‘Up’ for the challenge: Souped Up chases Grade 3 Vigil victory
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TORONTO, September 10, 2026 – Souped Up, trained by Ron Sadler, heads into Saturday’s $175,000 Branded Cities Vigil Stakes (G3) at Woodbine in stakes-winning form.
Souped Up, who displayed tremendous tenacity in taking the $175,000 Bold Venture (G3), at 6 ½ furlongs, on Aug. 15, will face seven rivals in the Vigil, a seven-furlong main track engagement for 3-year-olds and up.
“It [the Bold Venture effort] just elevated him to another level,” said Sadler of the head victory in 1:17.06, at 10-1. “We've always thought very highly of him, and he's always been very gritty, very determined. He’s been a wonderful horse, and that win elevated him to another plateau. He's extremely special.”
The bay, bred in Ontario by Chris Harris and John C. Harris, pairs that fighter’s mentality with a subtle yet striking physique.
“He's a very good-looking horse,” praised Sadler. “Plain, no white markings or anything but extremely well put together. He’s very athletic with a great disposition and he comes to play every time.”
Owned by Linda Theil and Harri Hosein, Souped Up, now 8-6-5 ($372,061), has been a model of consistency through 23 lifetime starts.
“He's extremely competitive, and as I said, he comes to play every time, and that's what keeps him 19 out of 23 [top-three finishes],” lauded Sadler. “The one spot that we missed with him, we ran him in a race that was too short against horses that were very fast.
“Earlier in his career, he just wasn't quite ready for a lot of the races, but he is now.”
The son of Souper Speedy out of the Pure Prize mare Jevina has made significant strides under Sadler’s tutelage to emerge as a graded stakes winner for his connections.
Along the way, the 6-year-old gelding gained a reputation for raising his game with the lights at their brightest.
“This horse, as gritty and determined and fast as he is in the afternoon, is very blasé in the morning,” said Sadler. “He trains sharply, he gallops sharply, but he doesn't see much point in going real fast in the morning. He just doesn't do it.”
With all systems operating as expected, Sadler is confident that Souped Up will be ready to embrace the big stage yet again.
“He’s coming into the race very nicely. He had a little interim breeze. He’s galloping very sharply and nicely. He's feeling good about himself, and he radiates good health. So, we'll just go forward with that.”
Alafia Campbell is the groom.
Recent works: In his most recent work, Souped Up breezed five furlongs in 1:03.80 over the Woodbine main track on Sept. 5.
Emma-Jayne Wilson, who piloted Souped Up in the Bold Venture and will ride him again in the Vigil, was aboard for the work, and received ample notice from Sadler about the veteran’s morning MO.
“I warned her before, ‘Don't be expecting a :59 or a minute because this horse just does not do it in the morning.’ She came back and said, ‘You're right. He did everything right, but he just reaches his maximum speed and stays there.’ Which is fine. He saves it for the afternoon.”
Fast facts: Trainer Barb Minshall won three straight editions of the Vigil, two with Kiridashi (1996-97) and the other with Sea Wall (1995). Pink Lloyd won four straight runnings, from 2017-20.
Wagering menu for the Vigil: Includes Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 6-7-8) / 0.20
$250,000 Guaranteed Pick 5 (Races 6-7-8-9-10) / $1 Swinger
Field for Grade 3 $175,000 Vigil Stakes
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Piper’s Factor – John Velazquez – Katerina Vassilieva
2 – Baytown Dreamer (S) – Romero Ramsay Maragh – Paul McEntee
3 – Wagstaff – Jose Campos – Nathan Squires
4 – Souped Up – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Ron Sadler
5 – Mansetti – Pietro Moran – Kevin Attard
6 – Twin City – Fraser Aebly – Stuart Simon
7 – Notorious Gangster – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll
8 – Heavy Pour – Gaddiel Martinez – Tim Girten
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Matthew Lomon, for Woodbine
