Singspiel Stakes – (Grade lll)

Purse $175.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward

1 3/8 Miles – Turf

Woodbine – September 5, 2026

Bigchief Stables’ Fanatical Empire sat the perfect trip off the pace and closed powerfully down the stretch to capture the 18th edition of the Singspiel Stakes! The son of Boardwalk Empire was one of the more accomplished runners in the field—now marking his sixth graded stakes win over twenty-three career starts. This victory also boosts his lifetime earnings to $3,181.40. It was even more special for owner Bigchief Stables as he took down the Singspiel Stakes for the first time with his first-ever starter. You definitely could not have asked for a better introduction to the race. The final time for the 1 3/8 miles on the grass was 2:11.56, just a couple of ticks off last year’s running. It’s no secret that Fanatical Empire is in top form right now and I’m sure he’ll be ready to fire next time out. His sweet spot seems to be between 1 1/8 & 1 3/8 Miles on the turf. A big congratulations to the connections on this really impressive win!

Winner: Fanatical Empire – (Bigchief Stables, W T. Buick) Breaking from the gate, jockey William Buick did a good job of getting this horse to the rail—saving a bunch of ground. Fanatical Empire got in a comfortable rhythm down the backstretch and bided his time in sixth, about five lengths off the pace. There wasn’t much change in the running order until the field reached the 3/8 pole. This New York-bred moved away from the rail and decided to run three-wide before reaching the top of the stretch. It proved to be the right move because he now had a clear running lane to close late. Fanatical Empire showed big strides inside the final furlong as he crossed the wire by a quarter of a length from Good Memories. Well done!

Second Place: Good Memories – (Mb Stables, D. Moran) Connections have done well with this horse since switching surfaces, coming in the money in five of nine races on the grass. This was Good Memories’ furthest test on the sod to date and he clearly passed. Jockey David Moran managed to get this Ontario-bred to settle three-wide down the backstretch about three lengths off the speed. He was slowly starting to make up ground as the field reached the far turn. There looked to be a wall of horses in front of him at the quarter pole, however Good Memories was able to move out to get a clear running lane. He made up a ton of ground in the stretch and the eventual winner ended up out-closing this guy late. Solid effort.

Third Place: Dirtiest Sin – (The Sidley Stud, S. Civaci) This five-year-old gelding showed speed in his three previous starts and this race was no different. Dirtiest Sin broke extremely well from the gate—contesting the early lead with Suave & Grand Opening. The early fractions were 47.38, 1:11.40, and 1:35.57. There were no changes in the running order down the backside as the three horses continued trading punches on the front end. This son of Sinissippi Rubicon eventually took the lead passing the 3/8 pole with many rivals starting to launch their bids on the outside. He held his advantage until the 1/8 pole when Good Memories was closing late. Dirtiest Sin continued to fight on gallantly, but failed to keep up late.

Fourth Place: Canyon Clouds – (Whitewater Stables, J V. Bridgmohan) Whitewater Stables ended up making a late jockey change from Daisuke Fukumoto to Jermaine Bridgmohan. Canyon Clouds was making his graded stakes debut at the longest distance he’s run in his career. There wasn’t a lot of speed shown from the gate as this four-year-old decided to take back nine lengths off the leaders. He was able to save ground down the backside, hoping for some fast fractions on the front end. The son of Declassified started to move at the 3/8 pole with a clear running lane four-wide on the outside. He continued to find good strides down the stretch, but Canyon Clouds was just too far back early on to cross the wire first. Needs to sit closer.

– AJM

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES