Woodbine Wrap, My Boy Prince Solidifies Plate Favouritism

MY BOY PRINCE (Cairo Prince) scratched and clawed his way to victory in the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday and kept his spot at the top of the list of King’s Plate contenders. The 165th Plate is set for August 17.

Saturday’s two big events, the Plate Trial followed by the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks for Canadian-bred three-year-old fillies, pared down the probable Plate field, although bettors and fans may be looking for horses who didn’t win those two races as their Plate bets.

Gary Barber’s My Boy Prince, trained by Mark Casse, hopped at the start of the Trial and suddenly found himself almost three lengths behind the six rivals in the 1 1/8 mile race. Jockey Sahin Civaci allowed the grey colt to gallop along wide as they moved up to third behind front runners Friendly Ghost and Piper’s Factor.

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Into the stretch, My Boy Prince gathered his stride and wore down the leaders while second time starter and maiden Rafaroo rallied from the back. My Boy Prince won by 1 1/4 lengths over Rafaroo with Friendly Ghost a game third. The time of 1:51.12 was good for an 87 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.

Murry Smith bred My Boy Prince who is out of the Silent Name (Jpn) mare Hopping Not Hoping. My Boy Prince was the yearling sale topper two years ago at $115,000.

Meanwhile, the Woodbine Oaks, also at 1 1/8 miles, went in virtually the same time with a bit of a slower late pace and Kin’s Concerto, by Mendelssohn, earned an 80 Beyer Figure.

Chiefswood Stable manager Robert Landry said after the Oaks that it was not likely that Kin’s Concerto would point to the Plate, but perhaps if they look at what is a fairly light list of solid contenders for the 1 1/4 mile classic, they could change their minds.

Four fillies from the Oaks are on Canadian Thoroughbred‘s list of Plate contenders. A Little Frisky (Army Mule), also trained by Josie Carroll, ran perhaps the best race of anybody in the Oaks as she was very wide all the way and landed fourth.

The two Mark Casse-trained colts who finished first and third in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes, Essex Serpent and Midnight Mascot, looked very strong for Plate honours. Both guys are owned by Penny and Manfred Conrad of Wellesley, ON.

Essex Serpent, by Honor Code, worked a very sharp 5 furlongs on Sunday in 1:00 3/5, a bullet for the morning.

Both Friendly Ghost (Outwork) and Rafaroo (Hard Spun) were good in the Trial. The former was under a hard hold in just his third career race and first around two turns. He was unlucky to have to set the pace, but he dug in under Justin Stein. Sue Leslie owns Friendly Ghost whose dam is a half-sister to Kin’s Concerto (making them nephew and aunt). Rafaroo, making only his second career start, was held in high regard coming into the race by Stronach Stables and he ran to that thinking. Harold Ladouceur trains and Ryan Munger rode.

The Plate top 15 is listed below.

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Not only did Mark Casse win seven races in various parts of North America on Saturday (Plate Trial, United Nations, Grade 3 Trillium Stakes, etc.) but the Woodbine barn won seven races last week. Jockey Sahin Civaci had a stunning week with eight winning rides (two stakes). Apprentice Pietro Moran won seven races.

Sahin now leads all Woodbine jockeys with 44 wins over Rafael Hernandez, 41, and Kazushi Kimura, 35.

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Get the fans to bet. That is the challenge with tracks more than ever and Woodbine Oaks day, which went head-to-head with Saratoga, Monmouth and Del Mar, had wagering of $7.3 million, compared to $9.4 million a year ago (when the race was on a Sunday). The two days of the weekend amassed $12.2 million in wagering compared to last year’s total of $16.3 million.

There isn’t a better time for tracks to focus much more on the wagering aspect of the sport, teaching people to read the DRF, track program and the science of race handicapping.

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Claiming rule in action – Woodbine horsepeople claiming horses are utilizing the new rule allowing claimed horses to be inspected by a veterinarian following a race.

On Sunday, five of six claimed horses were checked by a vet after their races and two horses ended up on the vet’s list. Chairman Rainbow, claimed by Alison Jennings, did not pass the vet exam and Jennings declined the claim which was then invalidated. Competitive Touch was claimed by Phil Hall who declined the claim when the horse did not pass the vet exam. On Thursday, a claim of Hurricane Gizmo was invalidated.