Gotham Longshot Weyburn Has ‘High Cruising Speed,’ Should Flourish Going Two Turns

Chiefswood Stables homebred Weyburn, a 20-1 morning-line assessment for Saturday's Grade 3 Gotham, breezed three-eighths in 35.42 seconds Thursday on the Belmont dirt training track.

Rob Landry, a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and general manager for Chiefswood, said the Jimmy Jerkens trainee will be ready to fire fresh off a third-out maiden win in December when sprinting seven furlongs over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track that garnered a 69 Beyer.

“Jimmy said he's been training well. He went in 35 and change this morning,” said Landry. “We had him entered a few weeks' back in a stakes at Aqueduct [Jimmy Winkfield on Jan. 31] but he had a foot abscess and had to scratch, so we're looking to get him started back.”

Voted Canada's Outstanding Jockey in both 1993 and 1994, Landry was aboard Chiefswood Stables' Niigon to win a thrilling renewal of the 2004 Queen's Plate, ahead of a third at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy won by Purge.

Landry enjoyed his best moment in New York when piloting Careless Jewel to victory in the 2009 edition of the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga.

“I had some luck at Saratoga and ended up winning one race there, but it was a Grade 1,” said Landry. “I loved riding at Saratoga because of the history.”

The Ontario-bred Weyburn, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, making him a half-brother to the versatile multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton, who now stands at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm in Kentucky.

While Yorkton displayed sprint speed through stakes wins on turf and synthetic, Landry said the sizable Weyburn will appreciate a distance of ground.

“I see him having a lot of stamina,” said Landry. “Yorkton is a son of Speightstown and lot of them are very good at a mile. Yorkton was a very quick horse. I think Weyburn is a little different as he has a high cruising speed but he doesn't have the speed Yorkton had. I see Weyburn flourishing when he goes two turns. He's built like that and he's a big horse. He's lightly raced and I think he'll get better with age.”

Landry acknowledged the Gotham, a 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying race, is a difficult spot to start Weyburn back in action.

“We didn't nominate him for the American Triple Crown because of where we were at with him,” said Landry. “Our plan was an allowance race and to go through his conditions but that didn't pan out and this race is here. We didn't want to cut him back and I don't want to keep him sitting in the barn. We'll see where we're at, it's a very difficult race.”

Chiefswood Stables have expanded their U.S. presence in recent years and in addition to a trio of horses with Jerkens [Edge of Fire, Hard Edge], the Ontario-based outfit also have horses in training with Graham Motion and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

Landry said he is hopeful Weyburn can progress towards a start in the second and third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, although the 162nd running of the $1 million Queen's Plate, first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown on August 22 at Woodbine Racetrack remains in play.

“It might be a little late now for the Derby, but if he was ever good enough for the Preakness or the Belmont this is when you're going to tell,” said Landry. “We've sent a lot of horses down to the states and we're trying to focus on the U.S. races. We'd never take the Plate out of the question, but we're trying to play the game at the highest level. With Weyburn being a half-brother to Yorkton, a good result in this race would really help Yorkton's profile as well.”

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‘They All Have A Place In My Heart’: Flavien Prat Celebrates 1,000th Career Victory

A budding superstar, French-born Flavien Prat, Santa Anita's reigning Winter/Spring Champion Jockey and current meet leader, registered his 1,000th North American victory in Friday's second race, a 6 ½ furlong starter allowance for fillies and mares, aboard the Jonathan Wong-trained Clockstrikestwelve. Santa Anita's leading Winter/Spring jockey in both 2019-20 and 2016-17, Prat, 28, in an amazing span of roughly six years, has amassed 11 Southern California riding titles and is currently tied for 13th with retired Hall of Famer Donald Pierce on Santa Anita's all-time Winter/Spring stakes-won list with 99 added money victories through this past Monday.

With a three-win day on Monday and 11 wins that included two stakes over the four-day Presidents' Day holiday, Prat entered Friday's festivities with 998 career wins. Victorious in today's opener aboard Bob Baffert's 2-5 favorite Du Jour, Prat wasted little time in reaching number 1,000 as he guided Wong's 3-5 favorite Clockstrikestwelve to a last to first triumph in race two, winning by 2 ¼ lengths.

Born Aug. 4, 1992 in Melun, France, Prat, the son of a trainer, won the 2019 Kentucky Derby via disqualification aboard the William Mott-trained Country House and is currently atop the Santa Anita rider standings with 32 wins, three more than Juan Hernandez, with 25 full days of racing completed. Also in 2019, Prat also became only the third jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby and Canada's championship race for 3-year-olds, the Queen's Plate, in the same year, joining Bill Hartack (1964) and Kent Desormeaux (1998).

“It means a lot, it's a big achievement,” said Prat following today's second race. “I wasn't dreaming of that when I came here (from France) to be honest with you and I didn't think it would happen so quickly. It felt like yesterday that I got here and started riding…

“(Looking to the future) I hope to do as good as I have done. I don't want to be satisfied with what I've done, I want to try to improve. I think there's room for improvement…It's nice, it's been a lot of support from my family and the trainers and owners, all the connections. It's something I share with everybody. I've been lucky to have been on a lot of good horses…They all have a place in my heart.”

Clockstrikestwelve, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare by New Year's Day who had won her last four starts, three of them at Golden Gate Fields, was saddled by trainer Kristin Mulhall and paid $3.20 to win.

Prat, who as a teenager, worked full-time during the winter mornings for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and split riding time between Santa Anita and his native France, registered his first Santa Anita win at age 17 on Jan. 15, 2010 aboard the Suzanne Rodriguez-trained Heavenly n' Free, who paid $103.40 to win.

In a move that surprised many in the racing industry, Prat announced last week that he was parting company with his longtime agent Derek Lawson and that he had hired veteran agent Brad Pegram, who will now represent both Prat and Mike Smith.

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17-Year-Old Joshua Attard, Grandfather Tino Attard Team Up With Plate Hopeful Keep Grinding

Joshua Attard, the 17-year-old son of multiple stakes winning trainer Kevin Attard, is hoping his colt Keep Grinding gets a shot at Queen's Plate glory on August 22.

In his last year of high school, Joshua has high praise for his 3-year-old Ontario-bred (trained by his grandfather Tino Attard), who capped off his 2-year-old year with an impressive victory.

Horse: Keep Grinding
Sire: Tizway
Dam: Samsal
Trainer: Tino Attard
Owner: Joshua Attard
Breeder: Huntington Stud Farm Corp.
Record: 1-0-0 from 3 starts

On being a teenage Thoroughbred owner:

“It feels great. I never would have expected, to be honest, to have a horse like this at my age. I'm really excited to have an opportunity to have a horse that is eligible for the Queen's Plate, and that has a chance to be in the race.”

On when he knew Keep Grinding had potential:

“I knew when he started to work as a 2-year-old last year. I used to go in the summer, when I didn't have school, to watch him work and he would put on a show. His first race on the grass, I knew he had some talent because he came from far out of it and the race was a little short for him. He's a two-turn horse. When he broke his maiden, that's when I said I had a Queen's Plate prospect.”

On why he chose the name:

“I wanted to name my horse something that motivated me. I play hockey. When I go into the corners, I always tell myself to keep grinding for the puck. So, if I ever had the chance to own a horse I would name it Keep Grinding. It's something that motivates me and I hope it motivates other people.”

On the thought of having a Queen's Plate starter:

“I'm very excited and happy. I'm really looking forward to that possibility of being in the Plate. Hopefully, everything goes well and we make it to the race. He started training in the past three weeks. It would be great if my grandfather and I had a shot to be in the Plate.”

On staying patient with the race being run on Aug. 22:

“I try not to think about it. I keep my thoughts to myself. I know it's a hard road to get to the Queen's Plate, so we'll just hope the horse keeps developing and getting better each week.”

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Owner-Breeder David Clancy Has An Early Trifecta For 2021 Queen’s Plate

David Clancy has his early Queen's Plate triactor picked out.

There are 195 calendar days, and plenty of races to be run before the gates open on the 162nd edition of Canada's most famous horse race.

While it's far too early to speculate as to which horses will go postward in the $1 million, 1 ¼ mile classic at Woodbine on August 22, the horseman with three early contenders attached to his name is sporting a big smile these days.

“I think it's very special,” said Clancy, who bred the trio of Giant Waters, Smiley Sobotka, and Stephen. “I'm happy and proud.”

Clancy owns one of the three Thoroughbreds, namely, Giant Waters. Smiley Sobotka, a chestnut son of Brody's Cause, is owned by Albaugh Family Stables LLC, and Stephen, a bay son of Constitution, is owned by father and son team Al & Bill Ulwelling.

One would expect, understandably, that Clancy would be rooting for Giant Waters to take all the spoils in the oldest continually run stakes race in North America.

Not so.

For the longtime horse racing fan, a win by any of the three would be a dream realized.

But that being said, a victory by Giant Waters would be money in the bank – literally.

“I get as much enjoyment out of other people winning with horses that I bred,” offered Clancy. “In this case, I wouldn't say it's [wanting Giant Waters to win the Plate] 100 per cent true. Given the money part, I guess that would be better for me.”

Trained by two-time Plate winner Dan Vella, Giant Waters has a record of 0-2-2 from four starts. Despite his maiden status, the son of Giant Gizmo-Green Waters has looked sharp in all of his races to date, including third-place efforts in both the Cup & Saucer Stakes and Coronation Futurity, run last October and November, respectively.

Vella, who won the 1994 Plate with Basqueian and the 2012 running with Strait of Dover, has high praise for his sophomore colt.

“Distance is his friend,” said the conditioner with nearly 850 lifetime victories. “That's a big thing for any racehorse. You can win a lot of races going short, but you don't win the big ones. He likes both surfaces, but probably prefers the turf a little bit. He handles both well. He shouldn't be a maiden – he had such a tough trip in his second race – but that is a benefit to us now. He's at Classic Mile [Florida] right now and we're looking forward to seeing him get his first start of the year.”

A meticulous breeder, Clancy, owner of Clancy CPA & Co., a Toronto-based accounting firm, dedicates hours upon hours to homework when it comes to adding broodmares and planning matings to his band at his farm in Tottenham, Ontario.

The hope, as always, is to produce competitive and versatile runners, horses that can flourish at Woodbine Racetrack and beyond.

Giant Waters is a prime example of Clancy's breeding blueprint approach.

“I bought his granddam, Countervail, at the Keeneland November 2011 sale. I think it was one of those sales where people were sleeping at that moment, and I managed to buy her at a pretty cheap price in relation to her pedigree. Giant Waters' mother [Green Waters], I bought her through a claim as a first-time starter as a racing prospect and obviously liked the family. Unfortunately, her racing career had some injury issues along the way, but I had faith that Green Waters would be a successful broodmare.”

Clancy's unwavering belief and patience paid off in the form of Giant Waters.

He's not the only one in his family that became an instant fan of the horse.

“My grandson Jason told me not to sell him,” recalled Clancy. “He said, 'Grandpa, he's going to be a good racer, do not sell him!' He loves that horse. His farm nickname is “Guinness,” but Jason calls him “Root Beer.” He really likes Green Waters too. She's his favourite in the paddock. She's kind of the boss of the paddock.”

There is the same pride in Clancy's voice when he speaks of Smiley Sobotka and Stephen.

Fashioning a win and a pair of seconds from four starts, Smiley Sobotka has yet to race at Woodbine, contesting races at Ellis Park, Keeneland, Churchill Downs and Tampa Bay Downs, to date.

He was ninth in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis on February 6.

“I bought the dam, Dance Thewayouare, at Fasig-Tipton in 2013. I always thought she had a great pedigree even though she wasn't a great racehorse. Interestingly, she is from the same family of [breeder] David Anderson's horse Gretzky the Great, and she is in foal to Nyquist, the sire of Gretzky the Great, arguably the present favourite for this year's Queen's Plate. I really thought that was a nice horse to pick up. I kept her first foal, a filly named Dance Ready, who was claimed and then I claimed her back with my partner on many horses, Donald Whalen. I like that family a lot. I think she'll be a nice mare down the road as well.”

After an eighth-place finish in his debut last August at Woodbine, Stephen finished second in his next start, following it up with an ultra-impressive score in the Coronation Futurity on November 1.

The Kevin Attard trainee is in Ontario in preparation for the start of the 2021 Woodbine Thoroughbred campaign, slated for April 17.

“Stephen, his dam is Naughty Holiday. I also owned her mother, Mrs. Coolidge. I really, really liked that mare and had her for a few years. When I saw Naughty Holiday at the 2017 November Keeneland sale – she was in foal to what would become Stephen – I bought her. I kind of lucked out buying her at a very reasonable price. I was happy that I was able to get back into that family. I told people that I liked the mother so much that I bought the daughter.”

Clancy, who would venture to Woodbine on weekends in his younger days hoping to put some money in his pockets by handicapping the races, also loves racing so much that he decided to get into the sport in a different capacity in the mid-2000s.

In 2005, he purchased a pub in Burlington, Ontario, and shortly thereafter obtained an off-track betting parlour for the establishment. He was later introduced to Woodbine-based trainer Steve Attard, and sales consignor and breeder Susan Foreman, who sold and partnered with Clancy on his first yearling.

The horse, Keino West, is a nod to Kenyan track legend Kip Keino, a gold medalist at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.

Trained by Attard, Keino West broke his maiden at the end of his two-year-old campaign.

At three, the son of Kissin Kris competed in all three legs of the 2009 Canadian Triple Crown Series. He was sixth in the Queen's Plate, fourth in the Prince of Wales, and fifth in the Breeders' Stakes.

Now, some 12 years later, Clancy could be back in the spotlight once again, perhaps with three chances to win the country's most coveted race.

An accomplished track & field competitor in his day – he would classify himself as a decent allowance horse – Clancy doesn't need to be reminded that pacing oneself on the path to the Queen's Plate is paramount.

“The breeding game is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. It takes a lot of patience. It has its ups and downs like a marathon does. Sometimes you're running well and something happens, you get a cramp and fall back, and breeding is the same thing with setbacks. You have to have that fortitude to handle the mental issues that come with the territory in horse racing.”

None of it prevents Clancy from dreaming big when it comes to his trio of Plate hopefuls.

“The first horse I ever bought made it to the Queen's Plate. The race is a big goal and objective, for sure. It would be pretty cool to win it one day, either as a breeder or an owner.”

Or, with a little racing luck and the perfect trip, perhaps both.

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