Share
Cindy's Horse Racing Website Index
Latest Articles

 Eclipse Stakes Day
 Hollywood Gold Cup
 Preakness Stakes results
 Black Eyed Susan Day
 Preakness Thursday

The Sovereign Awards


The Sovereign Award Master Trophy with the names of every Horse of the Year around its base. It was refurbished for last year to add another layer to the bottom for more names.
Date: 4/23/2026

The 51st annual Sovereign Awards, saluting outstanding achievement in Canadian Thoroughbred racing and breeding in 2025, were handed out at a ceremony on Thursday evening at Paramount EventSpace in Woodbridge, Ontario, northeast of Woodbine Racetrack. Unlike their U.S. equivalent, the Eclipse Awards, horses must have started at least 3 times in Canada to qualify (2 for juveniles). Winning connections are presented with a trophy which is a replica of English racing great St. Simon, with Woodbine television personalities Jeff Bratt and Dawn Lupul serving as co-hosts. As has been the case for several years, there was a mostly positive tone to the festivities and optimism for the upcoming Canadian racing season, which at Woodbine began on Saturday April 18, except for a brief segment covering the end of live horse racing in British Columbia after the closures of Hastings Park as well as the Fraser Downs harness track.


Trainer Kevin Attard accepts the Horse of the Year trophy for Mansetti from Megan Allan (right), general manager of the Jockey Club of Canada
Mansetti was named Champion Three-Year-Old Male by a 168-41 margin over Borealis Trail, and then closed out the festivities taking Horse of the Year honors with 81 votes over Caitlinhergrtness' 74 and Corsia Veloce's 35, in one of the closest votes for the top prize in recent memory. He was 3 for 8, winning the Marine (G3), King's Plate, and Woodstock, along with second place finishes in the Ontario Derby (G3) and Prince of Wales Stakes. His trainer Kevin Attard said, “He won going six furlongs. He came back in the Queenston Stakes and had a horrible break. We regrouped and won the Marine Stakes in open company. The fact that he stretched out and the stalking style [he displayed], we thought we’d be in the King’s Plate with a good chance. It was my third Plate win, but probably my best training feat in a sense that he’s a horse who didn’t want to go 10 furlongs, but we got him to peak on the right day, when Pietro Moran gave him a fabulous ride. It was nice to see [owners Al and Bill Ulwelling] win such a historic race.”


Kathryn Sullivan, assistant to trainer Mark Casse, accepts the Outstanding Trainer award from Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield.

Mark Casse was named Outstanding Trainer for a record 17th time with 152 votes over defending champion Kevin Attard's 106, off a year where he tallied 97 wins, 85 seconds, and 70 thirds from his 495 Canadian starts, earning over $5.7 million with 12 stakes wins. He also scored career win 4000 in 2025, at Colonial Downs. However, it's worth noting that unlike recent years, only one of his horses won a Sovereign for the same year, Winterberry for Champion Three-Year-Old Female. Casse was not in attendance as is usually the case, as he is either in Kentucky or Florida with his Triple Crown hopefuls. Winterberry, in the closest voting of the night, edged out No Time by just 3 votes (99-96), with Chi Chi Time third with 47 votes. She was 2 for 5, earning $293,000 for owner D.J. Stable, winning the Bison City and Fury Stakes along with a third place effort in the Woodbine Oaks.


Presenting the Outstanding Older Main Track Female award for Caitlinhergrtness
Runner-up for Horse of the Year was Caitlinhergrtness, the Champion Older Main Track Female by a 172-42 margin over Big Hug. The Kevin Attard trainee won 3 of 8 starts, earning $476,380 for owner WinStar Farm, with her 3 second place finishes all in stakes company, the Dance Smartly (G2), Trillium (G3), and Bessarabian. The third place finisher in Horse of the Year voting was Corsia Veloce, who was named Champion Two-Year-Old Female by a 174-69 margin over Dixie Law, and was second in Female Turf Horse voting. The Josie Carroll trainee was 3 for 3, including the Natalma (G1) and Catch a Glimpse Stakes, earning $522,360 for owner-breeders Glenn Sikura and Mario Serrani.


Mark and Robert Krembil of Chiefswood Stables Limited accept the Outstanding Breeder award
In what looked to be a passing of the torch from perennial winner Adena Springs (who were shut out as none of their horses either bred or owned won in any category), Chiefswood Stables of Robert and Mark Krembil took the Outstanding Breeder award by a 140-54 margin over Anderson Farms, and also the Outstanding Owner award 113-87 over Al and Bill Ulwelling

One of the more popular winners on the night drawing the loudest applause was Little Teddy winning the Champion Female Sprinter award by a 92-74 margin over Ms. Tart. She was 4 for 6 earning $299,320, winning the Eternal Search and Zadracarta Stakes and was second in the Algoma and Ballade. Santino Di Paola, who trains for his parents who race as "York Tech Racing Stable", said his goal was to get his parents into the stakes winner's circle in the infield. Di Paola also is involved in racing media, winning the Photography award in 2018 and the Broadcast award in 2020.

Pietro Moran accepts his Outstanding Jockey award from Daran Gomez of the Jockey’s Benefit Association of Canada.

The widest winning margin for an award belongs to Pietro Moran, runaway winner of the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey award 180-72 over Austin Adams. He won 139 of 835 starts, earning close to $6 million with 6 stakes wins, most notably the King's Plate, as the regular rider of Horse of the Year Mansetti. Moran was 2nd in the jockey standings at Woodbine, behind Rafael Hernandez who took Outstanding Jockey honours by a 175-67 margin over Moran. In his 10th full season riding at Woodbine he won 148 of 632 starts, earning $6.484 million.


Doug Anderson's family accepts his Special Sovereign Award.
Doug Anderson, Chief Steward of the Jockey Club of Canada, was posthumously given the Special Sovereign Award for lifetime achievement. Anderson passed away on April 16, just one week before he was to receive the honour. Sue Leslie and Catherine Day Phillips took the podium, flanked by their fellow Stewards, to present the award to his family.

In the media categories, Clive Cohen won his first Sovereign Award for Outstanding Photograph for "Love Illuminated" from The Paulick Report. Woodbine Entertainment Grouo took Outstanding Broadcast honours for "Free Rein: It Runs in the Family" which aired on Woodbine.com, and Natalie Voss's "As Woodbine Opens Its Season, Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson Is Waiting In The Wings – For Now" from the The Paulick Report took the Outstanding Writing award. Rose Day was named Outstanding Groom. Tove Morgan from Manitoba was given the Outstanding Off-Track Worker award. Josie Hiesinger was named Outstanding Off-Track Worker.

Vote totals for the top three finalists for all the awards along with photos for all of the equine winners are below. Votes were cast for the top three choices, 4 points for first, 2 for second, and 1 for third, in each category by voters and the top point getters were named the finalists. The voters are individuals serving in industry positions such as senior racing officials, racing journalists and commentators, as well as provincial representatives of the Breeding and Horsemen's organizations. The judging for the 2025 media categories was performed by media professionals in the Thoroughbred Racing industry, a change from past years when they were judged by professors at nearby Humber College.



Mansetti was Champion 3-Year-Old Male
& Horse of the Year



Corsia Veloce was
Champion 2-Year-old Female



Argos was
Champion 2-Year-old Male



Winterberry was
Champion 3-Year-Old Female



Caitlinhergrtness was
Champion Older Main Track Female



Dresden Row was
Champion Main Track Older Male



Ready For Shirl was
Champion Turf Female



Gas Me Up was
Champion Turf Male


  Horse of the Year: Mansetti

Finalists: Mansetti (81), Caitlinhergrtness (74), Corsia Veloce (35)

Champion Two-Year-Old Female: Corsia Veloce

Finalists: Corsia Veloce (174), Dixie Law (69), Piper's Gift (50)

Champion Two-Year-Old Male: Argos

Finalists: Argos (165), Two Out Hero (61), Casson (35)

Champion Three-Year-Old Female: Winterberry

Finalists: Winterberry (99), No Time (96), Chi Chi Time (47)

Champion Three-Year-Old Male: Mansetti

Finalists: Mansetti (168), Borealis Trail (41), Take Charge Tom (39)

Champion Older Main Track Female: Caitlinhergrtness

Finalists: Caitlinhergrtness (172), Big Hug (42), Avana (31), Ready for Shirl (31)

Champion Older Main Track Male: Dresden Row

Finalists: Dresden Row (154), Swift Delivery (57), Judo (34)

Champion Female Turf Horse: Ready for Shirl

Finalists: Ready for Shirl (122), Corsia Veloce (91), Little Teddy (30)

Champion Male Turf Horse: Gas Me Up

Finalists: Gas Me Up (145), My Boy Prince (90), Argos (43)

Champion Female Sprinter: Little Teddy

Finalists: Little Teddy (92), Ms. Tart (74), Gal in a Rush (71)

Champion Male Sprinter: Simcoe

Finalists: Simcoe (147), Gas Me Up (56), My Boy Prince (45)

Outstanding Broodmare: Dixie Chicken

Finalists: Dixie Chicken (115), Aurora Lights (56), Gladiator Queen (43)

Outstanding Breeder: Chiefswood Stables Limited

Finalists: Chiefswood Stables Limited (140), Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (54), Frank Di Giulio Jr. (27)

Outstanding Owner: Chiefswood Stables Limited

Finalists: Chiefswood Stables Limited (113), Al and Bill Ulwelling (87), Bruno Schickedanz (46)

Outstanding Trainer: Mark E. Casse

Finalists: Mark E. Casse (152), Kevin Attard (106), Martin Drexler (26)

Outstanding Apprentice Jockey: Pietro Moran

Finalists: Pietro Moran (180), Austin Adams (72), Xarel Forde (59)

Outstanding Jockey: Rafael Hernandez

Finalists: Rafael Hernandez (175), Pietro Moran (67), Sahin Civaci (35)

 

Little Teddy was
Champion Female Sprinter



Simcoe was
Champion Male Sprinter



Rafael Hernandez won
Outstanding Jockey



Rose Day was named
Outstanding Groom



Tove Morgan was named
Outstanding Off-Track Worker



Jodie Hiesinger was named
Outstanding Western Canada Backstretch Worker



Doug Anderson was given a
Special Sovereign Award posthumously

For more information:

Back to Horse-Races.Net main page

Search Horse-Races.Net:


©1994-2026,  Cindy Pierson Dulay   Privacy Policy   About Us   Search   Site Map   Add a Link   Advertise   Suggest to a friend   RSS Feed   Follow on Twitter