Race of the Week: Saturday's Highlander Stakes at Woodbine

‍The Lead:
Woodbine gets an early jump on its July 1 Dominion Day holiday festivities this Saturday with a jam-packed stakes card. Five major stakes will be run in succession in Races 6-10, the richest of which is the Grade 2 $200,000 Highlander Stakes for turf sprinters. The 5-furlong dash is part of a $2,500 Late Pick 5 Hit & Split promotion when you play Saturday's Woodbine card with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet.

​​Field Depth:
Stakes winners in the 7-runner lineup include GT FIVE HUNDRED, OUTLAW KID and GOLDEN ATTRACTION, the latter Grade 1-placed. WESTERN SHIRL notably is Grade 2-placed. OUTLAW KID has consistently faced the strongest competition amongst this group.
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Pace:
Not as blazing as you'd expect for 5 furlongs on turf, but MISS VYVYANNE and WESTERN WHIRL are fantastic from the gate and should set the tone.
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Our Eyes:
Here are my horse-by-horse notes.

1-MISS VYVYANNE: 6-year-old mare tackles the boys at her favorite, 5-furlong dash distance in which she's 5-for-6 lifetime. Pure rail speed under Pietro Moran, a jockey who wins 22% with a positive ROI over the past 5 years locally at this turf distance. Only 1 stakes appearance in 24 lifetime starts, but win machine has 11 victories on her ledger.

2-GT FIVE HUNDRED: Synthetic specialist is 0-4 on turf and will be making her first appearance on the local sod. Trainer Dale Desruisseaux has been off to a strong start in 2026 and has won 1 of 2 since landing this 6-year-old in his barn from Mike Maker. Gelding has won 4 of last 6 and knocked on door turf sprinting in Kentucky a few times last year. Mixed vibes but prefer others.

3-FOXTROTANNA: 7-year-old makes his first start since November and first since relocating to Woodbine-based trainer Steve Attard. Off the board in 3 US stakes tries in a 20-race career that's seen her win just twice. he's lost 13 in a row dating back the past 2 years.

4-OUTLAW KID: Saratoga-based veteran has held form at age 7 with a couple of strong stakes showings on the road at Laurel Park for trainer George Weaver. A Woodbine road trip is nothing new for this gelding, who visited in 2023, 2024 and 2025, twice winning stakes on the grass. Jockey Savin Civaci has a positive ROI in 5-furlong turf sprints locally the past 5 years and Weaver remains one of the top turf sprint trainers in the game. Big player.

5-WESTERN WHIRL: Speedster has made the lead at the first call in 7 of her last 8 (on both synthetic and turf) and should be vying with the mare on the rail for the front. But this gelding has held onto that lead just once in his last 6 starts. Jockey Fraser Aebly's 22% win rate and positive ROI in 5-furlong turf dashes at Woodbine the past 5 years helps the cause for the narrow Grade 2 Nearctic third-place finisher in his second foray at this specialist's distance. Prefer the other pace player, but chances certainly increase big-time if that rival were to scratch.

6-GOLDEN AFTERNOON: 4-year-old has turf sprinted in just 3 of 11 career starts, but owns 2 wins and a runner-up amongst the trio of efforts. None of those were at a distance this short, so expect jockey Rafael Hernandez to launch this one's bid from a stalking position. Versatile sort has won at Churchill, Kentucky Downs, Fair Grounds and Presque Isle for Nick Vaccarezza. His first trip to Woodbine should not be a major obstacle given his past experiences. Grade 1 Franklin Simpson runner-up fits very well here and goes second-off-the-layoff in a great spot in his form cycle.

7-READY TO COLLECT: October layoff candidate and former claimer finds a very difficult return assignment. Can't scoff at 5-for-9 mark at this specialist's dash distance, but none of those efforts came against this class level. Won 3 straight to close last year but hasn't been a strong runner off the layoff in the past. Pass for me.

Most Likely Exotics Contender:
OUTLAW KID has won over the course and distance and kept the strongest company lines in the field.

Best Longshot Contender:
No massive prices projected, but price key is getting speeball MISS VYVYANNE to carry deep enough into the stretch and hold for second.
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Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$60 exacta OUTLAW KID over MISS VYVYANNE. $40 exacta GOLDEN ATTRACTION over MISS VYVYANNE.

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