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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Moira Heads Colts at Queen’s Plate Draw

X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, and SF Racing LLC's Moira (Ghostzapper) was listed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite during Wednesday morning's post position Queen's Plate draw, held at Woodbine's newly-opened Stella Artois Terrace. In addition to the Woodbine Oaks winner, who will exit gate 8 with regular pilot Rafael Hernandez aboard, a total of 10 colts have signed on for Sunday's $1-million 10-furlong Classic, the first jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown.

“Typically, when you win the Oaks, depending on how impressive they are doing it, you always have to think of The Queen's Plate,” said trainer Kevin Attard, who is looking for his first Plate win. “It's something we have always had in the back of our minds, and we geared her campaign so the Plate would be her third race of the season and she'd be fresh.”

The double-draw format was in place for the session, with the order of selection first established beforee allowing the connections to choose their post positions.

Likely to draw plenty of support Sunday, Borders Racing Stable Ltd.'s Rondure (Oxbow) was allotted post 6. Trained by Katerina Vassilieva, the GIII Marine S. winner will be accompanied by Flavien Prat.

“He's not overly large in stature, but he's stout,” said Vassilieva. “He has a stout, muscular body and a big heart. He loves to sleep. Every day, around 10:30 or 11, he eats his breakfast and then goes to sleep. You will find him around that time, every day, sprawled out in his stall. Which is always a good sign to me, that he knows how to rest and relax.”

No stranger to the Queen's Plate, trainer Mark Casse, who won the Plate with Lexie Lou (2014) and Wonder Gadot (2018), will be represented by Heste Sport Inc.'s Sir for Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}), who will break from post 10 as well as Gary Barber, Wachtel Stables, Peter Deutsch, and Leonard Schleifer's Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid), who breaks from the rail. The stablemates finished 1-2 in the Plate Trial July 24.

“The Plate Trial was actually my second choice,” said the dual Hall of Fame conditioner of the likely more fancied of the two Casse runners come raceday. “Two days before the Plate Trial, there was an Ontario-sired allowance going a mile and a quarter, and I was trying to find the easiest path to The Queen's Plate because he's a little behind from the injury. But the race didn't go. [Owner] René [Hunderup] was good with running him in the Plate Trial, so we did. I didn't need him to win, I just needed him to show he still wanted to play the game. I thought it was powerful and he got a great ride from [jockey] Declan [Carroll].”

Always a dominant force south of the border, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will try to add a second Plate victory with Chiefwood Stables' Causin' Mayhem (Into Mischief), who broke his maiden at Belmont before finishing third last out in the Plate Trial. Pletcher previously won with Archers Bay in 1998.

Rounding out the field are Shamateur (Shaman Ghost) (8-1, Post 2); Ironstone (Mr Speaker) (12-1, Post 3); The Minkster (English Channel) (10-1, Post 4); Duke of Love (Cupid) (5-1 Post 5); Dancin in Da'nile (Pioneerof the Nile) (30-1, Post 7) and Hunt Master (Hunters Bay) (30-1, Post 9).

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Woodbine’s Five Furlongs With Katerina Vassilieva: The Truth Is Out There

Each week until opening day of the 2022 Woodbine Thoroughbred meet, a familiar name in the sport will be in the spotlight, answering some fun, offbeat questions, giving readers a unique perspective into their personality.

Katerina Vassilieva's connection with horses began at the age of 11. After finishing her Master's degree in genetics, she made the decision to pursue a career in Thoroughbred racing. Vassilieva, who worked as a hotwalker, groom, exercise rider and assistant trainer, earned her trainer's license since 2011. Her home base is Woodbine, but she has campaigned successfully at several racetracks throughout the United States, including Gulfstream Park, Keeneland and Belmont Park. Her biggest star to date is Big Bazinga, who followed the Kentucky Derby trail in 2014 and gave Vassilieva the opportunity to compete in some of North America's most prestigious graded races. The multiple stakes winning trainer posted a 20 per cent win average in 2016 and a 25 per cent strike rate in 2020.

You get to the chance to be on a TV show, past or present. Which one is it and why?

“The X-Files was my favorite show growing up as a kid. Before becoming a horse trainer, I wanted to be a forensic scientist, so I really enjoyed that show because it was all about forensics, detectives and solving mysteries. That's the show I would definitely want to be on.”

What music genre gets you on the dance floor?

“I like to listen to electronic dance music, club music, essentially. I think people might be surprised that I listen to that, but I find it's very upbeat and brings my mood up. I've enjoyed that type of music since I was young. I haven't been on the dance floor lately, but I think my moves are pretty good.”

What is your food weakness?

“That's easy… cakes and pastries. Anything sweet, really. I have a huge sweet tooth. Cakes or pastries, I'll never say no. Same with donuts. Just to be humble, I might turn them down, but secretly, I would eat them.”

Other than the Queen's Plate, what's your must-see race on the Woodbine racing calendar?

“Personally speaking, I always look forward to the Grey Stakes because I had that horse Big Bazinga and he ran second in that race (in 2013). It gave us 10 points and it kickstarted our hope of running in the Kentucky Derby. That's a really exciting race for me because those are the horses that may end up running in the Derby down the line.”

Would you rather call a race or guest host as a racing analyst?

“I would definitely choose racing analyst over race caller. I don't know how race callers do what they do. Thinking on the fly like that and doing it so quickly, it's just amazing. It really is incredible how race callers are able to remember all those names and talk about their order in the race. So, I'd opt for racing analyst because I'd have more time to think about what I'd say and more time to do research so that it would sound like I knew what I was talking about.”

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Pair Of Juvenile Stakes Highlight Friday’s Card At Woodbine

A pair of competitive $150,000 two-year-old stakes, the Clarendon Presented by HBPA of Ontario, and the Shady Well Presented by Pepsi, share the spotlight on Friday's eight-race card at Woodbine.

Each set for 5 ½-furlongs over the Tapeta, the Clarendon and Shady Well, for Ontario-bred rookies, will be featured on Racing Light Live, to be broadcast from 7-9 p.m. ET on TSN.

The card also includes the final leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series, which drew 11 hopefuls for the 1 ¾-mile marathon on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Trainer Andrew Smith has cross-entered the filly Silent Resent in both stakes.

A dark bay daughter of Silent Name (JN), the dark bay, bred and owned by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, made her debut on Aug. 7 a winning one.

Sent on her way at 14-1, Silent Resent converted a head advantage at the stretch call of the six-furlong Tapeta race into a four-length win in 1:11.33.

“It was a nice win,” said Smith. “I'm not sure about the caliber of horses we beat, but she won quite easily. I thought she'd run a good race first time out because she had shown quite a bit in the morning.”

In her most recent start, the one-mile Victorian Queen Stakes contested on the Toronto oval's Inner Turf, she finished sixth, six lengths back of the winner.

“She was pretty rank early and that was kind of the end of the race for her,” offered Smith. “Had she rated a little better, I think she would have run a little better. I thought she was going to run better, so I was disappointed there. I thought she'd stretch out, but she didn't relax for us. That was the main problem. Had she relaxed she would have been able to finish better.”

Smith, who is enjoying a solid 2021 campaign, believes the filly will come back with a stronger effort on Friday.

“She's heading into this next start doing pretty good. She's certainly sharp and I think she'll like the cut back in distance. Around the barn, she's very aggressive. She wants to train hard all the time and is go, go, go all the time.”

Trainer Katerina Vassilieva will send out first-time winner My Girl Sky in the Shady Well.

A daughter of graded stakes winner Dynamic Sky, My Girl Sky overcame a less-than-ideal start in her career bow on September 5th at Woodbine.

“She's got a lot of heart and determination,” said Vassilieva. “She has that will to win. She had every excuse not to run well after having sort of been bumped at the break and missing a step. But she came flying home. I think she's a gutsy filly and it's worth taking a shot in a spot like this.”

Vassilieva wasn't quite sure how the grey filly would respond the rest of the way after the tough beginning.

“I was surprised that she had that kind of a break because when Steve [jockey, Bahen] worked her from the gate – there were two other horses in with her that day – she broke the fastest and the sharpest. I think both myself and Steve were expecting her to, if not be on top, to be somewhere in the mix of things early – very close to the pace or on the lead.”

The conditioner's expectations on where My Girl Sky, owned by Kevin Drew, would eventually finish changed throughout the course of the race.

“When that (breaking sharply) didn't happen, I hoped she would have a good experience and learn something from it. As the race went on, I thought we had a chance to hit the board. Then, I realized we actually had a chance to win. That's when it got exciting. She had a really good closing kick and she really ran on when Steve called on her. That was nice to see.”

Vassilieva has enjoyed working with her young charge.

“She's a sweetheart. She loves people and she's very kind. She loves attention and she loves her work. She's all business on the track. She loves to train and seems to enjoy being a racehorse, I would say.”

Dan Vella, who won consecutive editions of the Shady Well, in 1994 with Honky Tonk Tune and one year later with Heavenly Valley, is represented by Marie MacKay in this year's running

Bred and owned by Track West Racing and Donald Whalen, the daughter of Noble Mission (GB) debuted on September 11 at Woodbine, finishing second at 14-1 to Aubrieta in the 5 ½-furlong race on the Tapeta.

Aubrieta, a two-year-old daughter of Speightster, trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, looked impressive in that 1 ¾-length score last month.

The Conrad Farms' homebred will once again be ridden by Patrick Husbands in the Shady Well.

Six contenders, including Simcoe Stakes champion, Ironstone, will vie for top spot in the Clarendon.

The Shady Well is slated as race six. The Clarendon is scheduled as race seven on Friday's 4:45 p.m. program.

Fan can watch and wager on all the action with HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$150,000 SHADY WELL STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Aubrieta – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

2 – My Girl Sky – Steven Bahen – Katerina Vassilieva

3 – Silent Resent – David Moran – Andrew Smith

4 – Ya Mar (S) – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse

5 – Shanghai Shamrock – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

6 – Marie MacKay – Justin Stein – Daniel Vella

7 – Silver Magnatized – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard

$150,000 CLARENDON STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Silent Runner – David Moran – Michael Doyle

2 – Silent Resent – Antonio Gallardo – Andrew Smith

3 – Ironstone – Ademar Santos – Willie Armata

4 – Bossy Holiday – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

5 – Drop a Caribou – Daisuke Fukumoto – Robert Tiller

6 – Repeat the Heat – Rafael Hernandez – Michel De Paulo

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