Woodbine Mile Picks

Analysis: Saturday’s Woodbine Mile (G1) is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race with the winner automatically qualifying for the always contentious Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). It is also the first race in our Breeders’ Cup Bankroll Builder! Bet $50 to win a horse in the Woodbine Mile (G1) and you will get $20 back, win or lose, to boost your bankroll ahead of Del Mar’s Breeders’ Cup.

We must start the conversation with Charlie Appleby’s shipper #2 Notable Speech who is coming off a close runner-up finish to Diego Velazquez in the Jacques Le Marois (G1) at Deauville. The son of legendary sire Dubawi has struggled to win since rattling off five victories in his first six starts. Since then, he is 0-6 but has had several close finishes including a third-place effort by less than a length in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) to More Than Looks and Johannes. He has kept outstanding company, is rounding into top form, and is a true miler. It is worth nothing that top jockey William Buick is flying oversea for the mount in a race that is serving as a North American prep for their bigger goals in November at Del Mar. He has been such a consistent performer against the best turf horses in the world and over the last five years Appleby has won an astounding 54% of his entries at Woodbine. He will be tough to beat but below are a few horses to consider.

Trainer Mark Casse is a dominant force North of the Border at Woodbine, and he has two entries with #8 Win for the Money and #6 My Boy Prince. I’ve never been particularly enamored with the latter as all but one of his victories took play at Woodbine. Additionally, he does not seem to have a defined distance where he excels, but he is 0-5 going a mile on the grass, which makes him a bit of a toss for me. I’d rather roll with Win for the Money who is coming off a third-place finish in the Fourstardave (G1) and the Kelso (G3) before that. He won this race last year over an admittedly weaker field than what he will see on Saturday, but this will be his third start back in the form cycle and he gets jockey Patrick Husbands back aboard who rode him to that victory last year. Casse and Husbands are a common team who hit at a 24% rate. Win for the Money will have to run his best race to win, but he feels like a horse that can round at exactas at a bit of a price and feels more like a natural turf miler compared to his stablemate.

Meanwhile, we see the North American debut for #3 One Stripe who is coming up from South Africa for trainer Graham Motion. There is no doubt that the horse is built to go a mile on the grass as he is a perfect 3-3 at that distance, but the caliber of competition coming up from South Africa as well as the lengthy layoff does make me wary. Additionally, Motion does not have much success with foreign shippers making their debut in stakes races. Over the last five years he is 0-10 in those spots. His only success with a “foreign shipper” is a bit misleading as he won with the very fine filly Spendarella after she competed at Royal Ascot, but she started her career for him in North America and went overseas for a single race before returning to the United States. The horse has put in seven official workouts and the aggressive Grade 1 placement might very well speak to big expectations, but there are still a lot of unknown variables, though he does pick up Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

The final horse that interests me is #9 Gas Me Up for trainer Kevin Attard, another Woodbine staple for those not as familiar with the track. The son of Hard Spun keeps jockey Flavien Prat in the irons after the pair won the King Edward (G2) last time out. He has been on an upward trajectory since returning to action in 2025 and is a horse that has always appeared to have talent but could not stay healthy. He missed nearly two years from October 2022 to June 2024, during which time he landed in Attard’s barn. He ran only once last year and has been able to string together a healthy 2025 campaign. The Ontario-bred offers some upside for a horse who might still be scratching the surface despite his age and retains a top jockey.