Woodbine’s Field of Dreams

Woodbine is a track of two tales: history and innovation. The home of the historic Queen's Plate–which will be run for the 163rd time Sunday thus making it the longest continuously run race in North America–has been undergoing renovations that on a conceptual level, might border on the fantastical. That is, until it is seen in person. At the forefront of structural renewal, Woodbine, which covers 684-acres of prime real estate in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, currently stands against a backdrop of development that would make most other racing operators blush. Looming in the background of the track's famed paddock is the ever-expanding framework of an amphitheater and a hotel, both slated for unveiling in the spring of 2023. A second hotel and a train station are also among other amenities slated for the future. And while the present-day Woodbine continues to expand at an impressive rate, the legacy of the oval and the tradition of the track's Classic race, the Queen's Plate, remain solidly embedded in the psyche of the local horse community.

Looking for his first Queen's Plate victory is trainer Kevin Attard, who will saddle morning-line favorite Moira (Ghostzapper), campaigned by X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables and SF Racing. Third in the initial jewel in Canada's Triple Crown with H C Holiday last year, Attard attempts to saddle the first filly to win the 1 1/4-mile test since Wonder Gadot established the feat in 2018. Attard's best finish in the race was recorded by Alezzandro, finishing second in the 2007 Queen's Plate before taking the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales S.

“This is my ultimate goal right here,” admitted Attard. “It is an instrumental race in Canadian racing. The history and the hype that leads up to this race. There are a few Canadian Hall of Fame trainers that have had very successful careers and won great races, but the one that has eluded them was the Queen's Plate. I have been down this path with a horse I thought had a good chance to win. It hasn't worked out yet, but I hope Moira is the one that could put the icing on the cake.”

She won the Princess Elizabeth S. on debut and was runner-up in the GIII Mazarine S. at two, earning her a Sovereign Award nomination. A narrow winner in her sophomore debut in the seven-furlong Fury S. June 11, she blew the doors off her competition with an eye-popping 10 3/4-length victory in the nine-panel Woodbine Oaks July 24. In her most recent work, she covered five furlongs in a sharp :59 4/5, the fifth fastest of 46 at the distance Aug. 14.

“She seems like she has blossomed since her Oaks win,” confirmed Attard, son of longtime Woodbine trainer Tino Attard. “She's had two good interim breezes. She's put on some weight and her coat looks great and is vibrant and healthy. I don't think she could be coming into the race in any better form.”

While the Oaks appeared executed to perfection, the high-spirited filly stepped on her hind foot, dislodging one shoe while bending the other. The mishap prompted Attard to make an 11-hour decision and have both back shoes removed for the race. A move that didn't appear to affect the filly.

“She doesn't like to stand still too long,” explained Attard. “She does get a little bit antsy. That's the only real quirk to her. Once she has the tack on, she really hasn't done anything really negative.”

He continued, “The larger crowd is something she will have to handle, but luckily, even with her pre-race antics in the Oaks, she didn't break out or wide. It's not like she lost her race in the paddock, so she was able to keep herself in check. We've done a lot of schooling with her, so we can get her over this. We have a little bit of a different game plan, we're going to tack her in the paddock for [the Queen's Plate], so hopefully she handles that all well. The idea right now is she's going over there with four shoes and we hope she keeps them all on by the time she gets to the starting gate.”

With most of her competitors already having taken their shot in the Queen's Plate, trainer Katerina Vassilieva will attempt to win the Classic in her first attempt. Given the task to land lucrative prize is GIII Marine S. scorer Rondure (Oxbow), owned by Borders Racing Stable. A 10 3/4-length winner in his unveiling at Woodbine in May, the colt finished runner-up behind the re-opposing The Minkster (English Channel) in the June 12 Queenston S.

“He's done nothing wrong this year. He broke his maiden impressively and was just beaten a head in the Queenston S., which solidified in my mind that he is a legitimate horse that can compete at a high stakes level. He impressed me even more in the Marine, so right then I knew I had a legitimate runner for the Queen's Plate.”

“There wasn't too much time between the Queenston and the Marine, so I thought I could give him a little bit of a breather, especially after the big effort that he put in.”

Rafael Hernandez, who was aboard for Rondure's latest win, opted to ride Moira, vacating the saddle for U.S. import Flavien Prat.

“I had it in my mind that if he was to choose the filly, I was going to contact a rider from the U.S. I had Irad Ortiz [Jr.] in mind, because he won the Plate last year and I had Flavien Prat in mind because he won it two years ago [One Bad Boy]. I think Flavien will be a tremendous rider for my horse.”

More Graded Action

Woodbine offers an addition trio of stakes on the Queen's Plate undercard, highlighted by the GII Kind Edward S. and GII Canadian S. In the former, last season's GI Woodbine Mile winner Town Cruise (Town Prize) attempts to record his first victory since taking that race almost a year ago. Also looking to regain the winning thread is GI Maker's Mark Mile Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), who has hit the board once in three starts since, finishing third for Hall of Famer Roger Attfield in the GIII Salvator Mile in June.

Mark Casse, represented by Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid) and Sir For Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}) in the day's Classic feature, also saddles Filo Di Arianna (Brz) (Drosselmeyer) and March to the Arch (Arch). The duo finished 1-2 in the GII Connaught Cup July 23. The Hall of Fame trainer also saddles a pair in the GII Canadian S.-French Group 2 scorer Fev Rover (Ire) and Keyflower (Fr) (Kheleyf). Attempting to stand in his way is Graham Motion, who offers up Crystal Cliffs (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), winner of Gulfstream's Sand Springs in April and second in the GIII Gallorette S. at Pimlico May 21. Most recently, he came from just off the pace to annex the mile GII Nassau S. over the E.P. Taylor turf course July 2.

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Motion: New York Performance Moves Mean Mary To ‘The Next Level’

Alex G. Campbell Jr.'s homebred Mean Mary, with Luis Saez up, showed no mercy in a frontrunning tour de force to capture the Grade 2, $250,000 New York; a 1 1/4-mile turf route on a rainy Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The dark bay daughter of Scat Daddy, out of the Grade 1-winning Dynaformer mare Karlovy Vary, earned a career-best 101 Beyer, breaking triple digits for the first time. She improved her record to five wins from seven starts, including the last four on the trot which includes scores in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante and Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park.

“She just continues to impress and amaze me with the ease that she does things. Yesterday's performance puts her to the next level,” said Motion. “It was in the back of our minds that her most impressive performances had been at Gulfstream on a fast, firm turf course, but now it's a whole new ball game doing what she did yesterday at Belmont.”

Motion said Saez, undefeated in four starts aboard Mean Many, was all smiles after the impressive score.

“I don't ever remember seeing a jockey get off a horse and get such a kick out of riding her. That's pretty cool to see,” said Motion. “And I think the mare really enjoys it. She just loves getting out there and is so determined. I sometimes wonder if she knows there are horses behind her. She showed yesterday that she's special.”

Motion said the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana, a nine-furlong test on August 23 at Saratoga, is a logical next spot for Mean Mary as he charts a course to the 1 3/16-miles Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 7 at Keeneland.

“The decision will be where to go next in order to get her to the Breeders' Cup. I think the mile and an eight and being a Grade 1 makes sense,” said Motion regarding the Diana. “It's a strong possibility, but it's a long way off. She's had plenty of racing this mare, and I don't want to overdo it with her in order to have her at her best at the end of the year.

“Mr. Campbell is from Lexington and Keeneland is his favorite racetrack,” added Motion. “For me, to be able to get her to the Breeders' Cup, there would be a dream.”

Andrew Stone's Mrs. Sippy scratched out of the New York, but Motion said the 5-year-old Blame mare is under consideration for the River Memories on July 12 Closing Day of the Belmont spring/summer meet, or the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial on July 11 at Delaware Park.

“We took her to the starting gate on Thursday as she hadn't run for over six month and she tied up a little bit so that excluded her from being able to run on Saturday,” said Motion. “There's a race up there in two weeks and there's also the Robert Dick at Delaware, which is where she'll probably end up.”

Mrs. Sippy captured the Grade 2 Glens Falls in August in her North American debut for Motion. Following a second in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont in October, she was off-the-board in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables' Crystal Cliffs, with Hall of Famer John Velazquez up, missed by a head to Harvey's Lil Goil in Saturday's Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs in just her second start for Motion.

The 3-year-old Canford Cliffs bay graduated in December at Pau in her native France for former conditioner Didier Guillemin and won at first asking for Motion in a May 31 allowance event at Churchill Downs.

Motion said he will point Canford Cliffs to the $500,000 Saratoga Oaks, a 1 3/16-miles turf test at Saratoga.

“I really like her. Johnny was frustrated yesterday. We felt with a different trip or another jump she wins the race,” said Motion. “She was a little unlucky. Logically, we'll point her for the mile and three-sixteenths race at Saratoga.

“We ran her back pretty quickly in four weeks, which I don't like to do first race after a layoff but the race yesterday made sense. She's a real quality filly.”

Motion boasts a strong contingent of sophomore fillies this season, including popular Maryland-bred Sharing who won the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November and was a strong second last out in the Group 1 Coronation on June 1 at Ascot.

“We've got some really nice 3-year-old fillies this year. It's very exciting,” said Motion.

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Harvey’s Lil Goil Ekes Out Regret Win Over Crystal Cliffs

Harvey's Lil Goil was able to hold off the late surge of Crystal Cliffs (FR) to win Saturday's 51strunning of the $100,000 Regret (Grade III) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Martin Garcia, Harvey's Lil Goil covered the 1 1/8 miles on the Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:47.70.

In the early stages of the race, 17-1 longshot Eve of War took command of the field of 13 three-year-old fillies through opening fractions of :23.26 and :47.48. Harvey's Lil Goil tracked just off the pace of Eve of War on the outside of In Good Spirits. Harvey's Lil Goil took control of the lead at the head of the stretch following three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.80 but had to fend off the late charge of 6-5 favorite Crystal Cliffs.

Just outside of the sixteenth-pole, Crystal Cliffs, under John Velazquez, dove to the inside rail past the tiring Eve of War but just missed getting to Harvey's Lil Goil by a head at the wire.

“I thought we were in a little bit of trouble when Johnny dove to the rail,” Mott's assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy said. “However, when she got to her late in the stretch, she was able to fight back.”

Harvey's Lil Goil rewarded her backers with payouts of $24.20, $7.60 and $5.40. Crystal Cliffs returned $3.20 and $3 and In Good Spirits paid $6.20.

With her victory in the Regret, Harvey's Lil Goil boosted her career earnings to $154,529. The homebred-daughter of American Pharoah sports an overall record of 5-3-0-0. She races for the estate of her breeder, Harvey Clarke, and Paul Braverman.

Pass the Plate, Dominga, Stunning Sky, Hendy Woods, Micheline, Eve of War, Wexx, Edgee Angel, Witez and His Glory completed the order of finish.

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Competitive Field Set for Regret

A full and competitive field of 13 sophomore fillies are set to line up at Churchill Downs Saturday for the GIII Regret S. Earning her diploma by eight lengths at second asking in France in December, Crystal Cliffs (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) was privately purchased and transferred to U.S.-based conditioner Graham Motion. She captured her first race in these shores in a nine-panel Churchill allowance May 31.

Dominga (Ghostzapper) looks to return to winning ways in this test after finishing sixth last time in the one-mile Tepin S. here. Prior to that, she captured the LaCombe Memorial S. at Fair Grounds Mar. 7.

Harvey’s Lil Goil (American Pharoah) gets back on turf here for the first time since rallying from last to fourth in her Aqueduct unveiling Nov. 9. The Harvey Clarke homebred graduated by six lengths next out when switched to the main track at the Big A Dec. 12 and romped by 7 1/2 lengths in the Busanda S. at Ozone Park Feb. 2. She was last seen finishing 11th in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn May 1.

Undefeated Hendy Woods (Uncle Mo) takes a step up to stakes company here. A debut winner on the grass at Fair Grounds Jan. 18, the Stonestreet homebred won an optional claimer there Mar. 15.

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