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Serpe Believes Emma-Jayne Wilson The Key To Safe Conduct Winning Breeders’ Stakes

Phil Serpe said jockey Irad Ortiz was the essential ingredient in Safe Conduct's victory in the Queen's Plate. Now the trainer is turning to Emma-Jayne Wilson for Sunday's (Oct. 3) $400,000 Breeders' Stakes on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine Racetrack because he feels she's the right rider to guide Safe Conduct to victory over 1 ½ miles.

“One thing I really learned was just how important a rider was for that particular (Queen's Plate),” Serpe said of the Aug. 22 race that Safe Conduct won by a head over Riptide Rock on the Tapeta track to claim the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

“Irad Ortiz was pivotal in getting that horse out of the one-hole… He's a big brute of a horse and if you watch the first 100 yards of that race, to me, that's where the race was won because he got that horse out of there and in position without having to use him.

“Taking that into consideration, we have a rider change to Emma-Jayne Wilson (for the Breeders' Stakes). She was going to ride him last year for us as a 2-year-old. The ball was actually in her court to ride him in the Queen's Plate. The horse had gotten sick and had a couple of bad starts… so I don't blame her for (choosing to ride Tidal Forces). In fact, she was one of the first people to text me after the horse won to congratulate me.

“We feel confident with her because the whole scenario changes. What we want now is just a nice, calm ride. She knows the turf course up there, it's her ballpark, so we're very happy to have her… I feel like he'll get the distance if he gets the right ride.”

Serpe's biggest concern is weather. Should it rain, it likely won't be Safe Conduct's game. The son of Bodemeister out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer wasn't a fan of soft going in his pre-Plate July 10 start in the Belmont Derby in which he finished 8th.

“The turf it had taken a lot of rain and he was just not getting through it,” Serpe said. “But we can't do anything about the weather… I actually think that grass is probably going to be his best surface, so I'm more confident about this surface than (the Tapeta).”

Serpe said Safe Conduct came out of the Queen's Plate in fine form and was back at his base in New York the next day.

“He is a big, strong horse and so he took that well. We just gave him a little breather, then brought him back down to Belmont. He had a terrific work the other day. We just blew him out a little bit (Tuesday, Sept. 28). We let him go about a half on the main track here in about :51. Really, just kind of let him go down the lane and gallop out strong. I think he went the last three-eighths in :38.2 and the last quarter in :24-and-change or something like that. He was stepping it up,” Serpe said.

The decision to skip the Prince of Wales — the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown — was a tactical one, Serpe said.

“We would love, love, love to win the Canadian Triple Crown, but we weighed it out and we thought that we would rather have a fresh horse to run a mile-and-a-half, than to take a chance running him on the dirt and then he goes backwards and we're not even coming,” Serpe said. “The Triple Crown in Canada is on three surfaces and, to me, that's a lot harder, or can be a lot harder, than running at three different distances — and, of course, you are at three different distances anyway.”

Serpe said it was an honour to win the Queen's Plate, even though neither he nor the owner — WellSpring Stables' Dr. Robert Vukovich of Colts Neck, NJ — made the trip to Woodbine due to COVID-19 restrictions and pandemic concerns.

“We didn't even know if we were going to make it or have personnel there, so we had three different plans intact as far as the horse was concerned. Fortunately, it all worked out well. I'm very sorry that I couldn't be there, because it's such a prestigious race, but we had to make sure we had people in the right spots in case something went backwards,” Serpe said, adding the fact Safe Conduct won without him there is the reason he won't be coming for the Breeders' Stakes.

“I'm going to stay here because I'm slightly superstitious,” he said, laughing. “If he runs a third time (at Woodbine), then I'll be there… My partner and assistant of 25 years, Lisa Bartowsky will be up again.”

However, this time, Vukovich is expected to be at Woodbine. It was Vukovich who picked out Safe Conduct — bred by Ontario's Mitchell Kursner — from the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and bought him for $45,000. Thanks to the $600,000 (Cdn – $467,952 U.S.) payday in the $1 million Queen's Plate, Safe Conduct now sports earnings of $603,202 (U.S.).

“I'm especially happy for (Vukovich) because he is a really, really good owner and a really good person,” Serpe said.

As for Serpe, the Plate proved to be a Godsend.

“We've had three or four pretty large outfits (in New York) where the trainer has retired,” Serpe said. “The pandemic put a lot of strain on people, including ourselves. Our purse earnings were down in 2020 about $800,000 from the year before. So, this money has helped immensely. For whatever reason, also, we've been going through a dry, dry, dry spell. Like, drier than the first year I was training horses… So, good things happened at the right time for us and we are grateful for that. The money went to good use, my employees.

“No new cars or boats or anything. The stable is our main focus.”

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Queen’s Plate Contenders Switch to Dirt in Prince of Wales

With the absence of Queen's Plate S. hero Safe Conduct (Bodemeister), who will await the Breeders' S. on turf for his next engagement, a handful of horses who followed him home in that Woodbine feature will try dirt Tuesday at Fort Erie in an eight-horse renewal of the Prince of Wales S., the middle jewel of Canada's Triple Crown.

Given the narrowest of nods on the morning line at 5-2 is Ivan Dalos's H C Holiday (Ami's Holiday). Scoring against $40,000 maiden optional claiming foes second out at Woodbine, he was later disqualified from purse money in that race, but was on the positive side of a stewards' ruling two starts later when elevated to second in the Plate Trial S. Aug. 1. He then overcame traffic to finish a fast-closing third at 29-1 in the Queen's Plate.

Joshua Attard's Keep Grinding (Tizway) graduated at third asking last November at Woodbine and ran third in an allowance/optional claimer there upon return June 19. Runner-up at 16-1 in the GIII Marine S. July 11, the dark bay made a wide run to challenge Safe Conduct in the stretch of the Queen's Plate before fading late to finish fifth.

Also returning from that race are the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth-place runners, with Avoman (Old Forester), who won the Plate Trial, the most fancied on the morning line at 7-2.

The lone filly in the field, Breeze Easy's Curlin's Catch (Curlin), looks to rediscover the top form that briefly stamped her as a potential GI Longines Kentucky Oaks contender over the winter. A dominant winner of the Suncoast S. in her first start against winners Feb. 6 at Tampa, the $430,000 OBS April buy was a well-beaten fifth in both the GII Davona Dale S. and GI Central Bank Ashland S. before running third in Woodbine's Fury S. July 10 and fifth in the Woodbine Oaks Aug. 1.

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No Safe Conduct, But Eight Sophomores Entered For Second Leg Of Canadian Triple Crown

A competitive field of eight horses will take part in the 86th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes, the 2nd jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown (CTC).

Six of those contenders are coming off varied performances in the Queen's Plate. The 2021 Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct will by-pass the Prince of Wales, but H C Holiday who placed third in the Plate will be looking to improve on his performance going 1 3/16-miles over the border oval's dirt course on Tuesday, September 14.

Trained by Kevin Attard, the dark bay colt is the son of Ami's Holiday. A graded stakes winner, Ami's Holiday was a runner-up in the 2014 Queen's Plate and finished third in the 2014 Prince of Wales Stakes. He went onto capture the third jewel of the CTC, the Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine. His leading progeny, H C Holiday put in his final work over the Fort's dirt course earlier this week. His conditioner is pleased with his training heading into next week's race.

“He's trained really well. He came out of the race (Queen's Plate) in great shape. I thought he looked really good on the dirt training track at Woodbine. We brought him on Tuesday (to the Fort) as well and he went (1:01:20) by himself and seemed to be striding out really nice. He looked pretty smooth going over Fort Erie's course. Obviously if he runs back to that kind of race like last time in the Plate, he will be tough to beat.”

Owned by Ivan Dalos, H C Holiday will be ridden by Luis Contreras. Contreras has piloted several horses to victory in the Prince of Wales, including Pender Harbour (2011), Amis Gizmo (2016), and Cool Catomine (2017).

Attard will also saddle Harlan Estate (seventh in the Plate) and Haddassah (eighth in the Plate). Both horses have worked well heading into next week's race. Attard was impressed with Harlan Estate's work over the dirt earlier this week at the Fort.

“I was most surprised with him. He worked really well. He hasn't been that great of a work horse, so he looked pretty comfortable. He went 59 and change. I'm kind of pumped about his chances. In my mind after watching him work I think his chances have increased. He came out of the work in good shape as well and he's a horse that kind of plods along. He will need a good trip and he can't afford to get stopped midway,” said Attard.

Meanwhile fifth-placed Plate finisher, Keep Grinding will continue the grind heading into the second jewel of the CTC. Trained by Tino Attard for Kevin's son, Joshua Attard, the bay colt posted his final work at the Fort, in company with Harlan Estate going (:59:40) over the dirt.

Avoman, winner of the 2021 Plate Trial Stakes and the 2020 Bull Page Stakes at Woodbine is looking to step up his game after a sixth-place finish in the Plate. The bay gelding will be sent out by conditioner, Donald MacRae and ridden by Antonio Gallardo.

The lone filly taking on the boys this year will by Mark Casse's trainee, Curlin's Catch. The daughter of Curlin is coming off a fifth-placed finished in the Woodbine Oaks. She will be guided by veteran rider, Patrick Husbands. Back in 2018, Husbands clinched the Queen's Plate and the Prince of Wales with a filly named Wonder Gadot, trained by Mark Casse as well.

Looking to make waves in the Prince of Wales is Gail Cox's trainee, Tidal Forces. Owned by Sam-Son farm, the son of Malibu Moon finished ninth in the Plate. Woodbine-based jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson retains the mount and will pilot the bay colt around the border oval.

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Ready At Dawn, conditioned by Daryl Ezra for Double Blooded Stables, is the Fort-Erie based trainee. The son of More Than Ready will be the race longshot at 30-1. The bay gelding won his last start at the Fort on August 9 going seven furlongs over the turf course. The Prince of Wales Stakes, contested over the turf course, going 1 3/16-miles (nine and a half furlongs) will require the bay gelding to stretch out in distance over a different surface. His conditioner is tapping into the family lineage in order to capture the stakes race.

“I'm relying on his pedigree. His great grandmother Dance Smartly won the Canadian Triple Crown including the mile and a half Breeders' Stakes and his grandmother Dancethruthedawn won a multitude of stakes – the Oaks, the Queen's Plate. The pedigree says distance so I'm going to rely on that to get us through it.”

Despite being the longshot, Ezra feels very confident about Ready At Dawn's chances.

“I've done every job imaginable back here (at Fort Erie Race Track), from charting, announcing, and training. I've seen a lot of races. We are 30-1 in the morning line, but we are as good as anything in there.”

The $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes is the middle jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, for three-year-olds foaled in Canada, running 1 3/16-miles over the border oval's dirt surface. First race post time on Tuesday, September 14 is 1 p.m., with the Prince of Wales race scheduled for approximately 5:35 p.m. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Fort Erie Race Track is open to a limited number of spectators. Those watching from home can tune into the Canadian Triple Crown Broadcast beginning at 5:00 p.m. on TSN Channels 1 and 3, sponsored by OLG.

For more information, please visit forterieracing.com

$400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown

POST – Horse – Jockey – Trainer – (morning line odds)

Avoman –Antonio Gallardo – Donald MacRae – (7-2)
Tidal Forces – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Gail Cox – (15-1)
Curlin's Catch – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse – (9-2)
Haddassah – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard – (12-1)
H C Holiday – Luis Contreras – Kevin Attard – (5-2)
Ready At Dawn – MarkLee Buchanan – Daryl Ezra – (30-1)
Harlan Estate – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard – (6-1)
Keep Grinding – Rafael Hernandez – Tino Attard – (3-1)

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‘Safe’ to Say Queen’s Plate Conquest Huge for Serpe

It's been a difficult few years for Phil Serpe and his stable. Like many smaller outfits trying to compete at a top-tier racing circuit, he has seen his number of horses dwindle as owners move in favor of consolidating their operations in the barns of “super trainers”. Partly due to circumstance, partly due to that increasing monopolization of the sport, Serpe has had an especially trying 2021. Heading into this past weekend, he had just two winners to his name since the calendar turned–a 4-year-old maiden-breaker named King Angelo (Lemon Drop Kid) Aug. 14 at Saratoga and a 38-1 upsetter in a Belmont allowance/optional claimer back on May 2 named Safe Conduct (Bodemeister).

So it made all the difference in the world–certainly more than it would have to any of the factory-sized barns he tries to compete with–when the latter runner, overachieving $45,000 weanling buy Safe Conduct, worked out a trip from the rail, struck the lead at the five-sixteenths pole, fought off several stretch challenges and held on by one jump over fast-closing Riptide Rock (Point of Entry) Sunday at Woodbine to win Canada's richest and most famous race, the 162nd running of the $1-million Queen's Plate. Though he was unable to be there in person, Serpe fully relished the victory after the year his outfit has experienced.

“We had an unusual amount of injuries this past winter for some reason, that's just the way things are sometimes,” said Serpe. “So we are a little bit down on stock, but we're working on that now. A race like that means a lot, regardless of if you're training six horses of 60 horses. It's Canada's premier race and it's great to be a part of it. I wish I could've been there, but because of COVID reasons we decided it was best to do things the way we did them. So my partner Lisa Bartkowski went up with the horse and handled things up there, and everything worked out.”

Serpe deflected much of the plaudits for the triumph onto the brilliant ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr., riding in his first Queen's Plate and piloting Safe Conduct for the first time. Ortiz asked the dark bay colt for just enough speed early to escape the fence, giving his mount the perfect two-path stalking trip in the clear before finishing with typical gusto to just hold on at the wire.

“I really have to give a lot of the credit to Irad,” Serpe said. It's tough coming out of the one-hole up there. We were the last ones to pick so that's the slot we got. He did a great job getting the horse out of the there and getting some position without using a lot of horse. I think that was instrumental in the horse winning. And Irad finishes the best of anybody in the stretch so we knew we were going to get that.”

Serpe showed steadfast confidence in his horse by sending him to Woodbine to make his all-weather track debut in the Queen's Plate. After upsetting that Belmont allowance, in which he out-finished recent GII Hall of Fame S. hero Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Safe Conduct had beaten just two horses combined in his next two starts, finishing a distant fourth in the rained-off GIII Pennine Ridge S. and fading to eighth over 'good' turf in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. But Serpe didn't waver from going after a race he has long had his eye on for the talented Ontario-bred.

“The Queen's Plate was always on our target map from last year,” he said. “That's what we were thinking about last year, was to try to get him in the Queen's Plate. The other races, it was just unfortunate but it wasn't like he didn't run well. The Pennine Ridge came off the turf and we tried to run him in the slop. The race had fallen apart and he's the kind of horse you think would run through anything. Then in the Belmont Derby, that turf had taken a lot of rain and he just wasn't getting anywhere. He came back from those races in good condition and coming into this race, there was nothing he could've done any better. His last work leading up to the race was sensational.”

Sunday's success in a marquee race was undeniably big for the Serpe barn. In 2018, Serpe cleared the $1-million earnings mark for the 11th time in his career, with his runners banking the third-highest total in his 38-year training career. But in 2019, his earnings fell to $642,351, and last year, his horses earned $406,785, his lowest total since 1984, the year he started training. For perspective, Serpe's barn earned C$600,000–currently equivalent to $476,490 in U.S. dollars–for Safe Conduct's Queen's Plate score alone.

“It's a big help to our stable,” he said. “We were one of the leading trainers for Flying Zee Stable and when we lost Carl Lizza, we lost a lot of horses in New York–for everybody, but 30-35 for us every year. Then we were fortunate enough to have Chester and Mary Broman, but Mr. Broman has now decided to slow way down. He just has a handful of horses left. We were lacking horses. It's kind of sad because I don't know what people think, that only a handful of guys know how to train horses? There's a lot of guys out there who are competent horsemen who don't have horses. And we're starting to feel the effect of that.”

Lizza died in 2011 after a successful 35-year run of owning horses in New York–he was NYRA's leading owner for the year at the time of his death–leading to a dispersal of his substantial Flying Zee stock. The Bromans have 28 starts in 2021 as of this writing; at their peak in 2017, they had 263. So without the support of those once-massive New York breeding and racing operations, Serpe has struggled to keep his foothold against seemingly an army of high-priced auction and private purchases.

“When we trained for Mr. Broman and Flying Zee Stable, you're training for breeders, so whatever comes out is what you get,” he said. “You don't get to handpick these horses, you don't get to go buy them privately, so sometimes it's good, but sometimes you might not get great horses. Now you're winning at 14 or 15% instead of the miracle workers that are winning at 37%. It's frustrating. It is. But we just keep working, doing our job and that's just the way we are.”

Serpe puts some of the blame for the consolidation on the backstretch on the tracks themselves, and says some owners may be getting the runaround from mega-barns for their non-star horses.

“Partially it's the racetracks' fault,” he said. “That's why they would put in a stall limit, because they didn't want guys monopolizing what was going on out there in the races. And if you've got a guy who's got 10 one-other-thans, he's not running all 10. So I got news for you, as an owner, you're getting put on [the shelf] if yours is horse number eight. That's where you're going. You might think you're running at Saratoga; you might not run until Aqueduct. I think people need to rethink that a little bit, because there are some really good guys out there, and I consider myself one of them, that just need a shot.”

For now though, Serpe is appreciative to have Safe Conduct in his barn, and he has WellSpring Stables' owner Dr. Robert Vukovich to thank, in more ways than one. Vukovich's operation, named after the pharmaceutical corporation he founded in 1999 and sold in 2011, has maintained its investment in Serpe as it has increased its earnings each of the past four years. And Vukovich himself picked Safe Conduct out as a nine-month old weanling at Keeneland November in 2018.

“I was kidding around with Dr. Vukovich. We kind of knew right away with the horse, we didn't know how good he was, but we just knew he wanted to be a racehorse,” Serpe said. “He just loves to train. I said, 'Did your wife pick out this one or something? He's different than all the other ones you've picked out.' I don't know how much he appreciated that [laughs], but I always rib him about it. But this horse is all him. I had nothing to do with it and I was very fortunate he sent the horse to me.”

Occasionally, fortune in racing does still smile on the little guy.

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