitlinhergrtness and Fashionably Fab take on seven in Grade 3 Belle Mahone
And Metaphysical’s return to turf becomes a reality in Grade 3 Royal North
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TORONTO, May 29, 2025– Multiple graded stakes winning trainer Kevin Attard sends out the Canadian champion duo of Caitlinhergrtness and Fashionably Fab in Saturday’s $150,000 Belle Mahone Stakes (G3), at Woodbine.
Attard, who earned his first Sovereign Award as the country’s champion trainer of 2024, will be represented in the 1 1/16-mile main track Belle Mahone, for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, by last year’s King’s Plate winner and 3-Year-Old Female champion Caitlinhergrtness, and Older Main Track Female victress Fashionably Fab, who took last year’s running of the Belle Mahone.
“We’re very blessed to have these two in the barn,” said Attard. “Great owners for both make it that much more special.”
Named for WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, 4-year-old Caitlinhergrtness has lived up to her namesake.
Owned by WinStar Farm LLC, the daughter of Omaha Beach out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Belatrix launched her career in the U.S., where she made four starts. After a third at Saratoga in her debut, she broke her maiden next time out at Belmont. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a fourth in the Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct and opened her 3-year-old season with a fourth at Gulfstream before bringing her talents north to Woodbine.
Bred by Jesse Korona, Caitlinhergrtness was second in last year’s Woodbine Oaks before going to beat the boys in the 165th running of The King’s Plate. She closed out her 3-year-old season with a third in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland in October, and a fourth in the Valedictory Stakes, at Woodbine, on November 9.
The Belle Mahone marks her 4-year-old debut.
“Obviously, it was a great year for Caitlin,” praised Attard, of the filly whose lifetime purse earnings stand at $693,812 (USD). “She’s as genuine as they come and full of heart.”
That was on full display in the King’s Plate.
Rafael Hernandez, who will be aboard in the Belle Mahone, guided the chestnut filly to a three-quarter length score in the $1 million classic.
“She was relentless on Plate day,” recalled Attard. “You could see it in her demeanor before the race – that she was ready for the challenge. Lots of great memories from that day. Those are the moments that truly define what a team effort is.”
Caitlinhergrtness has had a steady work tab heading into her latest test, including a four-furlong breeze over the Woodbine main track in :47.00 – the fastest of 105 works at the distance – on May 24.
“She’s doing amazing,” said Attard. “She had a good winter after a demanding year – she deserved every minute of that rest. She came back looking great. The only thing that didn’t change was that competitive fire in her eyes.”
Troy Garnett is the groom.
Attard has an equally spirited and accomplished contender in Fashionably Fab.
The now 5-year-old dark bay capped off her 2024 season with a gutsy nose score in the La Prevoyante Stakes, on December 14.
It was the 10th win, to go along with three thirds, from 17 lifetime starts, for Fashionably Fab, whose success also includes a victory in last year’s Grade 3 Ontario Matron Stakes She won five straight races, all stakes, from September 12, 2023, to June 1, 2024.
“Fashionably Fab – what can you say?” said Attard, of the Terra Racing homebred. “She is the definition of a racehorse. Her record speaks for itself, but beyond those stats, she is as gritty and tough as they come.”
A daughter of Silent Name (JPN) out of the Curlin mare Flashy’s Legacy, Fashionably Fab debuted with a third in September 2022 and then won her next three starts, including the Shady Well Stakes that December.
“She has given us unlimited highlights over her career,” said Attard. “She’s always been a horse you never count out but that you can always count on.”
The lifetime earner of $537,572 (USD) will also make her seasonal debut in the Belle Mahone.
Fashionably Fab has had four breezes in May, the most recent at four furlongs in :48.60 over the Woodbine main track on Saturday.
“She had a good winter too,” said Attard. “Like Caitlin, we’re very happy with how she is working heading into the race. She has that game face on already.”
Pietro Moran, Woodbine’s leading jockey in 2025, will ride.
Beresford Lee is the groom.
Other starters include multiple stakes winner Dana’s Beauty, For Flying (BRZ), who won the 2023 Barao de Piracicaba (G1) in her native Brazil, and Kin’s Concerto, last year’s Woodbine Oaks winner.
On May 19, 1917, Belle Mahone, ridden by Frank Robinson, won the 59th running of the King's Plate by a length. The daughter of Ypsilanti, who was coupled with Galley Head in the Plate, paid $2.80 for the win.
The Belle Mahone is listed as Race 10 on the 11-race card, with a first post of 1:05 p.m. The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta and $1 Swinger. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com.
Field for the Grade 3 $150,000 Belle Mahone Stakes
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Dana’s Beauty – Patrick Husbands – Michael Maker
2 – Caitlinhergrtness – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
3 – Fortyfiveseventy – Daisuke Fukumoto – Barbara Minshall
4 – Literate – Sahin Civaci – Marty Drexler
5 – Kin’s Concerto – Sofia Vives – Josie Carroll
6 – Ready for Shirl – Fraser Aebly – Roger Attfield
7 – For Flying (BRZ) – Manuel Franco – Graham Motion
8 – Freedom Speaks – Jose Campos – Heather Smullen
9 – Fashionably Fab – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
Grade 3 Royal North: Metaphysical’s return to turf becomes a reality
TORONTO, May 29, 2025– Metaphysical, a daughter of American Freedom out of the Haynesfield mare Another Ghazo, takes to the E.P. Taylor turf for Saturday’s $150,000 HPIbet Royal North Stakes (G3T), for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up.
Set for 6 ½ furlongs, the Royal North – Woodbine’s first turf stakes race of the season – has drawn 10 starters, including Metaphysical, who will contest her eighth career Grade 3 engagement – and fifth in her past six starts.
Trained by Tony Gattellaro for owner John Ryan, Metaphysical arrives at the Royal North off an impressive 5 ¼-length score in a 6 ½-furlong main track allowance optional claiming race on December 14 at Woodbine.
“I was very happy to see that performance,” said Gattellaro. “We were waiting for her to do that. She was in a good spot, and she showed us who we think she is. We knew we had that condition, and it was beneficial for us and the horse to have that when you do need a confidence-boosting race.”
The Royal North will mark the seventh time Metaphysical has taken to the turf. In six previous starts, she has posted a trio of thirds, including the Penn Oaks on June 2, 2023. Her most recent turf test came in the 2023 Tepin Stakes, a fourth-place finish over one mile of good ground at Ellis Park.
Gattelaro is looking forward to her return to the green scene.
“She has run against some very tough horses on the turf in the U.S. when she was a 3-year-old. We have always wanted to get her back on the turf here. It was just timing last year – it didn’t work out to do that. I do think in watching her replays that she does stride out the best on the turf, of all the three surfaces she has tried.”
Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones, Metaphysical made her Woodbine debut a winning one last May, a 1 ¼-length triumph over 7 furlongs on the main track.
Her career bow came on August 6, 2022, at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where she finished fourth. A fifth at Kentucky Downs was followed by a fourth and a sixth, respectively, at Churchill Downs that October.
Methaphysical’s maiden score came in her fifth start when she notched a half-length win at 1 /16 miles over the Gulfstream all-weather track on Boxing Day 2022.
The 5-year-old chestnut has produced a mark of 3-4-0, to go along with $315,400 (USD) in purse earnings, from 19 races.
“She’s doing fantastic right now. She wintered in King City (just north of Woodbine). She has come back looking phenomenal. Her coat is shining.
“Her breeze last week (5 furlongs on the dirt training track in :59.00, on May 21) was the best work she has had with us. On race day, she comes in on her toes, kind of like a boxer coming into their match. We’re looking forward to seeing her take on some top horses. We feel she definitely belongs here.”
Metaphysical was purchased by Ryan for $240,000 (USD) at the 2023 Keeneland Association November Breeding Stock Sale.
Alexa Wisnoski is the groom.
Other starters include multiple stakes winner Toupie, trained by Graham Motion, and Whimsical Stakes (G3) winner Earhart (FR).
Blushing Katy, under Gunnar Lindberg, won the inaugural running in 1989. Last year, Play the Music, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Patrick Husbands, took top prize in the Royal North.
The race is named after the daughter of Reviewer out of the Titan mare Repercussion. Over 18 races, Royal North, trained by Gil Rowntree and bred by Marvin L. Warner, went 14-3-1. She won seven straight races from August 27, 1978, to May 20, 1979.
The Royal North is listed as Race 8 on the 11-race card, with a first post of 1:05 p.m. The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, 0.20 Pick 3 (8-9-10), 0.20 Pick 4 (8-9-10-11) and $1 Swinger. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com.
Field for the Grade 3 $150,000 Royal North
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Metaphysical – Sofia Vives – Tony Gattellaro
2 – Toupie – Manuel Franco – Graham Motion
3 – Freedom Speaks – Fraser Aebly – Heather Smullen
4 – Dancing Duchess – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
5 – Ready to Jam – Pietro Moran – Mark Casse
6 – Ticker Tape Home – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
7 – Ms. Tart – Huber Villa-Gomez – Kevin Rice
8 – Earhart (FR) – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll
9 – Weehawken – Eswan Flores – Saffie Joseph, Jr.
10 – Gal in a Rush – Ryan Munger – Miguel Clement
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
.jpg "Fashionably Fab and jockey David Moran winning the La Prevoyante Stakes on December 14, 2024 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo)")
