Woodbine welcomed back last year’s King’s Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness with a dominant victory in the GIII Belle Mahone Stakes on Saturday, marking a successful 2025 debut for the Canadian champion 3-year-old filly.
The daughter of Omaha Beach returned to competition after a six-month layoff, having been unraced since November when she finished fourth in the GIII Maple Leaf. Prior to that, she placed third in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland behind She Feels Pretty.
Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Caitlinhergrtness settled comfortably in third position along the inside as Dana’s Beauty and For Flying battled for the early lead. Jockey Rafael Hernandez kept her patiently positioned through the backstretch despite mounting pressure from the field approaching the half-mile pole.
“I was just trying to get her to relax,” Hernandez said after the race. “She’s been working really hard, and I just want to get her back on her feet and relax good. And I know when she is able to do that, when I put her in the clear, she’s going to explode like she did today.”
Explode she did. When given her cue at the quarter pole, Caitlinhergrtness found running room between horses and surged clear, ultimately winning by five lengths in a time of 1:42.26 for the 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather track.
For Flying held second by a neck over Ready for Shirl, who earned her first graded stakes placing.
Trainer Kevin Attard expressed some pre-race concerns about his star filly’s readiness. “I was a little more nervous with her, just because she had been working so fast, and we were making a conscious effort trying to slow her down in the mornings,” he said. “She came into us early in the year from WinStar, just looking like a different animal. She matured so much, she filled out, she grew and, you know, it all transpired onto the racetrack.”
The victory marks the first graded stakes win of 2025 for Caitlinhergrtness, who made history last year by defeating males in the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. Named for WNBA player Caitlin Clark, the filly has now compiled a lifetime record of 10-4-1-2 with earnings of $772,414.
Caitlinhergrtness represents one of 17 stakes winners and the fifth individual graded stakes winner for her sire Omaha Beach. Her dam Belatrix, by Giant’s Causeway, has produced three winners from three runners. The filly’s extended family includes European champion 2-year-old colt and successful sire Shamardal.
Bred by Jesse Korona in Ontario, Caitlinhergrtness sold for $65,000 as a weanling at Keeneland November in 2021, then for $160,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2022, before commanding $375,000 at the OBS April 2-year-old sale in 2023. She races for WinStar Farm.
She’s baaaaack! Not to be outdone by Mystik Dan, #2 CAITLINHERGRTNESS – the 2024 King’s Plate winner – made her 2025 debut a winning one in the $150,000 Belle Mahone Stakes (G3). The daughter of @spendthriftfarm Omaha Beach was ridden by Rafael Hernandez for @kevin_attard.
She's baaaaack!
Not to be outdone by Mystik Dan, #2 CAITLINHERGRTNESS – the 2024 King's Plate winner – made her 2025 debut a winning one in the $150,000 Belle Mahone Stakes (G3). The daughter of @spendthriftfarm Omaha Beach was ridden by Rafael Hernandez for @kevin_attard. pic.twitter.com/411Z5os6yt
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing)
She's baaaaack!
Not to be outdone by Mystik Dan, #2 CAITLINHERGRTNESS - the 2024 King's Plate winner - made her 2025 debut a winning one in the $150,000 Belle Mahone Stakes (G3). The daughter of May 31, 2025
