Poulin In O T lights the lamp in Pink Lloyd / Sinclairity visually impressive in Ballade
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TORONTO, July 5, 2026 – Poulin In O T, overcame a challenging start and dug in gamely to score the win in the $100,000 Pink Lloyd Stakes Sunday at Woodbine.
Go Kart Mozart broke sharply from post position 7, clearing the field of seven in the opening half-furlong, and was quickly joined on the outside by Poulin In O T, who made an outstanding pre-race appearance in the walking ring.
That duo raced in tandem through an opening quarter-mile of :22.47, in the 6-furlong main track sprint for 4-year-olds and up sired in Ontario.
Around the turn, Poulin In O T, ridden by Ryan Munger and Go Kart Mozart continued to engage in their own match race, cruising the opening half mile together in :44.77. Several lengths back, Souped Up, Paynes Spirit and Light the Lamp comprised the second flight, with Summer Commander and Awesome Bourbon trailing the field.
Into the stretch the top pair were still well clear, neither giving way through a 5-furlong time of :56.84. Inside the 1/16th pole, Poulin In O T, trained by Steve Owens, finally shook clear of Go Kart Mozart, edging away to win by 1 length over a fast-closing Awesome Bourbon in a final time of 1:10.08.
"The 7 horse broke very sharp. My original plan was to be in front and hope no one hooked me," mused Munger. "When I saw the 7 coming so fast, I said I can alter course, be on his outside and relax him where he's comfortable. And that's what I did and when he felt he was ready to go and challenge, he took it up and he won a very good race."
Poulin In O T, named after Canadian women's hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin, stormed on to the Woodbine racing scene as a 2-year-old, winning the Victoria, Bull Page and Frost King Stakes respectively. The now 6-year-old gelding by Reload - Town Dance (by Dance Brightly), began his 2026 campaign, with a front running win at Gulfstream Park, before finishing 3rd in the open Thorncliffe Stakes at Woodbine.
"I had him too fat. He was really too heavy going into that last race," admitted Owens. "And he came to this race magnificent."
Poulin In O T, had been working up a storm heading into the Pink Lloyd, posting 3 consecutive bullet half-mile breezes, the last on June 28th in :46.40, best of 96 workers that morning.
"I thought he'd run them off their feet honestly," said Owens.
Poulin In O T, has recovered from multiple surgeries, during his hard knocking career, including having an ankle chip removed in 2025.
"He's like a hockey player, a good hockey player. He keeps rocking and rolling. You tape him up and you get him back for the next game,” said Owens. "He's got a lot of heart and he's big on speed."
Bred by Beverly Lewis-Owens and Steve Owens, Poulin In O T improved to 9-2-6 from 23 career starts. The chestnut gelding was listed at 3-1 on the morning line, went to post at 9-2 and paid $11.40 for the win.
Post race, a steward’s inquiry and a claim of foul by the rider of 4th place finisher Paynes Spirit against 3rd place finisher Go Kart Mozart, for interference down the backstretch resulted in Go Kart Mozart being disqualified and placed 4th, while Paynes Spirit was elevated to 3rd.
Phil McSween, Woodbine
Sinclairity visually impressive in Ballade
TORONTO, July 5, 2026 – Stretch running Sinclairity stole the show, while winning her stakes debut in Sunday's $100,000 Ballade Stakes at Woodbine.
The 6-furlong main track sprint for Ontario-sired fillies and mares 4-year-olds and up, drew a field of 9, headlined by Little Teddy, Canada's Champion Female Sprinter in 2025.
Early on, multiple stakes winner Olivia Rose and 33-1 longshot Cara Cara dueled up front, through an opening-quarter in :22.41. The second flight featured the grey Little Teddy, who raced between Foresters Exec and Minimum Forty. Sinclairity raced well back in 8th, with Speedy Freeze trailing the field.
Approaching the top of the lane, Little Teddy, a winner of her last 3 races, emerged to get first run at Olivia Rose, with the field beginning to bunch through an opening half-mile in :45:44. Sinclairity, still alone in 8th, started to commence her charge for regular pilot Pietro Moran.
Inside the 1/8th pole, Little Teddy was set down by jockey Austin Adams, but they soon had company to their outside with Give Me the Boots, Home for a Rest and the hard charging stakes debutante Sinclairity flying out widest, with the latter going on to score by 1 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:10.54.
Moran, aboard for all 4 of Sinclairity's previous wins, judged the collapsing pace brilliantly to earn the 5-year-old bay mare the first black type of her career.
"She'll do anything you want. Today I probably was a little further back than I wanted, but they were going quick," said Moran. "Halfway around the turn when I asked her she really quickened and she run by them all."
Bred in Ontario by Tabitha Lee, the daughter of Souper Speedy - Heres Mud Inyr Eye, (by Court Vision), began her career with three straight wins, marked by an 11-month layoff between the first two triumphs.
Owned by Canuck Racing Club and trained by Kevin Attard,
Sinclairity then endured an eight-race losing streak before scoring by 1 1/4 lengths in her Ballade tune up.
"Obviously this was a tough race. You're hooking the reigning filly-mare champ," said Attard. “It's an Ontario-sired race so you've got to give them a chance. She's obviously done nothing wrong to this point, been a very honest horse throughout her career and Pietro gave her a fabulous ride."
Going 3rd off the layoff again proved to be a lucrative betting angle for supporters of Sinclairity, who opened at 8-1 on the morning line, went to post at 11-1 and paid $23.80 for the win.
With the blue-ribbon Ballade added to her resume, Sinclairity's record now stands at 5-4-0 from 12 career starts. She also improved her record at the 6-furlong distance to 4-1-0 from 7 starts.
Home for a Rest finished 2nd, Give Me the Boots was 3rd and Olivia Rose was 4th by a head over race favourite Little Teddy.
Phil McSween, Woodbine
