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

In the preview for this race it was noted that Great Smoke was lightly race with a great winning percentage and that she should not be taken lightly in her stakes debut. Boy, did we undersell her. She not only won her stakes debut but she took down a graded stakes win and did it in a dominating style that portends very well for her future. This was the first year the Trillium Stakes was run at nine furlongs so, by necessity, the winning time of 1:48.09 established a new stakes record.

Winner: Great Smoke (D J C Radcing Stable/P. Moran) Great State/Grand Cyclone (Grand Sournoise) Broke a half step slow but was never rushed and was allowed to settle in midpack in the early going. Began a sustained move with a half mile remaining and was an obvious winner moving into the far turn before having even put her head in front. She had another gear on the day that no one could match. She opened up in the stretch and coasted home the easiest of winners.

Second: Petroleum (The Sidley Stud/S. Chernetz) Great State/Copper Mama (Copper Beast) Sat back with the eventual winner at the back of the midpack early and had the advantage of saving ground on the rail. Tried to make a move at the same time as Great Smoke but could not match strides with that one. She found an opening at the top of the stretch to easily accelerate past the rest of the field and was a clear second best but just ran into a buzzsaw on the day.

Third: Shericka (Winning Link Stables/E.J. Wilson) St Leo Bolt/High Off Caffeine (Chai Latte) Another who was in the midpack group but her fate mirrored Petroleum in that the same way that Petroleum could not match strides with Great Smoke in her rally, Shericka could not match Petroleum to challenge for the place spot. She mounted a strong enough rally in the stretch to pass the tiring pacesetters and outrun Affair Expert for third. 

Fourth: Affair Expert (TwinTowersRacing/D. Fukumoto) Expert Eye/Illicit Affair (State Police) Midpack was the place to be as the pack that travelled there ended up grabbing all of the checks. Like Go For Glory, Affair Expert was hung out wide the entire way and never gained an advantageous track position which could have contributed to her not being able to mount a potent rally.

Preview Pick: Go For Glory – Fading fifth six lengths behind the winner. Got hung out four wide around the first turn by virtue of her outside post. Sought to challenge the pace early but never seemed to have it on the day to persist and ended up giving way early. 

This was the first Trillium Stakes win for both D J C Racing Stables and jockey P. Moran. It is worth noting that both of the top two finishers are daughters of the Fractious owned stallion Great State so congrats to that barn as well. As noted in the opening paragraph Great Smoke is now a graded stakes winner in her stakes debut and an impressive one at that. She now boasts five wins in eight races and the win brings her career earnings to $209.00. 

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES