Maple Leaf Stakes (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
November 8, 2025
The BC may be over, but the race calendar still moves on, and we have several races that we can look at this weekend. Up at WO, female horses that like to run long will get their chance to run in a Grade 3 while more than likely knowing that there will not be any BC horses in the field. It’s the 13th running of the Maple Leaf Stakes, a race that debut in 2010 but has not been on the schedule every year. Last year’s race was won by Balius, for Threshold. She is still active but is not going to have a shot at doing what Fashionable did in 2020 and 2021 in winning the race twice. We have eight in the race, and here’s a look at them:
1- Atomic Woman (Williams9, ridden by P Morales)- Looking to bounce back after a poor performance in the Personal Ensign where she was beaten by seven lengths and finished dead last. Prior to that, she was second in the Grade 2 Shuvee with a come from behind effort, a tactic that was not attempted in the Personal Ensign. I anticipate seeing her run that style again here. Before the Shuvee, she was mediocre, at best, while being on or near the lead early.
2- Mainstream (SamIam, ridden by O Moreno)- Winless in her six starts as a four-year-old, and for her career, she has three victories in 16 starts. She’s been better at hitting the board and had a string of productive results both on the main track and the turf before her last outing. If that’s where we stood with her, I would consider her as one of my picks, but her dud last time out is concerning. At LAD, and running $16.700, she was fourth of five and beaten by four lengths. The field wasn’t soft, but I would have expected better from Mainstream.
3- Whispering Willow (Mella Sabella, ridden by P Moran)- Whispering Willow has made four trips to the winner’s circle in her six starts, and has hit the board in all of them. The lead up to her last race are at levels that are not going to intimidate anyone here, but last time out she stepped up in a big way, considering where she had been. The filly went to HST for the $75.000 BC BC Oaks, and ran second. It may not have been a win but proved that she can handle tougher company.
4- Jersey Delight (Night Rider Stables, ridden by D Z Gaskin)- This is another horse that has been able to win often this year, doing so four times out of seven starts. Two of those wins came with Angelos Stable, of whom Night Rider claimed her from for $15.000. In her new silks, Jersey Delight has been going longer, winning two overnight races at the Spa before heading down I-87 and running in the Grade 2 Beldame. That wasn’t her best race, but she can rebound. Gut feeling on her here and am making her my pick.
5- Vegas Vie (Our Athletes, ridden by E J Wilson)- We have not seen much of this one in 2025, as she has made only three starts, and none since May. That’s a little surprising after she started the year with two wins, coming at GP and SA, and then in May ran fourth in the $125.000 Allaire Distaff Stakes. It does look like she’d been slowing down in some works after that, but hopefully the trainer has been able to get those back on track. A little tough to pick in here with the layoff and that October 1st work.
6- Be Exceptional (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Moran)- This is most experienced horse in the field, as she makes her 35th career start. Over that time, she has seven wins, three of which occurring at the graded level. In April, she captured the Grade 3, $350.000 Bewitch at KEE, but has not done well after that. Be Exceptional has been known to go through cold spells before during her lifetime, so it is very possible that her recent form is just one of them and she could break out of it at any time.
7- Petroleum (The Sidley Stud, ridden by L Salles)- From a horse with the most starts, to one that has only made nine in her career. That’s Petroleum, but this three-year-old Great State filly has hit the board in eight of them, with three wins. Made her stake debut against Whispering Willow in the BC Oaks and was one spot behind her in third. After that, she took what she learned and won the Ballerina BC, also at HST. Now, she wants to take the next step.
8- Spirit Storm (Nakamura Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- After a three-year-old season saw her finish third in the KYO and then even attempt the BEL against the boys, something that did not go well, Spirit Storm has been quiet over her four-year-old campaign. Not that there’s anything wrong with winning $99.020 on the year, but more was hoped for. Two back, she won the $50.000 Colleen at HST, leading to her first graded race in about a year. After placing fourth in the Grade 2 Beldame, she’s out to prove there’s plenty more out there for her to achieve.
Prediction: 4-6-7-1
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES