Maycocks Bay takes Eclipse, Deloraine wins Bella Mahone

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The powerful Godolphin operation swept the first two stakes on Saturday’s Woodbine card, taking the Grade 2 Eclipse with the favored Maycocks Bay and the Grade 3 Belle Mahone with longshot Deloraine.

Maycocks Bay opened up a substantial early lead under Sofia Vives and set fast fractions in the 1 1/16-mile Eclipse. Stanley House closed the gap from second in the stretch, but Maycocks Bay kept on going to score by two lengths, in a quick time of 1:43.05.

“In the first turn, he was just floating,” Vives said. “I figured he was going to open up a little bit. When we turned for home, we had plenty of horse to keep pulling away.”

Stanley House drifted out in the final furlong but held on for second by a neck over the rail-rallying Runaway Again. Swift Delivery, Jokestar, Tosen Wish and Church and State completed the order of finish.

A son of Speightstown, Maycocks Bay was making his first start on Tapeta for Maryland trainer Mike Stidham, who won the 2025 Breeders’ Stakes here with Tom’s Magic.

“This horse has been based at the Fair Hill training center for the last six or eight weeks,” assistant trainer Parker Hendriks said. “He’s galloped on (Tapeta) and worked on it. He had a really nice breeze over the surface about two weeks ago in his second-to-last work. We were pretty confident he would handle the surface. He’s a very exuberant horse. I actually ride him myself. He’s doesn’t feel like he’s going that fast.”

Maycocks Bay ($4.10) earned $105,000 of the $186,550 purse in his first stakes success.

Deloraine ($20) caught the favored front-runner Stylish Sue in deep stretch to take the $152,400 Belle Mahone by three-quarters of a length, in a time of 1:44.47 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Equitas finished another 3 3/4 lengths back in third and was followed by Elysian Field, No Time, Hurricane Clair, and Power of Destiny.

Ryan Munger rode Deloraine for Kentucky-based trainer Eoin Harty, who’s had no shortage of success at Woodbine over the years.

“I spoke to Eoin Harty before the race and he said to me that she just might have needed her last run,” Munger said. “She’s better coming from off the pace. Looking at the race, there was a lot of speed, and that definitely played in our favor. Going around, I had a ton of horse. I knew if I got out, I was going to catch them. From the half-mile, if I got out, she was going to win. Once the split opened, she took it like a brave soldier and she won a very gallant, gutsy race.”

A homebred by Candy Ride, Deloraine banked $90,000 in her first stakes victory.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.