Sol de Verano prevails on debut May 12 at Woodbine (Michael Burns)
Matthew Lomon/Woodbine Communications
TORONTO— A field of six two-year-olds will go 5 ½ furlongs over the Woodbine main track in Sunday’s $125,000 Victoria Stakes.
Among those testing their talents is the Nathan Squires-trained Sol de Verano. The dark bay, who Squires part-owns alongside Alberto Campos-Cota and Joseph Freeman, dazzled in his professional debut on May 12 at Woodbine.
Closing at 6-1 in the 4 ½-furlong maiden contest, the Cambrey Farm and Jason Hewitt-bred colt engaged in a spirited joust with even-money favourite Admiral Nelson.
Under the guidance of apprentice Fraser Aebly, Sol de Verano successfully fended off a late push from the rival colt to claim the top spot by a head.
“He battled with [trainer] Mark Casse’s horse to the very end, right through the wire,” said Squires. “That was honestly a bit of a surprise to me.”
For Squires, the surprise had nothing to do with a lack of ability. Instead, it was a reminder of how far they’ve come since their first interaction at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.
“He was not a big, imposing horse, but he’s by Thousand Words, who’s sired by Pioneerof The Nile and I like that bloodline. He was just a little, light-framed colt, but I could see him developing. I think he was the tenth to last horse that went through the ring on the last day, so I stayed back and bought him.”
What the Kentucky-bred may have initially lacked in frame was offset by a natural knack for the racing game.
“We broke him, and he was always forward. He had already shown enough to be ready for the first two-year-old races. His training regime went as smooth as silk, which is rare, especially with babies.”
The trainer with nearly $3 million in career purse earnings to his name compared Sol de Verano’s early days to one of his former projects, the graded stakes-winning Cairo Consort.
“He reminded me of Cairo Consort when he first stepped onto the track,” recalled Squires. “They both went through the early stages of training without any hiccups at all.”
While the colt’s workout regimen didn’t set out on the same smooth path following his breakthrough performance, a strategic change by Squires seems to have the Victoria contender back in rhythm.
“After he won, his first workouts were below average. I was not impressed at all. I said to my partners in the horse, ‘I’m not running this horse if his workouts continue like that.’ So, I put him in the gate because you have to try different stuff, and he worked exceptionally well.”
Sol de Verano continued his ascent into form with a strong string of workouts ahead of Sunday’s tilt, including a four-furlong breeze in :47.80 over the Woodbine main track on July 6.
“He came back last Saturday and worked phenomenal. He looks great. He’s put on some muscle, some size. He’s grown a bit. So, with that, I’m going to take my chances and see what happens.”
Paulina Campos-Cota is the groom.
First post is 1:05 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action through HPIbet.com or bet365.com.
Field for the $125,000 Victoria Stakes
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Sol de Verano – Fraser Aebly – Nathan Squires
2 – Mensa – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
3 – Shadow Factor – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Ron Potts
4 – Empower – Ryan Munger – Steve Flint
5 – Your Valentino – Daisuke Fukumoto – Alexander McPherson
6 – Into Diamonds – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
