Jokestar all business ahead of Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes / Awesome Bourbon looks to barrel over Jacques Cartier (G3) competition
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TORONTO, May 27, 2026 – Jokestar, trained by Kevin Attard, will look to earn his first graded stakes victory in Saturday’s $175,000 bet365 Eclipse Stakes (G2) at Woodbine.
The 1 1/16-mile main track event for 4-year-olds and up will see the multiple graded stakes-placed gelding take on six rivals.
A son of Practical Joke out of the Star Guitar mare Starmaline, Jokestar has been a model of consistency over his past 10 starts, posting a record of 4-3-1 over that stretch. The run began with a sharp 17-1 allowance score at Oaklawn Park on Apr. 19, 2025.
“He’s really come into his own,” said Attard. “We have always liked him. It was never a case of if he was going to be the horse we felt he could be, but always a case of when.”
Bred and owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, the 5-year-old heads into his fourth graded stakes appearance in top form. He was second in last year’s Autumn Stakes (G3) and Valedictory Stakes (G3), and fourth in the 2025 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3).
On Feb. 14, Jokestar captured the Post Time Stakes at Laurel Park, drawing off to a 6 ½-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile dirt event. In his most recent start, the March 28 Temperence Hill Stakes at Oaklawn Park, he finished a game second, beaten just a half-length by graded stakes winner Parchment Party in the 1 ½-mile test.
“His last two races have been outstanding,” praised Attard. “He’s added a new dimension to his game, where he’s shown he can be a lot closer to the pace. He’s always been a strong finisher and that hasn’t changed. He still has that impressive late gear.”
The gelding sports a record of 5-4-3 from 21 starts, along with earnings of $402,057, though his first two seasons featured their share of ups and downs.
In his debut on Aug. 13, 2023, Jokestar trailed throughout a one-mile race over Woodbine’s inner turf course, finishing last of 10.
“Definitely not what we were expecting,” recalled Attard. “We knew that wasn’t him and we were confident his next race would be much better. And it was. He finished second and put in a very good effort.”
Jokestar broke through for his first win in his fifth career start, closing out his 2-year-old campaign with a victory at 1 1/16 miles over the Woodbine main track.
“He showed a lot of character in that win. It was a nice way to end up off his rookie year.”
Over the years, Attard has seen one constant in the Ontario-bred, who contested all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown in 2024.
“He is the prototypical stamina horse. He always has something left in the tank.”
Richard Taylor is the groom.
Recent works: Jokestar recorded four workouts in May — three at 4 furlongs and one at 5 furlongs — split evenly between the Woodbine main track and dirt training track.
Jokestar covered 4 furlongs in :48.60 over the main track on May 16 and followed it up at the same distance and on the same surface on May 23, breezing in :48.00.
“Very happy with the past couple of works,” said Attard. “He’s just all business, mornings and afternoons. He travels well in his works and he always gallops out strongly. He really has the same mentality in his works that he does in his races.”
Fast Facts: Fleet Path won the inaugural running of the Eclipse Stakes in 1956. Last year’s edition was captured by Classic Mo Town, ridden by Eswan Flores.
Wagering menu for the Eclipse: Includes Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 7-8-9) / 0.20 Pick 4 (Races 7-8-9-10) / $1 Swinger
Woodbine is also offering a special wagering opportunity, the Woodbine Stakes Pick 3, linking the day’s three marquee races:
Woodbine Stakes Pick 3 Details:
- All-stakes sequence (Races 6–7–9)
- $5 minimum
- 15% takeout
Need to know: First post on Saturday is 1:20 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com.
Field for the $175,000 bet365 Eclipse Stakes (G2)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Stanley House – Leo Salles – Mike De Paulo
2 – Tosen Wish (IRE) Fraser Aebly – Mark Casse
3 – Swift Delivery – Luan Machado – Mark Casse
4 – Jokestar – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard
5 – Church and State (S) – Rafael Hernandez – Dale Desruisseaux
6 – Maycocks Bay – Sofia Vives – Michael Stidham
7 – Runaway Again (S) – Ryan Munger – Sid Attard
Awesome Bourbon looks to barrel over Jacques Cartier (G3) competition
TORONTO, May 27, 2026 – Awesome Bourbon takes on seven foes in the $150,000 Jacques Cartier (G3), a 6-furlong main track event for 4-year-olds and upwards, Saturday at Woodbine.
A 6-year-old son of Not Bourbon out of the Sea The Stars (IRE) mare Sea The Awesome (IRE), Awesome Bourbon will look to land his first stakes crown in his 2026 debut.
Trained by Abraham Katryan for owner Carlo D’Amato, the bay heads into his fifth stakes affair off a troubled trip in the Kennedy Road Stakes (G2) on Nov. 15 at Woodbine.
After searching for a seam in upper stretch, jockey Pietro Moran and Awesome Bourbon lost their path at the furlong marker and re-rallied but found themselves in tight quarters nearing the wire. After finishing third, less than a length behind the winner, Awesome Bourbon was elevated to second.
“He was charging hard and he was right there,” said Katryan. “He wanted to keep fighting and going. My rider (Moran) was very impressed at how hard he fought and how much he kept on trying. That is what this horse does.”
Bred in Kentucky by Charles Fipke, Awesome Bourbon broke his maiden in his fifth start, taking a 6-furlong main track race by 1 ¾ lengths at Woodbine on Aug. 14, 2022.
He was third in his first stakes race, the Bull Page, contested over the E.P. Taylor turf, on Sept. 24, 2022, a close third in the 2024 Overskate Stakes and fifth, only 2 ½ lengths behind the winner, in last year’s Overskate.
Last year, Awesome Bourbon rhymed off three consecutive scores, from Aug. 16 to Sept. 28, all on the Woodbine inner turf, two of them at 7 ½ furlongs. In 10 starts, he recorded four wins and a pair of seconds.
“I knew him to be a speed horse – I love speed horses – especially on the turf, where he will just keep going,” said Katryan. “I wasn’t as sure about the Polytrack, but he showed me a different gear the last few races, where he doesn’t need the lead. Once he sees horses in front of him, he just goes berserk.
“I am so impressed with him this year. He’s put on some more weight and he looks really good. The only thing he doesn’t like is when you mess with his food.”
Sporting a record of 6-7-3 ($304,944 in purse earnings) from 21 starts, Awesome Bourbon was a $27,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS Winter Mixed Sale.
Abraham Siddo is the groom.
Possiblemente, trained by Joe Sharp for T and E Racing (Taylor A. Logan), makes his return to Woodbine after four starts in the U.S., three at Turfway Park and one at Churchill Downs.
The 6-year-son of Tale of Ekati out of the Not Bourbon mare Internal Bourbon, who is 9-7-4 ($401,109) from 31 starts, contested six of his seven 2025 races at Woodbine.
“We’ve rediscovered him and he’s excelling as a closing sprinter,” said Sharp, who has 1,140 career wins, including 89 stakes victories. “I thought he ran an exceptional race last time out in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2T, 5 ½ furlongs) at Churchill. “He was really rolling late. I think we are going to have a lot of fun with him this summer.”
Bred in Kentucky by Charles Fipke, Possiblemente was a $65,000 purchase at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton February Digital Sale.
Recent works: Awesome Bourbon recorded five works from March 29 to May 22.
On May 3, he covered 5 furlongs in 1:00.40 over the main track. One week later, he travelled the same distance over the same surface in 1:01.00. On May 22, the bay breezed 4 panels in :48.40.
“He’s doing terrific,” said Katryan. “I kept him here in Ontario with me over the winter, knowing that we were heading to this race. I wanted to get him tight enough for it, but he’s had enough under his belt, and every work seems to be a little better than the one before. Pietro was on him for all the works and he loves him.
“He is all business once he gets to the track. Once he gets close to the track, he wants to go.”
Fast facts: Essence Hit Man netted the Jacques Cartier natural hat trick from 2011-13. Avelino Gomez and Robin Platts are tied for most wins (6) by a jockey.
The race is named after Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), a French navigator, explorer and cartographer. He was the first European to explore the St. Lawrence River and to use the name Canada in his writings.
Wagering menu for the Jacques Cartier: Includes Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta/ $1 Swinger
Woodbine is also offering a special wagering opportunity, the Woodbine Stakes Pick 3, linking the day’s three marquee races:
Woodbine Stakes Pick 3 Details:
- All-stakes sequence (Races 6–7–9)
- $5 minimum
- 15% takeout
Need to know: First post is 1:20 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com.
Field for the $150,000 Jacques Cartier (G3)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – So Delicious – Keveh Nicholls – Devon Gittens
2 – Western Whirl – Fraser Aebly – Stuart Simon
3 – Its Bourbon Thirty – Luan Machado – Jeremiah O’Dwyer
4 – G T Five Hundred – Rafael Hernandez – Dale Desruisseaux
5 – Possiblemente – Eswan Flores – Joe Sharp
6 – Playmea Tune – Ryan Munger – Josie Carroll
7 – Lithe Spirit – Romero Ramsay Maragh – Kevin Attard
8 – Awesome Bourbon – Pietro Moran – Abraham Katryan
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Chris Lomon, Woodbine
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