A ‘Mighty’ Upset in the Queen’s Plate

Odds were that if Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll was going to win her third Queen’s Plate, it’d come with heavy favorite and Woodbine Oaks winner Curlin’s Voyage. Instead, her other two entrants made up a longshot exacta, with lightly raced and one-eyed Mighty Heart dominating the Canadian Classic. Fourth in a rained-off Fair Grounds mile event in February, the bay colt bore out on the turn and crossed the wire 11th when getting on the grass there a month later (he was later officially moved up one spot due to a medication DQ). He broke through by daylight over a couple of these foes going 8 1/2 panels on the Tapeta July 11 and was most recently third–one slot behind Tecumseh’s War (Summer Front)–in a nine-furlong allowance Aug. 1.

Tugging his way to the front from the 13 hole while on his incorrect lead, the homebred settled somewhat and continued along on an uncontested lead through splits of :23.57, :47.61 and 1:12.70. He was briefly headed by Plate Trial winner Clayton around the bend as Curlin’s Voyage revved up wider, but swatted them all away and ran up the score from there. Maiden Belichick made a good late run to round out a C$961 triactor.

“I was concerned for a minute or two with the quick fractions but he looked like he was settling and doing it easily,” said Carroll. “We knew he’d go all day and he sure did. You know what, he’s just a very exciting horse who’s come a long way for [owner/breeder Larry] Cordes, who’s had a lot of confidence in him from the start.”

It was winning rider Daisuke Fukumoto’s first Queen’s Plate ride.

“Unbelievable,” said Fukumoto. “I can’t explain…he’s feeling good today… I saw that nobody [was going for the lead] so I just sent him and he just kept going. After the wire, he still kept going, he didn’t stop there.”

The young pilot, who notched his first-ever stakes win Aug. 22, continued, “He was sharp today. I thought it was fast but I took the lead so I can’t do anything, you know…I let him go. He only has one eye, but he’s got a big heart, a mighty heart.”

Pedigree Notes:

Mighty Heart is the second of two black-type winners for the Distorted Humor stallion Dramedy, winner of the 2015 GII Dixiana Elkhorn S. at Keeneland. Dramedy originally stood his first two years at War Horse Place in Kentucky, then moved to River Oaks Farm in Oklahoma for another two seasons prior to being sold to Saudi Arabia for the 2020 season. With a mere 29 foals from his two crops of racing age, Dramedy has had nine individual winners from 16 starters. His other stakes winner is Southgate, who broke his maiden last year in the restricted Iowa Stallion Futurity. Mighty Heart’s modest female side was void of black-type after his fourth dam until Saturday’s score, while his unraced broodmare sire, the Storm Cat stallion City Place, has three stakes winners out of his daughters, including the Queen’s Plate winner. Emma’s Bullseye’s most recent foal is the unraced 2-year-old filly Evelyn’s Delight (Silver Max).

Saturday, Woodbine
QUEEN’S PLATE S., C$1,002,400, Woodbine, 9-12, (C), 3yo, 1 1/4m (AWT), 2:01.98, ft.
1–MIGHTY HEART, 126, c, 3, by Dramedy
1st Dam: Emma’s Bullseye, by City Place
2nd Dam: Fleeting April, by Northern Afleet
3rd Dam: April’s Luci, by Sunny Clime
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Lawrence Cordes; B-Larry Cordes
(ON); T-Josie Carroll; J-Daisuke Fukumoto. C$600,000. Lifetime
Record: 5-2-0-1, $508,506.
2–Belichick, 126, c, 3, Lemon Drop Kid–Game (Fr), by Montjeu
(Ire). ($300,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-NK Racing & LNJ Foxwoods;
B-Sean Fitzhenry (ON); T-Josie Carroll. C$200,000.
3–Clayton, 126, c, 3, Bodemeister–Smarthalf, by Smart Strike.
($16,000 Wlg ’17 KEENOV; $50,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Donato
Lanni & Daniel Plouffe; B-Bernard & Karen McCormack (ON);
T-Kevin Attard. C$100,000.
Margins: 7HF, 2 1/4, NK. Odds: 13.25, 26.60, 3.00.
Also Ran: Tecumseh’s War, Curlin’s Voyage, Merveilleux, Dotted Line, Glorious Tribute, Truebelieve, Holyfield, Olliemyboy, F F Rocket, Sweepin Hard, Halo Again.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post A ‘Mighty’ Upset in the Queen’s Plate appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Ladies Loom Large in Queen’s Plate

A pair of fillies, including Canada’s reigning champion 2-year-old filly Curlin’s Voyage (Curlin), will take aim at 13 sophomore colts in Saturday’s $1-million Queen’s Plate S., historically the first jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown. The winner of the Aug. 15 Woodbine Oaks, the Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine and Windsor Boys Racing-owned filly is trained by Josie Carroll, who previously won the 10-furlong Classic with another filly–Inglorious in 2011–and with Edenwold in 2006. In this renewal, Carroll will also saddle Belichick (Lemon Drop Kid)  and Mighty Heart (Dramedy).

“We’ve always thought very highly of her after her 2-year-old debut,” said Carroll of Curlin’s Voyage, who won last season’s GIII Mazarine S. and Ontario Lassie S. against Ontario bred fillies. “She’s a very uncomplicated filly and does everything you ask of her.”

Prior to her Oaks victory, Curlin’s Voyage won the seven-furlong Fury S. July 5. and finished runner- up in the June 13 Star Shoot S.

Also representing the fairer sex in the Queen’s Plate, Merveilleux (Paynter), runner up in both the restricted Princess Elizabeth S. and Ontario Lassie S. last season, kicked off 2020 with an allowance score at Woodbine June 21 before finishing fourth in the GIII Selene S. July 25. Most recently, she finished a troubled third in the Woodbine Oaks.

“Honestly, I just think she’s just been a very unfortunate horse this year, racing luck wise,” said trainer Kevin 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.

He continued, “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.”

Attard also saddles morningline favorite Clayton (Bodemeister). Campaigned by Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe, the colt is a winner of three of four lifetime starts, including his latest in a Woodbine optional claimer July 18 followed by the nine-furlong Plate Trial S. Aug. 15.

“He’s been special from the get-go,” said 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 3-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.”

The post Ladies Loom Large in Queen’s Plate appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

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

The post Clayton, Filly Curlin’s Voyage Take On 12 Rivals In Saturday’s Queen’s Plate appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Queen’s Plate Post Position Draw Will Be Livestreamed Sept. 9

Woodbine Entertainment has announced that the post position draw for the 161st running of the $1 million Queen's Plate, first jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, will be presented online via a live stream on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m.   

Racing analyst Jason Portuondo will host the virtual production live from Woodbine Racetrack and will be joined by Jim Lawson, President and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment.  

The traditional Queen's Plate post position draw format will be conducted with a draw to decide the order in which connections will select their posts. Following physical distancing protocols, one representative for each horse will be present to make their post position selection and take part in a brief interview with Portuondo.  

 

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

The field is starting to take shape with 16 probable contenders on target for this year's Queen's Plate, which was originally scheduled for June 27 prior to COVID-19 postponements and will now be contested on Saturday, Sept. 12.    

Clayton stamped himself as one of the early favourites for the million-dollar Canadian classic when he won the Plate Trial on August 15 at Woodbine, the traditional 1-1/8-mile prep, for trainer Kevin Attard. The Bodemeister-Smarthalf colt is three-for-four in his career and has earned just over $200,000 for owners Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe.   

A pair of fillies will be looking to tackle the boys in this year's edition, including the Kevin Attard-trained multiple stakes placed Merveilleux, who closed well through traffic to hit the board last time out in the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser for owners Al and Bill Ulwelling.   

Oaks champion Curlin's Voyage wowed in winning the $500,000 first leg of the Triple Tiara and is now being pointed to the Plate by Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll, a two-time winner of the race who campaigned one of the three fillies in the past decade to achieve the Oaks-Plate double (Inglorious, 2011). 

Following her Sovereign Award-winning two-year-old campaign, Curlin's Voyage was a runner-up in the Star Shoot Stakes before earning back-to-back wins in the Fury Stakes and Oaks. The latter was an impressive 1-3/4 length victory over 1-1/8 miles and boosted her bankroll to nearly $665,000 for Hill 'n' Dale Holdings and Windsor Boys Racing. The Curlin-Atlantic Voyage filly now sports a career record reading 5-2-1 from nine starts.  

The winner's ledger for the Queen's Plate includes a total of 37 fillies, including nine since 1956 when the race was first run at the new Woodbine. 

Lawrence Cordes' Dramedy colt Mighty Heart is another probable starter from the Carroll barn.  

A close runner-up in the Plate Trial following his July 4 victory in the Queenston Stakes, Halo Again is a top contender for American Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, whose first attempt at the OLG Canadian Triple Crown last year awarded him two-thirds of the prize as Tone Broke won the Prince of Wales and Breeders' Stakes following a third-place finish in the opening leg.  

Halo Again, a son of Speightstown out of Halo's Verse, has won half of his six career starts while banking $287,732 for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing. 

He will attempt to become the first horse in 44 years (Norcliffe, 1976) to complete the Coronation Futurity and Queen's Plate double.  

Asmussen, who counts the famed Curlin among his list of stars, became the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs earlier this season and is approaching 9,000 career wins.  

Canadian Hall of Fame horseman Sid Attard will be vying for his first Queen's Plate victory with a pair of contenders, including Norseman Racing Stable's Dotted Line and JMJ Racing Stables' Olliemyboy. The former Signature Red-Springledge colt was a two-time juvenile stakes winner and mostly recently posted third-place finishes in both the Grade 3 Marine, finishing 4-1/4 lengths behind the Preakness-bound Shirl's Speight, and Plate Trial, just a half-length behind Clayton and Halo Again.   

Trained by two-time Queen's Plate-winning conditioner Daniel Vella, the lightly raced Conquest Curlinate gelding Sweepin Hard is expected to join the battle for top prize as a supplement following a maiden-breaking victory in mid-August over 1-1/8 miles on the main track for Borders Racing Stable. 

At age 26, up-and-coming trainer Santino DiPaola is looking forward to making his Queen's Plate debut with Enchant Me, a maiden Magician-Me Love colt owned by York Tech Racing Stable. 

Other probable starters include Famished, F F Rocket, Glorious Tribute, Golden Wave, Holyfield, Tecumseh's War and Truebelieve.  

Final entries are due through the entry box by 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. 

While this year's event will not be open to the public, Woodbine welcomes fans to experience The Queen's Plate safely from home with family and friends in their bubble while tuning into The Queen's Plate @ Home digital experience via Instagram @WoodbineTB and live television broadcast starting at 4:30 p.m. ET on TSN and CTV. Post time for the afternoon's first race will be 12:30 p.m., with the main event scheduled as Race 10 at approximately 5:41 p.m.  

PROBABLE FIELD FOR THE 161ST RUNNING OF THE $1 MILLION QUEEN'S PLATE 

Horse – Trainer – Owner(s) 

Clayton – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni & Daniel Plouffe                                                                     

Curlin's Voyage (filly) – Josie Carroll – Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings & Windsor Boys Racing 

Dotted Line – Sid Attard – Norseman Racing Stable 

Enchant Me – Santino DiPaola – York Tech Racing Stable 

Famished – John Kimmel – Tobey L. Morton 

F F Rocket – Keith Dickey – Frank Fletcher Racing Operations          

Glorious Tribute – Barbara Minshall – Bruce Lunsford 

Golden Wave – Michael De Paulo – Mickey Demers 

Halo Again – Steven Asmussen – Winchell Thoroughbreds & Willis Horton Racing 

Holyfield – Catherine Day Phillips – Kingfield Racing Stable, Roderick Ferguson & Anderson Farms Ontario 

Merveilleux (filly) – Kevin Attard – Al and Bill Ulwelling 

Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes 

Olliemyboy – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables 

Sweepin Hard (supplement) – Daniel Vella – Borders Racing Stable 

Tecumseh's War – Catherine Day Phillips – Ilium Stables 

Truebelieve – Cole Bennett – Centennial Farms (Niagara)

The post Queen’s Plate Post Position Draw Will Be Livestreamed Sept. 9 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights