Canadian Triple Crown Hopeful Mighty Heart Is ‘Up To The Challenge’ In Saturday’s Breeders’ Stakes

Mighty Heart will continue his quest to join an elite group of horses to sweep all three legs of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown this Saturday in the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack.

Trained by Hall of Famer and three-time Queen's Plate winner Josie Carroll, Mighty Heart headlines the final jewel of the tri-surface series for Canadian-bred three-year-olds, which concludes on Woodbine's world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course with the longest leg at the distance of 1 ½-miles.

The son of Dramedy, bred and owned by Lawrence Cordes, is the even-money morning line favorite in the field of 12 having already scored wins in the $1 million Queen's Plate at 1 ¼ miles over Woodbine's Tapeta track on September 12 and the $400,000 Prince of Wales at 1 3/16 miles over Fort Erie's dirt course on September 29.

“He's a little horse that's overcome [a lot],” said Carroll, who won the 2006 Plate with Edenwold and the 2011 running with the filly Inglorious. “There's something in racing we call heart, and horses with heart are what you're looking for more so sometimes than horses with talent.”

Aside from contending with 11 rivals, Mighty Heart could have to contend with turf that has some give to it. The Toronto area has experienced rainy weather in the lead-up to Saturday.

“I can't tell you how he's going to handle a yielding turf,” offered Carroll. “In North America, we very seldom get the chance to run on very soft turf. I believe he'll handle the grass. He's run once on the grass, and we had him up on the E.P. course the other day, and he just skipped across it. Pedigree-wise, we have every reason to think he'll handle it [the 1 ½-mile distance], but until a horse does that, you really don't know. It's a very, very challenging thing to be asking him to do right now. This horse has run two hard races and now you're asking him to go a mile and a half on a possibly tiring course. Hopefully, he's up to the challenge.”

Cordes is thrilled to see the outpouring of affection for Mighty Heart, which continues to swell ahead of the Breeders' Stakes.

“In this time of COVID, this is a boost to people,” he said. “The phone calls I get from the west coast to east coast of Canada, my girlfriend and I have had multiple dozens of calls… people are just so excited. I feel the same thing, it just puts the excitement into me, so for all of the racing fans and all of his fans, let's make it happen. Just cheer him on, we need everything we can get.”

Mighty Heart will once again have Daisuke Fukumoto in the irons.

The young Japanese-born rider is still wrapping his head around the significance of what it would mean to come out on top in the Breeders' Stakes.

“It would be very special,” said Fukumoto. “To win the Queen's Plate is already special, but the Triple Crown is the highest. You never think of winning the Triple Crown.”

The pair will square off against some familiar foes on Saturday.

Trained by Kevin Attard, Clayton (6-1), who won the Plate Trial in mid-August, was third in the Queen's Plate and runner-up in the Prince of Wales. Owned by Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe, the son of Bodemeister finished second, 2 ½ lengths behind Mighty Heart in the middle jewel at 1 3/16 miles over Fort Erie's dirt track on September 29.

Belichick, who finished a strong second in the Queen's Plate, and is the 7-2 second choice in the morning line, will look to turn the tables on his stablemate.

The son of Lemon Drop Kid, also coached by Carroll, has a pair of seconds and a third in three lifetime starts.

Owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods, Belichick should appreciate the move to turf and the mile-and-a-half distance.

“This is a really talented horse,” said Carroll, who won the 2014 Breeders' Stakes with Ami's Holiday. “I think from the moment he came in my barn, he showed a great deal of ability. If anything has surprised me, it's that it has taken this long for him to really blossom. I'm not surprised to have him in this position. It's also very rewarding to train a horse of his caliber.”

Other Breeders' Stakes hopefuls include Conrad Farms' Muskoka Giant (20-1), who broke his maiden over one mile of turf two starts prior to his fifth-place finish in the Prince of Wales for trainer Mark Casse.

A two-time (2014 with Lexie Lou and in 2018 with Wonder Gadot) Queen's Plate winner, Casse, who won the 2007 Breeders' with Marchfield and the 2018 renewal with Neepawa, will also send out Deviant (30-1).

A chestnut son of Daredevil, Deviant won last year's El Joven Stakes and Sunday Silence Stakes. The Red Lane Thoroughbreds' gelding will be making his second straight start at Woodbine, after finishing seventh in the Queenston Stakes this July.

Unraced as a two-year-old, English Conqueror (12-1), a chestnut son of English Channel, will make his Triple Crown debut in the Breeders'.

Bred and owned by JWS Farms, the Darwin Banach trainee finished third in his career bow on July 5 at Woodbine, a seven-furlong maiden special weight turf engagement. After a disappointing 10th-place finish next time out, English Conqueror rebounded with a fourth in 1 1/16 mile race run on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, an effort that saw him display plenty of vigor in the late going.

He arrives at the Breeders' off a maiden-breaking score on September 19, a head victory that was earned over 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine Inner Turf.

“He's doing really well,” said Banach. “He's like an immature little boy, in that it took him a little while to learn what was going on, and he's still learning. You have to ask him to do what you want him to do. He doesn't just go ahead and do it. I thought Emma [jockey, Wilson] would suit this horse fantastically after he finished fourth, and it did. I was quite concerned in that race because they went so slow early, but he does have a great turn of foot and he was able to kick on from there, get the lead and then get the win. I was very happy with that effort.”

Banach believes the lightly-raced Ontario-bred will be even better on Saturday.

“We always thought he was a good horse. We even considered the Queen's Plate and other races, but he couldn't quite get his game together before that time. So, here we are. We think he can handle a mile and a half and we've got to give it a shot.”

A victory would be even more special considering the sire of English Conqueror's dam, champion Sky Conqueror, was bred and owned by William Sorokolit, Sr., who recently passed away.

Banach trained the multiple graded stakes winning son of Sky Classic for Sorokolit. Sky Conqueror's victories included consecutive (2006-07) editions of the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G2T) and the 2007 running of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1T). Multiple graded stakes winner Classic Stamp was also another a horse of note for Sorokolit.

A successful businessman and entrepreneur, Sorokolit won 212 career races along with over $10.1 million (U.S.) in purse earnings.

“Emma rode Sky Conqueror, so maybe this is meant to be,” said Banach. “We loved training for Mr. Sorokolit and he'll be dearly missed. I believe he started owning horses in university, so for 70-some years he owned horses.”

Enchant Me (50-1), Glorious Tribute (30-1), and Olliemyboy (12-1) will also go postward after making an appearance in the opening legs of the Triple Crown.

Told It All (12-1), Meyer (30-1) and Kunal (50-1) complete the field.

In 2018, the Casse-trained filly Wonder Gadot won the first two Triple Crown races but did not compete in the Breeders' Stakes. Casse sent out Neepawa to victory in the final leg that year.

The last Triple Crown contender prior to Wonder Gadot was the great Wando, just the seventh horse to complete the series sweep since it was established in 1959 when he won the 2003 Breeders' Stakes with jockey Patrick Husbands aboard for trainer Michael Keogh and the late owner/breeder Gustav Schickedanz.

Since then, A Bit O'Gold (2004), Pender Harbour (2011) and Tone Broke (2019) also claimed two-thirds of the Triple Crown by taking the last two legs.

The longest shot to win the Breeders' was Miami Deco in 2010. The Ontario-bred son of Limehouse returned $132.10 for a $2 win bet. Catherine Day Phillips became the first female trainer to win the race courtesy of A Bit O'Gold in 2004. One year later, she was in the winner's circle again, this time with Jambalaya. Roger Attfield holds the record for most wins by a trainer with nine. His first came with Carotene in 1986. Jockey Rafael Hernandez has won three of the past four runnings.

“This is a great time for racing in Ontario,” said Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson. “It's fun. It's a wonderful opportunity for us to promote the sport of horse racing. We're thrilled that there is this opportunity.”

Post time is set for 1:10 p.m. ET, with the Breeders' Stakes scheduled as the ninth race (approximately 5:39 p.m. ET). The historic event will be broadcast live from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on TSN. Coverage is led by Canadian broadcasting legend Brian Williams, alongside TSN's Laura Diakun and Woodbine Entertainment's Jason Portuondo, with Brodie Lawson contributing reports from track level.

FIELD FOR THE BREEDERS' STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer – Owner – Morning Line

1 – Meyer – Sahin Civaci – Martin Drexler – Bruno Schickedanz – 30-1

2 – Enchant Me – Steven Bahen – Santino Di Paola – York Tech Racing Stable – 50-1

3 – Clayton – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe – 6-1

4 – Olliemyboy – Patrick Husbands – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables LLC – 12-1

5 – English Conqueror – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Darwin Banach – JWS Farms – 12-1*

6 – Glorious Tribute – David Moran – Barbara Minshall – Bruce Lunsford – 30-1

7 – Deviant – Jerome Lermyte – Mark Casse – Red Lane Thoroughbreds LLC – 30-1

8 – Mighty Heart – Daisuke Fukumoto – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes – 1-1

9 – Belichick – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll – NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods – 7-2

10 – Kunal – Emile Ramsammy – Steven Chircop – Bruno Schickedanz – 50-1

11 – Told It All – Kazushi Kimura – Norm McKnight – Rainbow Stables – 12-1*

12 – Muskoka Giant – Justin Stein – Mark Casse – Conrad Farms – 20-1

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‘Small Details’ Are Everything When Building Canadian Triple Crown’s Most Memorable Moments

Mary Currie is a little bit of a perfectionist, but she has good reason to be. She has been in the floral industry for more than 37 years and even operates her own floral design school. In addition to creating unique floral designs for weddings and special events, she is also responsible for prestigious projects such as the floral blankets for OLG Canadian Triple Crown races.

Currie opened The Monarch Florists in 1983. The next year, she was approached by Darryl Wells Sr., a neighbor and close family friend, who asked if she would be interested in making the floral blankets for signature Woodbine stake races, such as the Queen's Plate. Their previous supplier was using pins to attach the flowers to the blanket, which were not good at securing the flowers and would also prick the horses.

After a bit of trial and error, Currie's sister came up with a method of attaching the flowers to the blanket that they have kept a secret to this day. They put together a sample product and have been the exclusive supplier for the floral stoles ever since.

Currie's father was a graphic designer, and he created the patterns and templates for the blankets that she still uses today.

“Some people over the years have tried to change up the patterns, and we always comply, but they never turn out as good, especially if there is too much detail,” said Currie, who always goes back to her tried and true original designs.

Each blanket is seven and a half feet long by two feet wide. The backing is made of a special type of thick canvas, and the surface is covered with more than 1,000 chrysanthemum and daisy blooms. A double-faced satin ribbon borders the blanket, which is complete with a gold fringe on the ends.

Currie makes the blankets a few days in advance, and after 36 years, she said she feels like she can do them in her sleep. If all goes well one blanket will take approximately 4-5 hours to make, but she knows from experience that all does not always go according to plan.

“One year I didn't have enough flowers because the blooms were too small. One year I ordered the flowers from a supplier that was closing his business, and the next day all the flowers were dead. One year my supplier gave all my flowers to the wrong flower shop. I never assume that I'm going to finish a product in a couple of hours, because a lot of things can go wrong,” she said.

Despite the occasional challenge, Currie has never failed to deliver a flawless blanket. “I always stress about making sure the final product is perfect. Even if nobody else notices the small details, I notice them, and I'm happier with the product when I do the best job possible.”

Currie will soon start working on the blanket for the Breeders' Stakes, coming up at Woodbine on October 24. The event is the third jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, and this year is more important than ever. After winning the Queen's Plate at Woodbine and the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, Mighty Heart has his heart set on becoming an OLG Canadian Triple Crown champion.

Over the years, many great horses have won a Canadian Triple Crown race and have worn one of Currie's beautiful floral stoles, but only the truly legendary horses are adorned with all three.

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Canadian Triple Crown Contender: Breeders’ Stakes Draw To Be Streamed Live On Oct. 21

The post position draw for the 129th running of the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, third and final jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, will be streamed live online next Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Woodbine Racetrack.

The post draw show will be hosted by racing analyst Jason Portuondo live from Woodbine Racetrack's broadcast studio and paddock at 12 noon, with an appearance by Jim Lawson, President and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment.

The connections of Mighty Heart will join the show to discuss the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes winner's pursuit of making Canadian sports history with a sweep of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.

The show will also feature Michael Keogh, the 2020 Hall of Fame inductee who campaigned the last Triple Crown winner, Wando, during his 2003 series sweep, and jockey Patrick Husbands.

Live streaming will be available on Woodbine's website at Woodbine.com and Facebook page.

The Breeders' Stakes, featuring Canada's finest 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, will be contested over 1-1/2 miles on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Entries are due 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Here is a look at probable starters for the Breeders' Stakes:

Horse – Trainer – Owner

Belichick – Josie Carroll – NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods

Clayton – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe

Deviant – Mark Casse – Red Lane Thoroughbreds LLC

Enchant Me – Santino Di Paola – York Tech Racing Stable

*English Conqueror – Darwin Banach – JWS Farms

Glorious Tribute – Barbara Minshall – Bruce Lunsford

Kunal – Steven Chircop – Vincente Stella Stables LLC

Meyer – Martin Drexler – Bruno Schickedanz

Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes

Muskoka Giant – Mark Casse – Conrad Farms

Olliemyboy – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables LLC

*Told It All – Norm McKnight – Rainbow Stables

*Possible supplements

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One-Eyed Mighty Heart To Bid For Canadian Triple Crown In Oct. 24 Breeders’ Stakes

OLG Canadian Triple Crown contender Mighty Heart tops a list of a dozen Canadian-bred three-year-old Thoroughbreds nominated to the 129th running of the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes.

Mighty Heart remains on target to make an historic attempt at sweeping Canada's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing following a pair of spectacular performances in the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes last month in rein to Daisuke Fukumoto for Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll and owner/breeder Lawrence Cordes.

“It would be a great thing to accomplish, I'd certainly be thrilled,” said Carroll. “It's very seldom you get a horse that is genuinely capable of winning these races on all three surfaces and that makes it very exciting.”

The connections of 11 other sophomore stars have made the October 7 sustaining payment to remain eligible to the Breeders' Stakes, which will be contested over 1 ½ miles on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The one-eyed Dramedy colt opened his Triple Crown bid on Sept. 12 with a 7 ½-length triumph over 1 ¼ miles on Woodbine's Tapeta surface.

The nominations list includes Queen's Plate runner-up Belichick, a lightly raced maiden, also trained by Carroll and owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods. The Lemon Drop Kid colt, who launched his career on turf in July with a rallying third-place effort over seven furlongs, has finished no worse than third in his first three career starts.

Mighty Heart and Belichick are both scheduled to work on Saturday at Woodbine in preparation for the Breeders' Stakes.

“Tomorrow will be Mighty Heart's first breeze since he ran in the Prince of Wales, so as long as everything goes well, we're pointing in that direction,” confirmed Carroll.

Mighty Heart could face another familiar foe in the Breeders' Stakes as Clayton looks to complete the tri-surface series. After winning the Plate Trial in mid-August, the Kevin Attard trainee hit the board in both the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales. Owned by Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe, the son of Bodemeister finished 2 ½ lengths behind Mighty Heart in the middle jewel at 1 3/16 miles over Fort Erie's dirt track on September 29.

Other Breeders' Stakes hopefuls include Conrad Farms' Muskoka Giant, who broke his maiden over one mile of turf two starts prior to his fifth-place finish in the Prince of Wales for trainer Mark Casse, and Al and Bill Ulwelling's multiple stakes placed filly Merveilleux, another Attard trainee who was a game third in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser prior to finishing sixth in the Queen's Plate.

Enchant Me, Glorious Tribute and Olliemyboy are also nominated after making an appearance in the opening legs of the Triple Crown.

Deviant, Kunal, Meyer and Pleasecallmeback complete the list of Breeders' Stakes eligibles with notable turf experience. Roger Attfield, who co-owns and conditions Pleasecallmeback, has trained three of the past seven Triple Crown winners (With Approval in 1989, Izvestia in 1990, Peteski in 1993).

In 2018, the Casse-trained filly Wonder Gadot won the first two Triple Crown races but did not compete in the Breeders' Stakes. Casse sent out Neepawa to victory in the final leg that year.

The last Triple Crown contender prior to Wonder Gadot was Wando, who was crowned just the seventh horse to complete the series sweep when he won the 2003 Breeders' Stakes with jockey Patrick Husbands aboard for trainer Michael Keogh and the late owner/breeder Gustav Schickedanz.

Since then, A Bit O'Gold (2004), Pender Harbour (2011) and Tone Broke (2019) also claimed two-thirds of the Triple Crown by taking the last two legs.

An additional $5,000 payment or supplementary fee of $12,500 is due upon entry. The entry box closes and post positions will be drawn to finalize the field for the 2020 edition of the Breeders' Stakes on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

BREEDERS' STAKES NOMINATIONS

Horse – Trainer – Owner

  • Belichick – Josie Carroll – NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods
  • Clayton – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe
  • Deviant – Mark Casse – Red Lane Thoroughbreds LLC
  • Enchant Me – Santino Di Paola – York Tech Racing Stable
  • Glorious Tribute – Barbara Minshall – Bruce Lunsford
  • Kunal – Steven Chircop – Vincente Stella Stables LLC
  • Merveilleux – Kevin Attard – Al and Bill Ulwelling
  • Meyer – Martin Drexler – Bruno Schickedanz
  • Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes
  • Muskoka Giant – Mark Casse – Conrad Farms
  • Olliemyboy – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables LLC
  • Pleasecallmeback – Roger Attfield – Roger Attfield and Dan Gale

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