Uncle Dodo wins Victoria Stakes photo finish at Woodbine

Uncle Dodo announced himself as a colt worth tracking at Woodbine by turning the Victoria Stakes into a photo finish and holding off Titan Ready by a head in the track’s first 2-year-old stakes of the meet. The Kentucky-homebred for Hoolie Racing Stable LLC covered 5 1/2 furlongs on the all-weather surface in 1:04.98 and paid $9.40 to win, a sharp return for a second-time starter making his stakes debut.

The bay son of Uncle Mo broke cleanly from post 5, then settled fourth as Titan Ready and Hesatrooper carved out an opening quarter in :22.50. Around the turn, the race changed shape. Titan Ready shook free of Hesatrooper, Klassen advanced along the rail, and Uncle Dodo moved up wide, still traveling with enough purpose to keep the leaders in sight. By the half-mile mark in :45.88, the front line had fanned across the track, and the final furlong became a straight fight between Uncle Dodo and Titan Ready before the wire decided it.

Romero Maragh said he felt sure he had won it, even after losing his stick late and having to finish the race by hand riding. Barbara Minshall said she wanted exactly what she got from the colt, telling Maragh to break cleanly and secure early position. That tactical execution mattered as much as the finish itself. On a day when several juvenile races are won by raw speed alone, Uncle Dodo showed that he can absorb pace pressure, switch into a chase, and keep punching when the race gets tight.

The result looks even more promising against the backdrop of his debut. Uncle Dodo was unruly pre-race in a June maiden special weight, broke a step slow, rallied late, and was beaten only a half-length in a blanket finish. He added Lasix for the Victoria and improved to 1-0-1 from two career starts, a profile that points to a colt still learning but already competitive in stakes company. His pedigree adds another layer: he is out of Dream It Is, a graded and local stakes-winning mare by Shackleford, giving the family another black-type result.

Woodbine’s historical stakes archive gives the Victoria Stakes its proper place in the meet’s juvenile map, and the race has often marked out horses capable of bigger things later in the summer. Uncle Dodo still has plenty to prove, but after surviving a contested early pace and finishing with authority, he has joined the Woodbine 2-year-old conversation in a meaningful way.