Clayton, Filly Curlin’s Voyage Take On 12 Rivals In Saturday’s Queen’s Plate

Plate Trial champ Clayton and multiple stakes-winning filly Curlin's Voyage will take on 12 other Queen's Plate hopefuls in the $1 million classic set for 1 ¼ miles on the Woodbine Tapeta this Saturday.

The 161st edition of the Queen's Plate, North America's oldest continually run race, is the first leg of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, a tri-surface series for Canadian-bred three-year-olds.

Wando, bred and owned by the late Gustav Schickedanz, was the last horse to accomplish the feat while becoming the seventh to record the unique triple in 2003. The $400,000 Prince of Wales, run at 1 3/16 miles on the dirt at Fort Erie on September 29, is the second leg. The $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, at 1 ½ miles over the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine on October 24, concludes the series.

The double-draw format was in place for Wednesday's virtual post position draw, with the order of selection first established and the connections then choosing their post positions. The connections of Glorious Tribute selected first and chose post seven.

This year's edition of the Queen's Plate showcases an intriguing mix of heavyweight contenders, live longshots and emerging stars. Fillies will carry 123 pounds, while all other starters carry 126 pounds.

A son of Bodemeister, Clayton has three wins and one second from four starts for owners Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe.

Trained by Kevin Attard, who also sends out the filly Merveilleux, the bay colt arrives at the Plate in sharp form, having won two straight, including the Plate Trial on August 15.

Bred by Bernard and Karen McCormack, Clayton will be piloted by Rafael Hernandez, who won the 2015 Plate with Shaman Ghost.

Attard, who finished second with the late Steve Stavro homebred Alezzandro in the 2007 running, likes what he sees ahead of the big race.

“He's been special from the get-go,” praised Attard. “He was an impressive maiden winner, so once that happened, the bell starts ringing in your head, and you're saying, 'Hey, maybe I've got a good three-year-old here.' He followed it up with a good race first time out this year – didn't win but had traffic trouble – and I think he learned a lot. That was encouraging. Obviously, he's won his last two since then and stretched out. He's doing everything you want him to. Hopefully, he just needs to get a little bit better one more time and maybe he can put everything together.”

Curlin's Voyage, who took this year's running of the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, could deliver Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll her third Plate victory.

Carroll, who won the Queen's Plate with filly Inglorious in 2011 and with Edenwold in 2006, will also have Belichick and Mighty Heart go postward in her quest to net the hat trick.

Named champion two-year-old filly in Canada, Curlin's Voyage is bred by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc., who co-owns with Windsor Boys Racing.

What's impressed Carroll the most when it comes to the filly that sports a 5-2-1 mark from nine career outings?

“Her consistency. She finds a way to get it done. She always shows up and she's a very, very special filly.”

The multiple stakes winning daughter of Curlin will seek to become fourth filly to win the Queen's Plate in the last seven years.

Over the last 10 years, three Oaks winners have gone on to win the Plate: Inglorious, Lexie Lou (2014) and Holy Helena (2017).

“We've always thought very highly of her after her two-year-old debut,” praised Carroll, of Curlin's Voyage. “She's a very uncomplicated filly and does everything you ask of her.”

Patrick Husbands, who won the Canadian Triple Crown with Wando in 2003, and the 2014 Plate with Lexie Lou, will be in the irons.

Halo Again, trained by Steve Asmussen for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, knows the Woodbine main track well.

Last year, the son of Speightstown took the Coronation Futurity Stakes. This year, the bay colt won the Queenston Stakes, and most recently, finished a game second, a half-length back of Clayton, in the Plate Trial.

“We feel very good about his chances,” said Asmussen. “I thought he stayed on nicely [in the Plate Trial]. He came out of the race in great shape.”

Jockey Luis Contreras, who teamed with Inglorious to win the 2011 Plate, and partnered Holy Helena to victory in 2017, could give Asmussen his first win in the “Gallop for the Guineas.”

Having never finished lower than fifth in eight career outings, Dotted Line will look to connect the dots for his biggest win to date this Saturday.

Bred and owned by Howard Walton (Norseman Racing Stable), the son of Signature Red has three career wins, including a 49-1 upset in last year's Frost King Stakes.

Dotted Line was third in the Plate Trial, just a shade over a half-length behind Clayton, with Justin Stein in the irons. The British Columbia-born rider won the 2012 Plate with Strait of Dover.

“He's a horse that always tries every time,” said Attard, who won the Atto Mile (G1) with Numerous Times in 2001 and the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1) with Interpol in 2015. “He has run a lot of good races, and hopefully, he comes up with his biggest one on Saturday. He's coming around really nicely.”

Attard, who has started seven horses in the Queen's Plate – his best finish coming in 1992 when Grand Hooley finished second to Alydeed – also sends out Olliemyboy.

Owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods, Belichick arrives at the Queen's Plate off a second-place effort on August 1 in a 1 1/8-mile main track race at Woodbine.

Bred by Sean Fitzhenry, the bay colt is a son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner and multiple graded stakes champ Lemon Drop Kid.

Belichick finished third in his career bow on July 4 at Woodbine.

“He came to me in Florida this winter,” noted Carroll. “He's a tremendous-moving horse that impressed from the start. We put the Plate on our radar right at that time. His first two starts, he was very green and unfocused, and he just now seems to be pulling it together. He's a horse that had enough talent to be given a chance in there [Plate].”

Bred by Josham Farms Limited, F F Rocket launches his Woodbine debut in the Plate.

Owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc., the son of Curlin broke his maiden in his most recent start, a two-length triumph at 1 mile and 70 yards over Presque Isle Downs' main track.

The chestnut, trained by Albert Stall Jr. (he won the 2010 Breeders' Cup when Blame bested Zenyatta), debuted at Fair Grounds last December, before a pair of races at Oaklawn Park to start his three-year-old campaign.

Glorious Tribute, trained by Barbara Minshall for Bruce Lunsford, finished fourth in the Plate Trial at 62-1.

The son of Congrats, who was third to Halo Again in this year's Queenston Stakes, broke his maiden in the final start of his two-year-old campaign.

Minshall was Canada's champion trainer in 1996. Her top horses include Mt. Sassafras, Strut the Course, Kiridashi, Stephanotis and Stacked Deck. She became the first female conditioner to win a Triple Crown race – in both the U.S. and Canada – when Kiridashi won the Prince of Wales Stakes in 1995.

Holyfield will look to provide a knockout Plate punch for the combination of trainer Catherine Day Phillips and Kingfield Racing Stable Ltd., along with co-owners and breeders David Anderson and Rod Ferguson.

The son of Uncle Mo dug down gamely in a 1 1/16 mile turf race on August 22 at Woodbine, notching a head score at 9-1 to break his maiden.

Al and Bill Ulwelling's Merveilleux endured traffic troubles in the Woodbine Oaks, finishing a game third, 2 ¼ lengths behind Curlin's Voyage.

Fashioning a record of 2-3-1 from eight starts, the daughter of Paynter finished second, a neck and a head back, respectively, in last year's Princess Elizabeth Stakes and Ontario Lassie Stakes.

“I honestly think what has made her special is from day one of purchasing her she has been professional,” said Al Ulwelling. “What I mean is that she has just been all business. She loves her career, loves to train and compete. She has had a few tough beats and it's almost like it has bothered her. She's very smart and tries hard. She will be great addition to our broodmare band when all is said and done.”

Bred by Mike Carroll, the bay filly is trained by Kevin Attard. Kazushi Kimura, the 2018 and 2019 champion apprentice in Canada, and 2019 Eclipse Award winner as North America's top rider, gets the mount.

“Honestly, I just think she's just been a very unfortunate horse this year, racing luck wise,” said Attard. “Things haven't quite gone her way. I had high expectations for her in the Oaks. She showed a lot of talent at two and we were really excited to have her. With her, we considered the Plate right from the get-go. The mile and a quarter distance is not going to be an issue for her.

“She's just one horse that you're hoping on that day everything goes right for her and she finally gets a clear run, no obstacles, no hurdles – that way she can prove whether she's good enough or not and there's no excuses. She's doing very well and I'm quite please with her. Both horses [Merveilleux and Clayton] are coming into the race as good as I want them to be.”

The Ulwellings are thrilled at the opportunity to have a Plate starter.

“It means everything to us to have a horse in the Plate,” said Ulwelling. “When we started mapping a goal out four years ago, we set out on a mission to try to stay at Woodbine and run in as many big races as we can. When my father and I were getting a plan together, the race that always popped up was the Plate. We honestly just feel lucky to be competing in a race with so much history. We love Kevin, his family, Woodbine, and the people who work there. This will be our goal every year. We are ecstatic to be in the Plate.”

One-eyed Mighty Heart will be making his stakes debut in the Plate.

Bred and owned by Lawrence Cordes, the son of Dramedy has a win and a third from four career starts, those efforts coming in his past two starts.

On July 11, the Josie Carroll trainee broke outward, but recovered and went on to a 4 ¼-length victory at 1 1/16 miles over the Woodbine Tapeta.

“Mighty Heart is a horse that will definitely get the distance,” said Carroll. “He has improved leaps and bounds as he's learned. From his first two starts where he had no clue what he was doing, he's really become professional.”

A dark bay son of Union Rags, Olliemyboy recorded his first career win in his latest start, a two-length triumph at 1 1/8 miles over the Woodbine main track on August 1.

Owned by JMJ Racing Stables LLC, the Ontario-bred colt finished fourth in his debut at Tampa Bay Downs this March before heading north to Woodbine.

Steve Bahen, who won the 2002 Plate with 82-1 T J's Lucky Moon, will get the mount for the Plate for Hall of Fame trainer Sid Attard.

“It was a very good race,” said the trainer of the August 1 score. “He closed very strong and he was full of run. He is learning and getting better with each race. I think the distance is no problem for this horse.”

Trained by Dan Vella, who won the 1994 Plate with Basqueian and the 2012 edition with Strait of Dover, Sweepin Hard, a son of Conquest Curlinate, enters the biggest race of his career on a winning note.

Owned by Borders Racing Stable, Sweepin Hard notched a 1 ½-length score over 1 1/8 miles on the Toronto oval Tapeta on August 16.

Bred by Charles Hayden, the dark bay gelding was unraced at two.

Tecumseh's War, a dark bay son of Summer Front, won his debut last October at Indiana Downs.

Making his eighth career start in the Plate, the Catherine Day Phillips trainee finished second in his latest engagement, a 1 1/8 mile race over the Woodbine main track.

Emma-Jayne Wilson, who draws the riding assignment, is looking for her second “Gallop for the Guineas” victory with the Ilium Stable silk bearer. The champion rider won the 2007 Plate With Mike Fox.

Truebelieve, who sports a 2-1-0 mark from five starts, is owned by Centennial Farms (Niagara).

The bay son of Nephrite (GB), bred by Laurel Byrne, orchestrated a 64-1 score (for different connections) in his debut last November at Woodbine, crossing the wire a 1 ½-length winner at five furlongs on the Tapeta.

Trained by 23-year-old Manitoba native Cole Bennett, Truebelieve earned his second career win two starts ago when the colt rallied for a half-length victory at six furlongs over the Woodbine main track.

“I think… it's not proof to other people, but proof to myself that I can do this,” said Bennett. “I started training when I was really young. There was doubt from a lot of other people, but also from myself, in that you can make a living being a trainer and get to bigger places and run in bigger races. It was almost a pipe dream at one point. To be in this race, it really is a dream come true. To win it, that would be the ultimate.”

First race post time for Saturday is 12:30 p.m. (ET), with the featured Queen's Plate scheduled as race 10 (5:41 p.m.). The national Plate broadcast will be televised on TSN and CTV starting at 4:30 p.m.

For the latest information, fans can follow @WoodbineTB on both Twitter and Instagram, and visit QueensPlate.com.

FIELD FOR THE QUEEN'S PLATE

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

1 – Sweepin Hard (S) – Daniel Vella – Borders Racing Stable – Leo Salles – 50-1

2 – Merveilleux – Kevin Attard – Al and Bill Ulwelling – Kazushi Kimura – 10-1

3 – Belichick – Josie Carroll – NK Racing & LNJ Foxwoods – Slade Callaghan – 30-1

4 – Truebelieve – Cole Bennett – Centennial Farms (Niagara) – Keveh Nicholls – 30-1

5 – Holyfield – Catherine Day Phillips – Kingfield Racing Stable, Roderick Ferguson & Anderson Farms Ontario – Darryll Holland – 30-1

6 – Halo Again – Steve Asmussen – Winchell Thoroughbreds & Willis Horton Racing – Luis Contreras – 5-1

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

8 – Olliemyboy – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables – Steven Bahen – 30-1

9 – Dotted Line – Sid Attard – Norseman Racing Stable – Justin Stein – 8-1

10 – Curlin's Voyage – Josie Carroll – Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings & Windsor Boys Racing – Patrick Husbands – 5-2

11 – F F Rocket – Albert Stall Jr. – Frank Fletcher Racing Operations – Sahin Civaci – 50-1

12 – Clayton – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni & Daniel Plouffe – Rafael Hernandez – 2-1

13 – Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes – Daisuke Fukumoto – 20-1

14 – Tecumseh's War – Catherine Day Phillips – Ilium Stables – Emma-Jayne Wilson – 12-1

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‘The Good Old Days’: Barbara Minshall Looks Back At Her Triple Crown First

Barb Minshall wasn't chasing history on that picture-perfect summer day 25 years ago at Fort Erie Racetrack.

“It seems like yesterday,” started Minshall, from her home office in Mississauga, Ont. “It's just amazing to me. When you realize that it was 1995… you just say to yourself, 'Wow.' But I never thought about being the first one. Your first thought is always the same… win the race.”

Leading up to the 136th running of the Queen's Plate, there hadn't been much talk, as she recalled, that the Canadian classic could produce a first in its storied history: a female trainer winning the race.

“I was really just starting training horses back then, so I didn't really follow the statistics and historical information,” said the Montreal-born conditioner, who took over the reins of Minshall Farms when her husband Aubrey, a respected and successful horseman, died in 1993. “The availability of statistics back then wasn't anywhere near to what it is today, where it's nearly instantaneous. Back then, if you didn't go to the track that day, you wouldn't find out any interesting info. until you picked up the paper the next day. I didn't realize a female trainer had never won a Triple Crown race.”

Blessed with a pair of talented 3-year-olds, homebreds Kiridashi and Mt. Sassafras, the brown and beige silks of Minshall Farms were well represented when the Canadian Triple Crown series got out of the gates, in the Queen's Plate, on July 9, 1995 at Woodbine.

Her coupled entry went off as the 7-2 third choice, behind the favoured entry of All Firmed Up and Honky Tonk Tune, and second choice, 2-1 Langfuhr.

At the finish of the 1 ¼-mile Queen's Plate, it was Roger Attfield trainee Regal Discovery, ridden by Todd Kabel, who was crowned champion after a 1 ¼-length score at odds of 9-1.

Kiridashi, who led the 14-horse field until just after the mile mark, finished fourth. Mt. Sassafras rallied to be third.

“I thought both of them ran their hearts out,” remembered Minshall. “It just wasn't our day.”

Cue the rematch.

The Prince of Wales, second jewel in the historic Canadian Triple Crown, attracted six starters, a field that included Regal Discovery, Kiridashi, and Mt. Sassafras.

Three weeks removed from Regal Discovery's triumph in the “Gallop for the Guineas,” Minshall was hoping to turn the tables with her powerful one-two punch entry in the 1 3/16-mile main track Prince of Wales.

She wouldn't have traded places with anyone at Fort Erie on July 30, 1995.

“I do definitely remember thinking we could win it. We were really confident in both horses. Mt. Sassafras was more of a come-from-behind horse and Kiridashi was an extremely fast horse, a horse that could run the turns very quickly and make up all his ground on the turns. He was a typical 'catch-me-if-you-can' type. And if you wanted to go with him, you'd usually empty the tank, and if you let him loose, he got very brave on the lead. He was a very dangerous horse. So, we had both ends covered and we were really confident.”

Her pre-race conversation with jockey Larry Attard, aboard Kiridashi, lasted all of 10 seconds.

“I told Larry to go to the front and wire the field. If Mt. Sassafras runs you down, that's okay, but you're on your own.”

Seizing control early from the outside gate, Kiridashi, the handsome son of Bold Ruckus, made every call a winning one, besting runner-up Regal Discovery by two lengths.

“The pace was a kind of slow pace,” said Attard, moments after the race. “The half went 47 [seconds] and change and I said if I make a slow pace, I'm going to win the race. It came exactly like I thought.”

With Kabel once again in the irons, Regal Discovery made a three-wide move to the leader up the backstretch, but midway through the far turn, Kiridashi and Attard were doing precisely what Minshall envisioned.

They were playing catch-me-if-you-can to perfection.

“He [Kiridashi] was the lone speed in the race and he got to dictate everything his own way,” noted Kabel. “I couldn't get him [Regal Discovery] to relax.”

Attard said, “Every time he [Regal Discovery] came up to me I just kind of opened up a half a length, a length to him. I know I got the horse.”

Mt. Sassafras finished third, a nose back of second spot.

“When Kiridashi had the lead turning for home and you knew he wasn't going to get headed, I had a really good feeling,” she recalled. “That's how he won most of his races. If he got that lead down the backside and he wasn't being challenged turning for home, it would have taken something else to try and run him down because he wouldn't let them go by him.”

With the win, Minshall, a former member of the Canadian Olympic equestrian team, had secured a spot in the record books as the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, in Canada or the U.S.

Recollections of Kiridashi's wire-to-wire tour de force at Fort Erie still bring a smile to Minshall's face.

“It's scary how time goes by so fast, but you keep hoping to find those good ones again. To be in horse racing, you absolutely need to love horses and being around them. For me, nothing is more rewarding than seeing young horses develop and do well down the road.”

Just like Kiridashi and Mt. Sassafras did.

In 44 starts, Kiridashi won 14 times, adding nine seconds and eight thirds, along with earnings of $1.2 million (U.S.). At four, he won the Grade 3 King Edward Breeders' Cup Handicap, the Fair Play and Heresy, all at Woodbine. One year later, he took the Grade 3 Connaught Cup, Vigil, and Jacques Cartier.

His final race was a fifth in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, on September 21, 1998.

“Kiridashi was the studdiest horse to be around. I think it's why that when he shipped, he didn't run very well. He was so studdy. Nowadays, I probably would have gelded him. But when a horse is running so well like he did, it's tough to consider that option. He was a kind horse in the stall, but once you got on his back, he was very aggressive – just a very sound horse and easy to train. He was a strong galloper, but very straightforward.”

Mt. Sassafras, a son of Mt. Livermore, won eight times from 47 starts. He also added seven runner-up finishes, and 14 third-place efforts, to go with $1.38 million (U.S.) in earnings.

The chestnut delivered Canadians a big thrill in the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic at Woodbine when he had the lead in deep in the stretch before finishing fourth at 101-1. A length separated him from Alphabet Soup, Louis Quatorze and Cigar.

That winter, Mt. Sassafras defeated Eclipse Award champion Skip Away at Gulfstream in the Donn Handicap.

“He was way more sensitive than Kiridashi. You had to make sure he ate. He was way more high-strung than Kiridashi. But he was extremely durable for a small, slight-framed horse. We got to travel to many big stake races all over the U.S. He ran in eight Grade 1 races and he won a Grade 1, $500,000 U.S. race, defeating good horses like Skip Away, Tejano Run and Suave Prospect.When I think of Mt. Sassafras, I think 'Grade 1,' – very talented and also unlucky. He really could have won several other races as well.”

Mt. Sassafras did, however, greatly contribute to Minshall Farms' banner 1996 season, culminating in five Sovereign awards, including Canada's horse of the year, champion older horse, top owner, and breeder honours.

The other trophy, for top trainer, represented another first.

“To win the Sovereign was another huge thrill,” said Minshall, the first woman to win it. “Hearing Mt. Sassafras' name called out as horse of the year and top older horse is something you'll never forget.”

She no doubt hasn't.

Minshall Farms, dispersed a few years after the impressive trophy haul, didn't spell the end of Minshall's training career.

Multiple stakes winners like Bold Ruritana, Stephanotis, Strut the Course and Stacked Deck have provided her with memorable triumphs over the years.

Their pictures, and many others, hang alongside the ones of Kiridashi and Mt. Sassafras, in Minshall's home office, happy reminders of treasured victories, past and present.

“You just smile… the good old days. And that day at Fort Erie, it was a really good one. I wasn't trying to put my name the history books that day. You just wanted to win the race.”

Kiridashi managed to deliver both.

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Queen’s Plate: 61 Canadian-Bred Sophomores Remain Eligible For Sept. 12 Contest

Sixty-one of the finest Canadian-bred three-year-olds remain on target for the 161st running of the $1 million Queen's Plate, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12.

The connections of 58 Queen's Plate hopefuls made the July 1 sustaining payment with an additional three supplementing to the 1 1/4-mile opening leg of the Canadian Triple Crown for a fee of $5,000.

Recent Queenston Stakes winner Halo Again is among the top contenders after his triumphant return to Woodbine on July 4 when he defeated a field of fellow Queen's Plate hopefuls in the seven-furlong prep. Bred by Anderson Farms, the son of Speightstown and Halo's Verse has won three of his first five career starts, including last year's Coronation Futurity, while banking almost $260,000 for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing. The bay colt will aim to pull off the rare Coronation Futurity and Queen's Plate double, last accomplished by Norcliffe in 1976. He is conditioned by top American trainer Steve Asmussen, whose first foray in the Canadian Triple Crown yielded a third-place finish in last year's Queen's Plate followed by a pair of victories in the Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders' Stakes courtesy of Tone Broke.

Halo Again is the 8-1 fourth choice in the 2020 Queen's Plate Winterbook. Nine of the top 10 Winterbook selections remain eligible including pre-season favourite Malibu Mambo, trained by Kevin Attard and owned by Stronach Stables.

The list of nominees includes 10 of the 36 fillies that remain eligible to the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, which will be contested on August 15.

Canadian Triple Crown-winning trainer and new Hall of Fame inductee Mike Keogh has a pair of contenders including Dr. Green, one of the three supplements. Other supplements include Canadian Pharoah, an unraced colt sired by the U.S. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and Ennis the Menace.

An additional $10,000 payment or supplementary fee of $25,000 is due upon entry to the Queen's Plate on Wednesday, Sept. 9 by 8:30 a.m.

Ninety-two horses, including 14 fillies, were originally nominated to the 2020 Queen's Plate.

To view the full updated list of three-year-olds nominated to the Queen's Plate, visit Woodbine.com.

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