Already well established south of the border, the Montreal-raised Lanni decided to forge a deeper stake into the Canadian industry over the last few years, first creating X-Men Racing and more recently, joining forces with childhood friends Mark Halloran and Rob Van Blokland to form Canuck Racing Club.

“I'm from Canada and I wanted to spend more time here and I've built a bigger presence here with X-Men horses since a lot of them are here,” explained Lanni. “So I've been trying to buy more Canadian-breds so I can run more in Canada.”

Placing Canada's first jewel of the Triple Crown-the Queen's Plate–squarely in his cross hairs, Lanni unearthed Moira (Ghostzapper) for X-Men Racing–in partnership with SF Bloodstock and Madaket Racing–from its initial group of acquisitions in 2020. With trainer Kevin Attard at the helm, she was a runaway winner in last year's Queen's Plate, concluding the 2022 season as Canada's Horse of the Year.

While unlikely to draw the kind of support Moira drew last year heading into Canada's 10-furlong Classic, Lanni returns, this time with Canuck Racing Club and Daniel Plouffe in tow, and will be represented by Enjoythesilent (Silent Name {Jpn}) in the re-named King's Plate, run as such for the first time since 1951.

“These are my friends from elementary school that run it with me,” explained Lanni. “The Club is basically all new guys from Canada that never owned horses and the first horse they bought is running in the King's Plate. It is so great for the game.”

Initially on the outside looking in, the Kevin Attard trainee drew in after a miscalculation of his earnings was announced early Saturday, thus pushing El Cohete (Society's Chairman) onto the A/E list.

A $37,000 weanling purchase at the Keeneland November sale in 2020, the Adena Springs bred was a runaway winner on debut going seven furlongs at Woodbine May 28 before finishing a close-up third stretching to a 1 1/16 miles against $40,000 optional claimers July 7. Favored in his latest start, the gelding just came up a neck short of the win against similar company July 30.

“He's taking a big step up in class going from Ontario-sired company to open Canadian-bred company, but he's a horse that I think the distance is going to help and will be well suited for him,” explained Attard, who has five runners in this year's King's Plate. “We are going to be adding blinkers to his arsenal.”

In his latest work, the dark bay breezed five panels in 1:00 2/5 (11/52) over Woodbine's Tapeta surface Aug. 12.

“He worked really well last week, so it's pretty exciting to see him get into the race,” added Attard. “He's been pretty consistent and all he needs to do is just take another step in the right direction. I think he's a key player.”

Also under Attard's tutelage, Canuck Racing Club recently tasted success with one of its 2022 purchases–Vandoo (Souper Speedy)–who went wire-to-wire in a five-furlong maiden over Woodbine's main track July 29. The 2-year-old filly was a C$22,000 Canadian Premier Yearling purchase.

“It was cool to have a recent winner with these guys,” said Lanni. “It is a great opportunity for these guys.”

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1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, T, 1:05 p.m.
A $600,000 '21 FTSAUG purchase, MISCHIEVOUS ANGEL (Into Mischief) exits the gate on debut for Peter Brant and Parkland Thoroughbreds. Trained by Chad Brown, the bay gelding hails from a female family which includes GI Florida Derby hero Audible (Into Mischief), a half-brother to his dam. TJCIS PPS

5th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, 3:09 p.m.
DONEGAL FOREVER (Pioneerof the Nile), who sold for $170,000 at the '21 Keeneland September sale, will make his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher. The 3-year-old bay colt's second dam Tenacious Tina (Benchmark) is a half-sister to GISW Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile). TJCIS PPS

7th-MTH, $55K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, T, 3:22 p.m.
Homebred ASKARI (Tapit) breaks from the extreme outside for Todd Pletcher in this first maiden try. The dark bay 3-year-old colt is a half-brother to GSW Promise Me Silver (Silver City), but digging a bit deeper, he also counts GISW Try Something New (Hail the Pirates) among his family. TJCIS PPS

6th-WO, $111K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, AW, 3:54 p.m.
AIROSA (Uncle Mo) was a $400,000 '22 KEESEP buy for Star Ladies Racing and X-Men Racing. The Ontario-bred is out of Mrs. Hudson, who own dam MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon) is a half-sister to GSW Just Louise (Five Star Day), who is responsible for GISP & MGSW Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah).  TJCIS PPS

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The weekend was almost perfect for Lanni, except for the hex that jockey Rafael Hernandez put on Moira in the Gl E.P. Taylor S., choosing the wrong path for her at a crucial stage in the race. Turning for home, Moira was behind five runners fanned ahead of her, and Hernandez, looking for a seam, chose to go inside where there was no room. In the process, he nearly took down Peter Brant's Lemista (Ire), who checked hard. Once on the rail, Moira still had nowhere to advance until late in the stretch, and by the time Hernandez slipped her through a narrow gap, the finish was fast approaching. Rougir (Ire), owned by Brant and Michael Tabor, nailed her by a neck, flying uninterrupted on the outside. No surprise, Moira was disqualified from second to eighth, but with a clean run she may well have proven the best in the race.

Lanni was still steaming on Sunday when we spoke. He'd purchased Moira for $150,000 at Keeneland September two years ago for a group of Canadian horsemen and friends who race as X-Men Racing. Lanni clients Madaket Racing and SF Racing, who are a part of the “Avengers” group that race colts with Bob Baffert, are co-owners. “Brant's filly could have gotten hurt, and I'm worried about our filly,” Lanni said of the incident.

The local E.P. Taylor was carefully chosen for Moira to get Grade l black-type on her resume.

“She was like a greyhound as a yearling, a long-distance type for turf and all-weather, not a horse for dirt. She's a classy filly, but not a typical Ghostzapper physically. Ghostzapper looked like a miler, he could sprint and go a mile and a quarter. She's not that way.”

Bred in Canada by Adena Springs and trained by Kevin Attard, the 3-year-old had previously raced exclusively on Woodbine's all-weather course against other Canadian-breds her age, but blowout wins in the Woodbine Oaks and the Queen's Plate against colts suggested she was something special. That was confirmed in the E.P. Taylor, regardless of the outcome. The race was Moira's first start on turf, her first against open company, and her first against elders, and she proved she belongs. She's now won four of six starts and earned $908,682. Rougir was a Group 1 winner in Europe last year and was purchased by Brant and Tabor at Arqana for the equivalent of $3.4 million.

War Like Goddess

War Like Goddess, trained by Bill Mott for owner George Krikorian, is a 5-year-old mare. She defeated males in the Gl Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. and goes next in the Gl Breeders' Cup Turf. A winner of nine of 12 starts and $1,612,184, the daughter of English Channel was bred by Calumet, sold for $1,200 as a weanling at Keeneland November, was unsold as a $1,000 RNA at Keeneland September, and made $30,000 at OBS June when Lanni bought her.

“You just don't see too many English Channels showing up at an OBS 2-year-old sale,” Lanni said. “That's not what they're supposed to do. They are long on the grass. Anyway, she shows up and works and goes in like :10 2/5 and does really well. She's got a great stride and great action, but she comes back and she's got some pretty good shins on her. They were pretty big. I call them summer shins–shins that last all summer. And so I said to myself, there's only one guy I know who'd take this filly, meaning you need to be patient with her and give her time, and that was George Krikorian. I hadn't bought him a horse in a long time, so I called him.”

Lanni developed a relationship with Krikorian during his early days in Kentucky at Texan Johnny T.L. Jones Jr.'s Walmac International, which stood standouts Nureyev and Alleged among other well-known stallions. An outsized figure with a grin as big as his personality, Johnny Jones also gave Lane's End Bloodstock's David Ingordo, WTC's Frances J. Karon, Stonestreet advisor and agent John Moynihan, and Four Star's Kerry Cauthen a home at one time or another.

“[George Krikorian] was the first guy who ever let me buy him a horse where I actually got paid a commission for buying the horse,” Lanni said. “That was Starrer in 1999 at Fasig-Tipton. We'd gotten to be friends, he said he trusted me, likes me, and said if I see anything I like, buy it.

“When I found Starrer, I called him and said I found him a filly, and he said to just buy it and hung up. I'm in my mid-20s, and I'm like, 'What does that mean, just buy it?' I'm nervous. I don't have a signed agent agreement, I don't have any money, and what do I do If this guy walks away from me?”

Lanni paid $35,000 for the yearling Starrer, a daughter of Dynaformer who became a multiple Grade l winner for Krikorian and trainer John Shirreffs, earning $1,043,033 through four seasons.

“He's been my longtime friend and a client since. He's the greatest,” Lanni said.

Cave Rock

Undefeated Cave Rock appears to be the leading 2-year-old colt heading to the Breeders' Cup. The son of Arrogate won the Gl American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita impressively–his second top-level win from three starts–and has now earned $408,000 for trainer Baffert and the “Three Amigos” partnership of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. Bred by Anne and Ronnie Sheffer Racing, Cave Rock was a $550,000 Keeneland September yearling.

After the Walmac stint, Lanni went next to John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale, where he was a longtime presence until Sikura moved the Hill 'n' Dale operation to Xalapa a few years ago. It was through Sikura that Lanni established a relationship with Baffert, and it's under the Baffert banner that Lanni's reputation has grown.

“[Baffert] is not just an amazing horse trainer and person, he's also amazing at finding young horses at auction,” Lanni said. “He's been great at that forever, and he's taught me a lot. I can't ever take credit for what I do with Bob, because Bob is instrumental, but we work together closely and it's a team effort. I don't buy a horse for Bob if he doesn't agree.”

They agreed on Cave Rock.

Lanni said, “If he was a first-crop Arrogate, he would have made seven figures. He was amazing, he was beautiful. He had beautiful bone, he was correct, he had a great hind leg. But last year, no one wanted an Arrogate.”

Because the Avengers are usually looking for colts by proven sires to turn into stallions, Cave Rock didn't fit the profile, but he was a natural for the Three Amigos.

“Bob and Mike have been together from the beginning, and when we shop the sales, those guys are always ready to buy,” Lanni said. “They don't care about sires, they don't care about pedigrees, they want physicals and they want runners.”

Avengers and X-Men

Why Avengers and X-Men? Lanni said the Avengers nickname came about as convenient shorthand to refer to the string of owners in the SF/Madaket/Starlight group.

“And the reason I came up with Avengers is that my daughters and I watch all those Marvel movies, and I love them,” he said. “And it's great because everybody has a certain talent that they bring to the table, and it fit the group.”

When buying for the Avengers–a team effort with the principals, Lanni stressed–the criteria gets more specific: proven sires like Into Mischief, Quality Road, etc., and the physiques that will handle training and racing on dirt at the highest levels. “Tom [Ryan] put the Avengers together. It's Tom's masterpiece, and it's a great team.”

The SF/Madaket/Starlight group was a minority shareholder with WinStar and China Horse Club in Triple Crown winner Justify, who was purchased at Keeneland September for $500,000 and sold for $75 million to Coolmore in 2018. After breaking away and enlisting Lanni, the Avengers struck gold again at Keeneland that year, buying three of the 25 colts that would go on to win Grade l races from the catalogue: Eight Rings, a $520,000 yearling who was sold to Coolmore for $10 million; Charlatan, a $700,000 purchase that was sold to stand at Hill 'n' Dale for $10 million; and Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic, who was purchased for $350,000 and sold to Spendthrift at a valuation of $36 million.

There were 10 fillies catalogued in the sale that also won Grade l races, and though Lanni didn't buy them there, he did buy two of them at the juvenile sales: Gamine, with Baffert, for $1.8 million at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic; and the previously mentioned War Like Goddess, for $30,000 at OBS June.

Lanni is from Canada, where he cut his teeth with Standardbreds, and some of his friends in the X-Men partnership for which Moira races go back a ways with him from those days. Lanni said Moira was one of seven yearlings he purchased for the first X-Men partnership. For the second batch, 2-year-olds this year, he already has Grade l winner Last Call, another English Channel filly. Bred by English Channel Co-Owners & Jodi Cantwell, Last Call, also co-owned by SF, was bought for $30,000 at Keeneland September last year and won the Natalma S. at Woodbine last month.

“I shop the entire catalog, from the first day to the last,” Lanni said. “I don't want to miss a single horse, and you never know where you'll find that good one.”

He seems to have a knack for finding them wherever they are, in all price ranges.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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“There are a lot of emotions leading up to this race,” said winning trainer Kevin Attard, who was celebrating his first Queen's Plate. “It is something that I have cherished a long time while I was growing up. I decided I wanted to be the best and I think this puts me in a special group of trainers. It's a dream come true.”

With the weather in the Toronto area flitting between sparkling to threatening in equal measure in the 48 hours leading up to the Plate, the early part of the card was greeted with a mixture of sun and clouds, albeit ample humidity. However, in the moments leading up to the race, the weather turned decidedly more menacing as a wall of black clouds loomed in the distance.

After her Oaks debacle when the filly lost a shoe and bent the other one, prompting the last-minute decision to run minus hind shoes, Attard decided to switch up the game plan this time, keeping his stable star confined to Woodbine's indoor saddling enclosure while the other 10 sophomores assumed their customary spots in the outside paddock under the sweeping willows. Removed from much of the hoopla of a big race day, Moira still became slightly edgy while having a tongue tie fitted and bit later while stepping onto the track.

“She saddled really well. And I didn't want to put on the [tongue tie] at the barn because it's such a long post parade and it drags out and it was hot weather, so I decided to do it in the paddock,” Attard explained. “When I school her, she's been great. But today she was being a little bit difficult, the crowd got her a little wound up. We got that on her, and I could see when she was walking out to the track that she was getting a little bit edgy. She knew today was a different day. But the beauty of it is, considering all of her [antics], she still stays mentally focused and she knows that she still has a job to do. That's what defines her as a good horse.”

Breaking from post 8, Moira was quickly tucked in by Rafael Hernandez, who also had the option to ride narrowly favored GIII Marine S. winner Rondure (Oxbow), however, opted to stay with the 9-5 filly. She drafted inside horses near the back of the field, rating kindly as 14-1 chance The Minskter (English Channel) led the way over Ironstone (Mr Speaker) and Sir For Sure through a sensible :23.75 quarter. Still moving comfortably, about seven lengths behind the pace, through a half in :47.58, the $150,000 Keeneland September graduate started to pick up the tempo leaving the backstretch but appeared to hit another gear approaching the quarter pole. As Ironstone took a slight edge over The Minskter, Moira was gobbling up real estate on the outside, taking control straightening for home. From there, it was just a question of how far as the filly sprinted clear. While receiving several right-handed reminders from Hernandez in the stretch, she strolled home the easiest of winners, galloping out with as much zest and authority as she had in the body of the race.

“It's unbelievable,” said Hernandez, who teamed with fellow Adena Springs product Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) to win the 2015 Plate. “You know, with good horses, you can get out of trouble so quick and always get a second, or third gear like her. Sit off, save ground, and when you want to get out of the horses in front of you, you just move out, and she gave me everything. She gave me another gear, and when we turned for home, she was unbelievable. She's something else. She is so special.”

Hernandez, emotional after the win, gave tribute to his family, headed by his late grandmother.

“This win is for her,” he said. “My whole my family enjoyed the moment. It's unbelievable for me, because this is home.  [Canada] is home now and to be the first one for Kevin, it makes it so special.”

After 10 previous tries, Attard, who finished third with H C Holiday in 2021, recorded his best finish previously with Alezzandro, runner-up in the 2007 renewal. Attard is the son of longtime Woodbine horseman Tino Attard, and the nephew of Sid Attard, who saddled Shamateur (Shaman Ghost) in this year's Plate.

“Being in this business, the amount of time I spend at the barn, my family sacrifices a lot.” Attard admitted. “For them to be there and to share in that moment, it means a lot.”

Simmering with the raw emotion of the moment, he added, “My dad put me in this position. He taught me everything I know. He sacrificed part of his career to put me in a position to succeed, he gave up part of his business and started taking a back seat to me, so I can't thank him enough. I love him so much. I wouldn't be here with him obviously.”

With the win, Moira became the eighth filly to notch the Oaks-Plate double, joining the likes of Dance Smartly, Flaming Page, Holy Helena, Inglorious and Lexie Lou.

Making of Moira

The Attard team showed their hand early when deciding to debut the filly in the 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth S. at Woodbine last October, and she obliged with an emphatic 4 1/4-length score at 4-1. No secret the next time at even-money odds, Moira came up a half-length short to eventual Sovereign winner Mrs. Barbara (Bodemeister) over a rain-logged surface in the GIII Mazarine S., and concluded the season among nominees for a divisional championship. Dusted off for her 3-year-old season, she came from off the pace to annex the seven-furlong Fury S. June 11 before blowing the doors off in the July 24 Woodbine Oaks over nine panels.

“We were getting her ready in the spring, and we were having difficulty getting her ready for her first race at two turns, so we decided the Fury was going to be her first race back,” recalled Attard. “I talked to [co-owner] Donato [Lanni] and told him I'd like to run her in the Fury and sit on her until the Oaks. I would have her ready for the Oaks and that would give us four weeks until the Plate. It'll be the third race off the shelf and she will be a fresh horse.”

Now a winner of the first leg in Canada's Triple Crown, the second jewel–the Sept. 13 Prince of Wales S. at Fort Erie–beckons.

“I think she's an improving filly,” he said. “I don't think we've reached the bottom of her yet.”

“Honestly, we have not discussed past this race. We'll enjoy this money and we'll sit down and decide what's next.”

He continued, “As a local trainer, obviously I'd love to put my name down beside a Triple Crown horse if I could. But there are a lot of people involved, so we'll have to discuss it, but to have a Triple Crown horse would be special.”

'X' Marks the Spot

The ownership group behind the Queen's Plate winner, while diverse, holds as much Canadian flavor as Moira herself. Stewarding the partnership is Donato Lanni, very well known in racing circles south of the border. As one of the principal buyers behind the powerhouse arsenal that often find their way into Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's barn, Lanni, a Montreal native, came up with the idea to unite a group of Canadian-based friends and form X-Men Racing. Also brought into the fold were other household names in U.S. racing–Madaket Stables and SF Racing–who are part of the Classic colt-focused partnership Lanni buys for nicknamed The Avengers.

“We put a fund together and we bought a dozen horses and she was one of them,” explained Lanni, who fielded a congratulatory phone call from Baffert in the moments leading up to meeting the press. “They're all guys that are in the horse business, some of them in the Standardbred business. But what they all have in common, besides being friends with me, is that they're all lucky. They have won many of the biggest races in harness racing, every major Standardbred race. They've been very lucky guys. So, I decided to put together guys that I like, and they had to be lucky.

“She stayed at Margaux Farm, in Kentucky over the winter. We took our time, we didn't rush her, never thought we'd be here today. But when you buy them, that's what you dream about.

“She is an unassuming filly. You would never look at her and think she's a freak, but she's got gears. She just takes off.

“We bought her during a COVID year, so there was really nobody there to buy Canadian breds. I didn't see anybody else really buying those, except maybe Mark Casse who would buy them. So we really got lucky with the price.”

Pedigree Notes:

Moira, who is one of 203 black-type winners for Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, is named after Catherine O'Hara's quirky character on the hit show Schitt's Creek.

Lanni explained, “[My wife] likes the character on Schitt's Creek, Moira Rose, but we never thought after we named her that she was going to be a bitch. And she fits the character.”

The $150,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase is out of two-time Gulfstream Park stakes winner and GSP Devine Aida, who is also responsible for multiple stakes-winning Jungle Cry (Animal Kingdom). Devine Aida is also responsible for an unraced 2-year-old full-brother to Moira named Runaway Charlie and Sir Prancealot (Ire) colt foaled earlier this season. She was bred back to Constitution.

Sunday, Woodbine, Canada
QUEEN'S PLATE S., C$1,001,200, Woodbine, 8-21, (C), 3yo,
1 1/4m (AWT), 2:01.48 (NTR), ft.
1–MOIRA, 121, f, 3, by Ghostzapper
              1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by
                               Unbridled's Song
              2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
              3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC and SF Racing LLC; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard;
J-Rafael Manuel Hernandez. C$600,000. Lifetime Record: GSP,
5-4-1-0, $902,128. *1/2 to Jungle Cry (Animal Kingdom), SW,
$114,340.
2–Hall of Dreams, 126, g, 3, Lemon Drop Kid–Hallnor, by Horse
Chestnut (Saf). ($27,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKOCT). O-Gary Barber,
Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch and Leonard Schleifer; B-Joey
Gee Thoroughbreds (ON); T-Mark E. Casse. C$200,000.
3–Sir for Sure, 126, g, 3, Sligo Bay (Ire)–Serena's Rose, by My
Way Only. O-Heste Sport Inc.; B-Norse Ridge Farms (ON);
T-Mark E. Casse. C$100,000.
Margins: 7, 2, 1HF. Odds: 1.80, 16.65, 17.10.
Also Ran: Ironstone, Dancin in Da'nile, Rondure, Hunt Master, Duke of Love, The Minkster, Causin' Mayhem, Shamateur.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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An impressive debut graduate from out of the clouds in the C$250,000 Princess Elizabeth S. here last October, the bay settled for second as the favorite in the GIII Mazarine S. Nov. 28. She resurfaced in the seven-panel Fury S. for Ontario-breds June 11, and got the job done narrowly over Pioneer's Edge (Pioneerof the Nile). Looming large here on the stretch back out to two turns and with $1.6-million New York-based, Chad Brown-trained maiden Sahlabiya seemingly the main danger, the dark bay was unhurried early while saving ground. She was guided off the fence a bit and ridden to keep pace down the backside. Rider Ramon Hernandez hit the gas early and split horses into the home turn, and Moira blew past Sahlabiya like she was standing school before running up the score in a time that was nearly a second faster than the boys went in the Plate Trial two races earlier.

“She was push button in the first turn,” said Hernandez. “We just sat there and saved as much ground as we could and made our move down the backside. I knew horses were going to be stopping in front of me, so I just tried to get her away from them. By the three-eighths, I was already where I wanted to be. Turning for home, I just talked to her and said, 'Come on Moira, it's all about you. Go get it.' And she just exploded. I have to give a lot of thanks to this excellent group, the owners, for giving me an opportunity to get back on this amazing filly. From the first day I got on in the morning I was impressed. Today, she showed up. She just played with the rest of the field.”

Of the pre-race incident, trainer Kevin Attard said, “It was crazy. You know, she's always been a little bit kind of antsy in the paddock. We school her a lot and she just kind of had a little episode and unfortunately stepped on her hind foot and kind of knocked off the one shoe and kind of bent the other shoe. The paddock blacksmith tried to adjust it and fix it. I appreciate his effort. So, we elected to run her without the hind shoes. I wasn't too concerned with it being a synthetic surface. But obviously you're not accustomed to doing it, so it's always a little bit in the back of your head anyways. She's a class horse and I've always thought highly of her, and she obviously ran to that today.”

Moira, named for the character Moira Rose from the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek, acted up once more for good measure as her picture was being taken in the winner's circle.

While fillies have a particularly stellar record in the first leg of Canada's Triple Crown, top bloodstock agent and Montreal native Donato Lanni–the organizer of X-Men Racing–would not yet commit to the Aug. 21 Queen's Plate.

“It's going be up to her and Kevin,” Lanni said. “It may be great to run in that race again. Fillies have won it before, but we're just so lucky to be here today. So, let's take one race at a time and thank you for Woodbine. You do a great job here and it's a great place to come.”

The winner has a 2-year-old full-brother named Runaway Charlie and her dam fetched $400,000 back in foal to Ghostzapper at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Devine Aida–a stakes winner on both dirt and turf–lost that foal of 2021, but produced a Sir Prancealot (Ire) colt this term. She is a daughter of the speedy GSW Passion (Came Home).

WOODBINE OAKS PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER, C$500,800, Woodbine, 7-24, (C), 3yo, f, 1 1/8m (AWT), 1:49.78, ft.
1–MOIRA, 121, f, 3, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by Unbridled's Song
2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC & SF Racing LLC; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard;
J-Rafael Manuel Hernandez. C$300,000. Lifetime Record:
4-3-1-0, $440,331. *1/2 to Jungle Cry (Animal Kingdom), SW,
$114,340.
2–Sister Seagull, 121, f, 3, Hard Spun–Sweet Kitten, by Kitten's
Joy. ($95,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Sean & Dorothy Fitzhenry; B-Sean Fitzhenry (ON);
T-Catherine Day Phillips. C$100,000.
3–Sahlabiya, 121, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Orchard Beach, by Tapit.
($1,600,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Shadwell
Stable; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Chad C. Brown.
C$50,000.
Margins: 10 3/4, 4 3/4, NO. Odds: 1.00, 9.80, 4.60.
Also Ran: Souper Flashy, Pioneer's Edge, Swoop to Finish, Maccool's Girl, Bizymaline, Curlin Candy, Loaded Vixen. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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In a field of ten, Moira and jockey Justin Stein settled in the back of the pack early, running next-to-last around the first turn and into the backstretch as Mo Touring led the field through fractions of :24.55 for the first quarter and :49.07 for the first half-mile. As the field approached the far turn, Stein moved his filly between horses to find running room entering the stretch.

Still in traffic, Stein took Moira between horses again entering the Woodbine straight, running on the outside of Mo Touring and Souper Flashy and accelerating into the lead. At the wire, the first-time starter had stretched her advantage out to nearly 4 1/2 lengths, winning the Princess Elizabeth Stakes in 1:44.63. Souper Flashy was second and Intro was third.

Find this race's chart here.

Moira paid $10.60, $6.70, and $5.00. Souper Flashy paid $7.90 and $5.80. Intro paid $11.90.

Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Moira is out of the Unbridled's Song mare Devine Aida. She is owned by X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables, and SF Racing LLC. Consigned by Hidden Brook, the 2-year-old filly was sold to X-Men Racing for $150,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With her win in the Princess Elizabeth, Moira has career earnings of $121,292.

The post Moira Wins Princess Elizabeth Stakes In First Start At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Classic Empire colt topped the session when sold for $310,000 to Mike Ryan, agent from the consignment of St George Sales, agent (video).

Offered as Hip 1398, the bay colt is out of the winning Bernardini mare Delay of Game, whose first foal, Spa Ready (Street Sense), was a 3 1/4-length winner on debut last month at Belmont Park. The immediate family includes U.S. and European champion 2-year-old colt Johannesburg. The session-topper was bred in New York by EKQ Stables Corp.

Four other yearlings sold for $200,000 or more during the final session, including:

• Hip 1173, a colt by Empire Maker out of Bagatelle Park (Speightstown), sold for $200,000 to Tonja Terranova, agent from the consignment of Gainesway, agent. From the immediate family of Grade 1 winner Seattle Slew, the colt was bred in Kentucky by D. H. Steve Conboy & Empire Maker Syndicate.
• Hip 1372, a filly by Empire Maker out of Curlin's Mistress (Curlin), sold for $200,000 to X-Men Racing LLC from the consignment of Gainesway, agent. Out of a full sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Curlin's Approval, the filly was bred in Florida by Happy Alter and Empire Maker Syndicate.
• Hip 1422, a filly by Constitution out of Distinct Sparkle (With Distinction), sold for $200,000 to Shepherd Equine Advisors, agent for Sanders and Hirsch from the consignment of Bluewater Sales, agent. From the immediate family of Breeders' Cup winner Very Subtle, the filly was bred in Pennsylvania by Roberta L. Schneider MD.
• Hip 1534, a filly by Nyquist out of Four Sugars (Lookin At Lucky), sold for $200,000 to Oracle Bloodstock, agent from the consignment of Eaton Sales, agent. A half-sister to multiple Grade/Group 1 placed stakes winner Gronkowski, the filly was bred in Kentucky by Diamond Creek Farm.

During the final session, 235 yearlings sold for a $7,290,900, good for an average of $31,025. The session median was $15,000. Over the course of four days of selling, 961 yearlings changed hands for $32,743,000. The average was $34,073. The four-day median was $15,000, a 15 percent increase over the median posted during the 2019 sale.

Results are available online.

The post Classic Empire Colt Leads Final Session Of Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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