Free expert picks for the 2020 Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack on September 19. Preakness winner War of Will takes on unbeaten Shirl’s Speight in the one-mile turf race worth $1 million.
The 2020 Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1T) is a $1 million horse race that drew a field of eight runners, including two millionaires. Popular 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will drew outside the field, with the grand seven-year-old mare Starship Jubilee and the unbeaten three-year-old colt Shirl's Speight challenging him.
The official field for the 2020 Woodbine Mile with post positions and Woodbine Mile jockeys and trainers is as follows:Woodbine Mile Post Positions
1. March to the Arch (Patrick Husbands/Mark Casse)
2. Armistice Day (David Moran/Barbara Minshall)
3. Shirl's Speight (Kazushi Kimura/Roger Attfield)
4. Starship Jubilee (Justin Stein/Kevin Attard)
5. Olympic Runner (Daisuke Fukumoto/Mark Casse)
6. Admirality Pier (Steven Bahen/Barbara Minshall)
7. Value Proposition (Luis Contreras/Chad Brown)
8. War of Will (Rafael Hernandez/Mark Casse)
Use these proven and reviewed racebooks to bet the Woodbine Mile online. This $1 million race is one you can't miss, and places such as Sports Interaction will have current Woodbine Mile odds and Woodbine Mile live odds. The odds will change and fluctuate right up until post time, which is 5:39 Eastern on Saturday, September 19.
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The Woodbine Mile tends to go horses that are either great champions - such as the filly Tepin, and two-time winner Wise Dan - or to shocking longshots, such as 44-1 El Tormenta last year (he paid $91.40 for the win!). The favorite has only won four times in the last ten years, but only four winners have been 4-1 or higher in the wagering.
The Woodbine Mile has produced several Breeders' Cup stars, such as Wise Dan, Court Vision, and World Approval. It is considered one of the leading Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) prep races in the world.
March to the Arch heads the Woodbine Mile field from post position one. The son of Arch is unbeaten on this turf course and is one of three Mark Casse trainees. He is coming off a big win here in the King Edward (G2) on August 15. He loses top rider Rafael Hernandez to War of Will, but gets Patrick Husbands who is a leading rider in his own right. March to the Arch has seven wins and 12 top three efforts in 23 starts, with earnings just under $700,000.
Armistice Day is a longshot who takes blinkers off. He won an off the turf allowance two back under David Moran, who stays aboard today. This is one of two Barbara Minshall trainees in the field, and he does have a stakes win on this turf course from 2019.
Shirl's Speight is the unbeaten son of Breeders' Cup winners Speightstown and Perfect Shirl. He was supposed to run in the Kentucky Derby but a cough caused him to scratch. He broke his maiden on this turf course in staggering fashion, running his rivals off their feet to win by eight lengths. If he can get loose again on the lead, the Roger Attfield trainee might be very special, but a three-year-old taking on the best milers in North America in his third start is a tough ask.
Starship Jubilee is a grand seven-year-old mare by Indy Wind. The Florida-bred has called Woodbine home her entire life, but has started to ship away and is having the best year of her life. She is four for five with graded stakes wins in Florida and New York, and finished just four lengths behind future Hall of Fame runner Rushing Fall in the Grade 1 Diana last out. She has won six of thirteen on this turf course for trainer Kevin Attard. Justin Stein will ride.
Olympic Runner is the second of the Casse entrants. The son of Gio Ponti will be a big longshot, and has been racing mainly sprinting on the main track. He did finish second in a turf allowance here in June.
Admirality Pier is a popular runner here who doesn't win often but always runs well. The son of English Channel is Minshall's second runner, and was second behind March to the Arch in the King Edward last out. He also missed by just a half-length in the Connaught Cup (g2) here July 11. Steven Bahen will ride for just the second time on this horse who was Grade 2 placed over this trip as a two-year-old in 2017.
Value Proposition cannot be ignored at any price. Chad Brown is shipping this son of Dansili over the border after running third in the Grade 3 Poker at Belmont last out. He won two in a row before that and is three for five overall. He has yet to win a stakes race, but his speed figures are on par with the rest of the field.
War of Will is the popular 2019 Preakness Stakes winner. He had not won since, running ninth in the Belmont Stakes (G1), fifth in the Jim Dandy (G2), third in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1), and then ninth in the Breeders' Cup Classic. But he switched to turf for 2020 and won the Grade 1 Makers Mark Mile at Keeneland in a thrilling finish, where he looked to have too much to do but still got up. Rafael Hernandez will ride the Casse runner, who has earned $1.7 million.
March to the Arch will relish yet another run on the Woodbine turf course and will be in a good position from the rail early. War of Will has not been consistent, even though he does run well on the grass, he seems to either jump up with a win or throw a clunker. Starship Jubilee is a tough customer but has yet to face colts such as these. Shirl's Speight is unbeaten but has never been tested, and this is a difficult place to get that first test.
March to the Arch - Starship Jubilee - War of Will/Shirl's Speight
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