Casse barn eyes more Grade 3 Maple Leaf success with Blitz and Dancing N Dixie/Field of 14: Shotgun Wedding, Girl of My Dreams chase Grade 3 Bessarabian glory

Preview of Saturday's Grade 3 Maple Leaf & Grade 3 Bessarabian

November 5, 2025

TORONTO, November 5, 2025 – Seven fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, will travel 1 ¼ miles on the main track in the $150,000 Maple Leaf Stakes (G3).

The field includes a pair of Mark Casse trainees, Blitz and Dancing N Dixie.

A dark bay daughter of Uncle Mo out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Customer Base, Blitz heads into her second straight stakes engagement off a strong runner-up effort in the H.B.P.A Stakes, a one mile and 70-yard feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, on October 6 at Presque Isle Downs.

“She ran such a great race at Presque Isle,” said assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan. “We were very, very pleased. She showed a lot of heart.”

Owned by Gary Barber, the dark bay filly broke her maiden in her third start, taking a 1 1/16-mile main track maiden special weight race by a half-length on November 4, 2023.

This will be the fifth Woodbine appearance for Blitz, who romped to a five-length score, also at 1 1/16 miles on the main track, on July 12.

“That was a very nice race,” said Sullivan. “We always knew that she had it in her and we were just waiting for it to come about. She is pretty lightly raced for a 4-year-old, but she has come into her own now.”

Bred in Kentucky by Glen Hill Farm, Blitz was a $675,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.

“She’s got talent, she’s beautiful, a real head-turning filly,” said Sullivan. “She is doing well and training well coming into the race. We’re very happy with her.”

Brooklyn Howard is the groom.

Multiple graded stakes placed Dancing N Dixie will make her 19th career start in the Maple Leaf.

Owned by Gary Barber, Rocky Top Stable (Ventura) and LEMB Stables, the 4-year-old daughter of Neolithic out of the Uncaptured mare Foolhearted Woman has a 3-1-4 mark, accompanied by $407,083 in purse earnings.

“She is very tenacious,” said Sullivan. “And she is a very well-traveled filly. She has run in some big races against some very tough horses. She hasn’t had the most consistent form line, but she tries every time.”

Dancing N Dixie began her career with six consecutive starts at Gulfstream, which yielded a pair of wins, including the Our Dear Peggy Stakes on November 3, 2023.

She won last year’s Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs and followed it up with a third in the Saratoga Invitational Stakes (G2T).

In her second start of 2025, Dancing N Dixie was a fast-closing second over the Gulfstream turf in the Powder Break Stakes.

“She is a horse who comes with a big kick at the end,” noted Sullivan. “Her last race (sixth, six lengths back of the winner in the Grade 3 Ontario Matron on September 13) ended up in the middle of the track, having to come so wide. She is always near the back, but she spotted them a long way coming out of the gate. She left herself with a lot of work to do, so I think she was a bit unlucky in that race because she had to go so wide going into the last turn.

“I think her race was a lot better than what her finish appeared on paper. She came home with a very nice kick.”

Bred in Florida by Freddie Hyatt, the roan was a $35,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS June Two-Year-Olds & HRA Sale.

“She is a feisty one,” said Sullivan. “She has a lot of personality, for sure. She is also doing well coming into the race.”

Adella Williams is the groom.

Casse has won five editions of the Maple Leaf, including his first, in 2006 with Howaboutrightnow and last year with Elysian Field.

Conn Smythe, principal owner of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927 to 1961 and builder of Maple Leaf Gardens, leads all owners with seven Maple Leaf crowns. The race was inaugurated in 1892.

The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 7-8-9), 0.20 Pick 5 (Races 7-8-9-10-11) and $1 Swinger.

First post is 1:05 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.

Field for the Grade 3 Maple Leaf – Race 7

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Hurricane Clair – Eswan Flores – Marty Drexler
2 – For Flying (BRZ) – Sahin Civaci – Graham Motion
3 – Dancing N Dixie – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
4 – Long Ago (GB) – Emma-Jayne Wilson – William Morey
5 – Blitz – Ryan Munger – Mark Casse
6 – Queens Command (IRE) – Fraser Aebly – Marty Drexler
7 – Sultana – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

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Chris Lomon, Woodbine

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Field of 14: Shotgun Wedding, Girl of My Dreams chase Grade 3 Bessarabian glory

TORONTO, November 5, 2025 – Shotgun Wedding chases her first graded stakes score in Saturday’s $150,000 Bessarabian (G3) at Woodbine.

The seven-furlong main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, has drawn 14 starters, including Shotgun Wedding, and two also-eligibles.

The chestnut arrives at her fourth stakes engagement and first graded assignment off her first stakes victory, a three-quarter length triumph in the Ontario Damsel, a 1 1/16-mile main track affair for 3-year-old fillies, on October 11. It was the sixth consecutive podium performance by the filly, who sports a 3-3-3 record from 12 starts.

“I just think – from doing interviews and talking to others – she was a little underappreciated in that spot,” said trainer Jamie Begg, who co-owns (Begg Racing) the daughter of Mendelssohn out of the Speightstown mare Reluctant Bride with Windways Farm and Upland Flats Racing. “I knew she would relish two turns and run a good race. We wheeled her back into that race on short rest. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked out well. I think this filly is getting better and better, and we’re very happy with her.”

Begg also handed out high marks to jockey Keveh Nicholls for the winning ride.

“What I really appreciated about that ride was that it wasn’t anything overly complicated. He took everything as it came to him. There was no waiting for an opportunity – it was about taking the one that came. She was travelling well and Keveh got her outside where she likes to be.”

Shotgun Wedding’s recent run of success includes a half-length win at 6 ½ furlongs on the Woodbine main track on September 7 and a second, a half-length back of the winner, over one mile on the Toronto oval inner turf on September 21.

“I am a big fan of the cutback with the horses,” offered Begg. “My horses seem to run well in cutbacks. In the Bessarabian, there is going to be some speed and with the way she has been running, I think she can come with a nice run, to use the tactical speed she has to sit within striking distance, make her move and have something left in the tank cutting back from the mile and a sixteenth to seven furlongs.”

Bred in Kentucky by Deron Pearson and Patrick Biacone LLC, Shotgun Wedding finished third in last year’s Catch a Glimpse Stakes and was fourth in this year’s Ruling Angel.

Begg, who has already set career-best numbers across the board, continues to marvel at the consistency shown by his sophomore charge.

“She is a gamer. I have been around some nice fillies, and she has that same attitude as a lot of the nice ones. She is always focused, she’s sound and she’s consistent. Every day, she thinks it is game day. We really appreciate her around the barn.”

Shotgun Wedding covered four furlongs in :48.60 over the Woodbine main track on November 1.

“She came out the last race well,” said Begg. “Going off how she has been performing, we decided to skip a work and just give her one work ahead of this race. It was a very good one and we’re happy with it. With how much she has run, we aren’t concerned about fitness. We just want to keep her right.”

Dante Martin is the groom.

Girl of My Dreams, trained by Anna Meah for Payson Stud, Inc., will make her second straight start at Woodbine.

The 4-year-old daughter of Kantharos out of the Uncle Mo mare Naples Dream was third in the six-furlong Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) last time out, on October 11.

“I thought it was a fantastic race,” said Meah. “You can go back and look at it from the point of view of what you should have done or could have done, but I thought she ran a very good race. She broke well – she is a filly that needs to be on the lead, which is where she is most comfortable – and then she has that nice cruising speed and confidence. She gave it a huge effort, and she wasn’t beaten that far. And when you add everything that came with it – shipping up there and handling a lot of new stuff – we were thrilled with how she ran.

“Actually, the original plan was to go into the sale in November, but we have had so much fun with her, and she has done so well this year, we decided, ‘Let’s do it again.’ So, we are going to give her another year. Hopefully, we can get a graded stakes win with her.”

Fashioning a mark of 4-5-3 ($276,454) from 25 starts, the bay, bred in Kentucky by Brookstone Farm and Lee Mauberret, broke her maiden in her sixth race, a wire-to-wire victory at 6 ½ furlongs over the Santa Anita turf as the 5-2 choice in the 10-horse field.

The well-traveled filly’s racetrack passport also includes starts at Del Mar, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Turfway Park and Presque Isle Downs.

“Obviously, that [adaptability] is not something you can teach a horse. You can give them the opportunity to get more acclimated to travelling, but she handles it, is comfortable with it and she settles in really well. She is not one to miss a meal when she travels. I think she truly loves her job and enjoys going to the races.”

Girl of My Dreams, who covered three furlongs in :36.40 over the dirt at The Thoroughbred Center on November 3, was a $60,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

“We’re looking forward to this race,” said Meah. “She loves the synthetic. We don’t mind shipping to Woodbine – we think that is a great place for her. And she is very relaxed on race day. Overall, she has a very confident personality. You don’t have to worry about her getting too amped up walking over on race day.”

Girl of My Dreams could tackle two turns at some point.

“In certain races, she seems to open up again, that last sixteenth of a mile, and has a little more left,” noted Meah. “We’ve contemplated stretching out a little further at some point just because if you get the lead going two turns, she could be dangerous on the front. Obviously, it would just have to be a race that would set up for her.”

Gabriel Del Cid is the groom.

Trainer Roger Attfield and Kinghaven Farms teamed to win the first two editions of the Bessarabian, in 1985 with Summer Mood and one year later with Playlist.

The race is named after Canada’s champion older female of 1986, a multiple stakes winning daughter of Vice Regent trained by Michael Doyle and owned by Eaton Hall Farm. She finished her racing career with an 18-5-4 mark from 37 starts.

The wagering menu for the race includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, .20 Superfecta, 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 9-10-11) and $1 Swinger.

Field for the Grade 3 Bessarabian – Race 9

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Love Cervere – Sahin Civaci – Miguel Clement
2 – Les Reys (FR) – Rafael Hernandez – Miguel Clement
3 – Serene Seraph (IRE) – Xarel Forde – Bill Mott
4 – Tricky Temper – Eswan Flores – Jeremiah Englehart
5 – Uphill Dance – Jose Campos – Rachel Halden
6 – Mo Fox Givin – Pietro Moran – Mark Casse
7 – Bolt Enoree – Da-Sean Gaskin – Steven Chircop
8 – Pondering – Declan Cannon – Brendan Walsh
9 – A Little Frisky – Fraser Aebly – Josie Carroll
10 – Shotgun Wedding – Keveh Nicholls – Jamie Begg
11 – Golden Canary – Ryan Munger – Mark Casse
12 – Caitlinhergrtness – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Kevin Attard
13 – Stormcast (S) – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
14 – Girl of My Dreams – Joseph Bealmear – Anna Meah
(AE)15 – Dolce Sopresa – Daisuke Fukumoto – Josie Carroll
(AE)16 – Ellen Jay – Aurelien Lemaitre – Brad Cox