Mighty Heart Back on Home Turf in Dominion Day

Reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Mighty Heart  will return to the scene of his thrilling Queen's Plate Stakes triumph that propelled him to stardom last year at Woodbine as the Josie Carroll trainee headlines the field for the July 1 Dominion Day Stakes (G3).

The Ontario-bred son of Dramedy  enters Thursday's $150,000 feature event, to be contested over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta, fresh off a victory in the Blame Stakes on May 29 at Churchill Downs.

After taking the first two-thirds of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown during his sophomore season, Mighty Heart finished seventh in the Breeders' Stakes final leg, won by stablemate Belichick , and fourth in the Ontario Derby (G3), both at Woodbine.

He opened his 4-year-old campaign in mid-April giving way late to finish third in a Keeneland allowance race before returning to the stakes spotlight.

Owned and bred by Larry Cordes, Mighty Heart has four wins from 10 career starts, with his latest victory earning him millionaire status.

Getting that rest in because Mighty Heart RETURNS to Woodbine Racetrack tomorrow!!! pic.twitter.com/ypfu2L6TMz

— Woodbine Racetrack (@WoodbineTB) June 30, 2021

Jockey Daisuke Fukumoto, who was aboard for the popular one-eyed colt's Triple Crown bid, will be back in the irons for the Dominion Day with Mighty Heart starting from post four in the seven-horse field.

Scheduled as the seventh of eight races on the Canada Day card, the Dominion Day also features the Mark Casse-conditioned graded stakes winners Lookin to Strike , March to the Arch , and Skywire .

Returning to action on Thursday following an injury, jockey Rafael Hernandez will partner with Skywire, who was named Canada's 2020 champion older male thanks in part to a pair of grade 2 stakes wins, the Eclipse and Autumn, last year at Woodbine for owners Gary Barber and Lucio Tucci.

Other contenders in the field include Malibu Mambo , now trained by Michael Doyle for Stronach Stables, and Atone for trainer Eoin Harty and owner Godolphin.

Thursday marks the return of spectators to Woodbine amid COVID-19. It comes with Ontario entering Step 2 of its "Roadmap to Reopen" plan, which permits horse racetracks to host 25% of their outdoor capacity. 

"Thursday's return of fans to Woodbine will be an incredible day for the racing industry and a monumental day for Ontario as our province begins to reopen," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. "The sound of the horses racing down the stretch and the fans cheering them on has been sorely missed and we're more than ready to welcome back our great fans. 

"We are thankful to the government for entrusting us to safely welcome back a limited number of spectators." 

Entries: Dominion Day S. (G3)

Woodbine, Thursday, July 01, 2021, Race 7

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:24 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Lookin to Strike (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	119	Mark E. Casse	10/1
2	2March to the Arch (FL)	Patrick Husbands	123	Mark E. Casse	9/5
3	3Atone (KY)	Justin Stein	119	Eoin G. Harty	20/1
4	4Mighty Heart (ON)	Daisuke Fukumoto	125	Josie Carroll	5/2
5	5Malibu Mambo (ON)	David Moran	119	Michael J. Doyle	12/1
6	6Belichick (ON)	Luis Contreras	121	Josie Carroll	6/1
7	7Skywire (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	123	Mark E. Casse	4/1