The Canadian Maturity Stakes was a Canadian

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run annually in late November at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The tra ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Inaugurated in 1953, the race was restricted to four-year-old horses bred in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was contested on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

over a distance of a mile and a quarter (10

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s). At a time when Thoroughbreds regularly ran on both dirt and turf, the Canadian Maturity Stakes attracted the best four-year-olds in Canada. However, by the late 1980s that situation had changed dramatically and by the time of the 1994 running, it attracted a field of only four horses. The Canadian Maturity Stakes was won for five consecutive years between 1990 and 1994 by

Sam-Son Farm Sam-Son Farm is a Thoroughbred horse racing stable with farms located in Milton, Ontario, Canada and Ocala, Florida. Originating in the 60's by Ernie Samuel, it began as a home for competition hunter/jumper horses. One Sam-Son horse, Canadian ...

and Hall of Fame trainer, Jim Day. Sam-Son Farm and Day also won in 1983.

Records

Speed record: * 2:00.20 - Classic Reign (1993) Most wins by an owner: * 6 -

(1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) Most wins by a jockey: * 4 - Robin Platts Most wins by a trainer: * 6 - James E. Day (1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)

Winners

* 1996 - Dagda * 1995 -

Alywow {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Alywow , image = , caption = , sire = Alysheba , grandsire = Alydar , dam = Triple Wow , damsire = Coastal , sex = Filly , foaled = February 7, 1991 , death_date = {{dda, 2002, 3, 2, 1991, 2, 7 , co ...

* 1994 - Desert Waves * 1993 - Classic Reign * 1992 -

Dance Smartly Dance Smartly (1988–2007) was a Champion Thoroughbred racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to ever win a Breeders' Cup race. She was inducted into both the Can ...

* 1991 -

Sky Classic Sky Classic (March 17, 1987 – April 30, 2015) was a Canadian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. A son of U.K. Triple Crown champion Nijinsky, in 1989 Sky Classic won the Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse in Canada but injur ...

* 1990 - Most Valiant * 1989 - Imperial Colony * 1988 - Lindjean * 1987 - Boulder Run * 1986 - Kazbek * 1985 - Nagurski * 1984 - Piper John * 1983 - Twice An Angel * 1982 - Frost King * 1981 - Bejilla * 1980 -

Glorious Song {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Glorious Song , image = , caption = , sire = Halo , grandsire = Hail To Reason , dam = Ballade , damsire = Herbager , sex = Filly , foaled = 1976 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breeder = E. P ...

* 1979 - Overskate * 1978 - Sound Reason * 1977 -

Norcliffe Norcliffe (1973–1984) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by U.S. Hall of Fame Champion Buckpasser out of the mare Drama School by Northern Dancer. Owned by the Norcliffe Stable of Charles F. Baker, Chairman o ...

* 1976 - Brilliant Sandy * 1975 - Rash Move * 1974 - Good Port * 1973 - Nice Dancer * 1972 - Belle Geste * 1971 - Mary of Scotland * 1970 - Jollysum Dancer * 1969 - No Parando * 1968 - Battling * 1967 - He's A Smoothie * 1966 - Good Old Mort * 1965 - Langcrest * 1964 - Albion Star * 1963 - King Gorm * 1962 - Majestic Hour * 1961 - Hidden Treasure * 1960 -

Wonder Where Wonder Where (foaled 1956 in Quebec) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse who was Canada's 1959 Horse of the Year and a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Background Bred by Frank J. Selke at his Rolling Range Farm in Quebec, she was ...

* 1959 - Foxy Phil * 1958 -

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

* 1957 - Censor * 1956 -

Ace Marine {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ace Marine , image = , caption = , sire = Ace Admiral , grandsire = Heliopolis , dam = Mazarine , damsire = Sweepster , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1952 , country = Canada , colour = Chestnut , breede ...

* 1955 - King Maple * 1954 -

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

* 1953 - Foxy Pilot

Notes

{{reflist

References

June 23, 1957 ''New York Times'' article titled "''Censor Is Home First In Canadian Maturity''"

Discontinued horse races Turf races in Canada Woodbine Racetrack