Trillium Stakes – GIII

$150.00 For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward
1 1/8 Miles – Dirt
Woobine – July 25, 2026

According to the conditions of the eleventh running of the Trillium Stakes north of the border this weekend anyone winning a graded stakes race since the end of April will carry a little bit of extra weight. No one in the field is having additional slabs of iron slipped into their saddle cloth so that tells you that someone in the field will gain a graded stakes win to give them recency. It also tells you that all of the owners entering were shrewd in playing the HRP weight game which is essential. A tiny bit of extra weight can kill the chances of the best of them. We have nine female warriors going to the gate. Let’s see who they are.

1. Petroleum (The Sidley Stud/S. Chemetz) She started off the year failing to hit the board in two graded stakes. She regrouped and stepped back and shows two third place finished since in optional claimers. She may have gotten a little confidence from being in the mix in those and she takes a step back up. Her works and figures are good so she could be a factor but she needs to show it at this level. 

2. Shericka (Winning Link Stables/E.J. Wilson) She is a graded stakes winner and was good enough as a three year old to earn her way into the gate for the Breeders Cup Filly And Mare Sprint. She finished a disappointing twelfth that day. Since then she has been routing. In three races she finished first in a Tampa Bay allowance but has since failed to hit the board in two graded stakes runs although she did pick up the last check in the G2 Shawnee in her last start. Connections maintain faith to try again so maybe she is ready to duplicate her three year old form. 

3. Great Smoke (D J C Racing Stables/P. Moran) Four year old filly has only been to the gate seven times. She shows four wins one of which was her last out win going a mile and a sixteenth in a conditional allowance at Parx. Makes her stakes debut in this race and will definitely get tested for class. Somewhat of an unknown but her record to date tells you not to take her lightly.

4. Adaptation (Pennsville Farm/Su Singh) Was claimed for $6.25 in January and has won two of three races since. She is another starter who makes her stakes debut. She has won four of thirteen races overall but it is that last race that catches the eye and explains why she is here. She won a starter allowance at Churchill Downs by nine lengths. That winning margin is a rarity and attention must be paid to that. It is also worth noting that the nine length win was her first attempt beyond five furlongs. Intrigued to see what she can do. 

5. Affair Expert (TwinTowersRacing/S. Callaghan) Like Adaptation to her inside she has won four races of her thirteen lifetime starts. She made her stakes debut in her last race when she finished fifth in The Anchorage Stakes fading late after challenging for the lead early. She is switching from turf to dirt. All four of her wins have been on the grass so it’s not apparent that the dirt would help her  but recent morning works on dirt have been good.

6. Baby Katherine (Santan Stables/S. Civaci) Has more graded stakes experience than most in the field and although she has some graded black type she is looking for that first win at this level. Ten of her last eleven races have been on the turf but she makes the switch to dirt hoping to strike. She did break her maiden on dirt but that was three years ago and her recent works have all been on grass so the surface has to be considered if you are hoping to win the handicapping contest backing her. 

7. Hot Story (The Sidley Stud/D. Moran) It is odd how our entrants with the most graded stakes experience have all drawn to the outside. First of those is Hot Story who won a statebred stakes race as a two year old. She has been seen in four graded stakes races since then and was on the KY Oaks trail early in the season. She failed to gain any points in the G2 Davona Dale and G2 Santa Anita Oaks and was given a slight break before running an encouraging third in the G3 Summertime Oaks last month. She missed being the victor by a head that day and earned her best career SRF of 96. Comes in on an apparent upward form curve.  

8. Spelkenfelter Twin (Paradise Stable/D. Nelson) Seven year old mare i a Paradise Stable homebred and she makes her thirty-ninth start in the Trillum. She is looking for her first stakes win. She ran a great second in the G3 Santa Maria Stakes in April losing by just a long neck. It seemed she might finally be finding the form to get that stakes win but then she followed up by finishing a badly fading eleventh in the G3 Belle Mahone at Woodbine with no apparent excuses. She returns to the track where she ran eleventh but she has worked well at the track and the trainer maintains faith so maybe just draw a line through the last.

9. Go For Glory (Mb Stables/L. Staples) Previewing a graded stakes race and not seeing an entrant from Mb Stables was almost enough for me to ask for a wellness check at what you imagine must be the vast Mb compound. Alas, there is nothing to fear, no foul play. Just an outside draw. The most accomplished in the field this season, the four year old homebred filly has won half of her ten races and is a graded stakes winner by virtue of her win in the G2 Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland on April 17 which leaves her nine days beyond the deadline of having to carry extra weight today. The trainer seems to be figuring this game out and about to live up to the potential many have seen for so long. Shrewd. She ran kind of an even third following that win and her last work seems average so there may be hope for her rivals but the barn doesn’t enter to lose. She likes to show early foot so it will be interesting to see what she does from the outside gate.  

Go For Glory is the only one in the field to win a graded stakes this year and she has only been off the board twice in her career. She has to be the pick based on proven back class alone. Most of the field are looking to step up and are being tested in some way so nothing would surprise. Hot Story will be the second pick based on her Summertime Oaks effort followed by Adaptation and Great Smoke.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES