American Women, Lithe Spirit give Attard solid one-two Whimsical punch
At 0h02, on May 2, 2026 • By Chris Lomon, Woodbine
Trainer Kevin Attard will send out American Women and Lithe Spirit in Saturday’s $150,000 Whimsical Stakes Presented by Crown Royal (G3) at Woodbine.
A 4-year-old daughter of Constitution out of the Smart Strike mare Smartly Agree, American Women heads into her first graded stakes test off a pair of winning efforts, including a 4 ¾-length score over 6 panels on the Gulfstream dirt track on March 26.
Attard, a three-time King’s Plate winner and Canada’s champion conditioner in 2024, lauded that performance and the 1 ½-length victory at 6 ½ furlongs over the Woodbine main track one race earlier, on Nov. 8, to close the curtain on her 2025 campaign.
“Obviously, two very nice races in a row,” said Attard. “The one here, she burst through a seam at the top of the stretch and then just powered home. You could see that she had plenty left in the tank at all times. It was an all-around impressive outing for her.
“At Gulfstream, it was a different style, where she set the pace and then kept on with it. She had come into it doing really well, so I can’t say I was surprised with what she did. It also showed she has the ability to run a different race and still be successful. As a trainer, you love to see that.”
The Whimsical, a 6-furlong main track fixture for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, will mark the fifth occasion the Lanni Bloodstock LLC miss has raced at Woodbine and the third time she will travel over the Toronto oval’s main track.
“She has a win and a second over the main track here in those two previous starts, so hopefully, that form continues on Saturday,” said Attard, who has recorded 904 career wins, including 123 stakes victories. “It would be nice to see her get that first stakes win out of the way.”
Bred in Kentucky by Breffni Farms, American Women, 3-1-1- from 10 starts ($141,843 in purse earnings) has also competed at Churchill Downs, Ellis Park and Keeneland.
