Toronto, ON – Sam-Son Farm’s favoured Eye of the Leopard saved his best for last in the 150th edition of the historic Queen’s Plate, Sunday at Woodbine.
At the thrilling finish of the mile and one-quarter, $1 million classic for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds, Eye of the Leopard and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva just managed to collar pacesetter Mr. Foricos Two U at the wire to win by a neck, in 2:03.84 over the Polytrack.
Milwaukee Appeal, winner of the recent Woodbine Oaks, closed well between the top two to finish third, just a head behind Mr. Foricos Two U, in her bid to become the 34th filly to win the Plate and the fifth to win both the Oaks and the Plate. Tasty Temptation, the other filly in the race, finished a credible fourth, two and three-quarter lengths further back, after looming up to challenge at the head of the lane.
It was the fifth Plate win for Sam-Son, fourth for trainer Mark Frostad but first for Rosa da Silva with his first Plate mount.
Sam-Son’s Eye of the Leopard epitomizes the old axiom in racing, which simply says, ‘Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.’ The strapping son of A.P. Indy out of 2004 Woodbine Oaks winner Eye of the Sphynx won the Plate in just his fourth career start, after not racing as a two-year-old. He also became the 24th Plate Trial winner to also capture the ‘Gallop for the Guineas’.
For Sam-Son Farm, which suffered from the deaths over a year ago of Liza Samuel, wife of founder Ernie Samuel and their daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz, the victory signalled a return to glory for the traditional powerhouse in Canadian racing.
A field of 13 hopefuls went postward in Canada’s most famous horse race, as lightly-raced Reservoir and Mr. Foricos Two U dueled on the front end through fractions of :24.05, :48.11 and 1:12.93.
But lurking only a few lengths behind on the outside in fourth was the strapping Sam-Son colour bearer, in a perfect stalking position.
As the leaders swept into the far turn, Mr. Foricos Two U, with jockey Mike Smith, took over and suddenly opened a little daylight on his pursuers, as Eye of the Leopard seemed to drift out a bit after ranging up to challenge the leader. The fillies were also mounting their bids in early stretch.
However, the closing yards, ‘The Leopard’ was ‘spot on’, clawing away at the leader’s margin and finally wresting command approaching the wire, while on the outside.
“I want to thank all the people that supported me and I want to thank this horse,” said Rosa da Silva, a 33-year-old Brazilian native who has been campaigning with great success at Woodbine since 2004. “I have the greatest team in the world behind this horse. Mark (trainer Frostad) was so nice, he never pressured me. He (Eye of the Leopard) was travelling very comfortably, he just kept going at that pace, he got the job done, that is the most important thing. I am the happiest man in the world.”
Sam-Son’s other Plate wins were by Regal Intention (1988), Dance Smartly (1991), Scatter The Gold (2000) and Dancethruthedawn (2001). Frostad trained the latter two but won his first Plate in 1996 with Victor Cooley.
“We have been waiting for this day for a long time,” said owner Mark Samuel, son of Ernie and brother of Tammy. “We have had some tragic things happen to our family over the last year, and we had some spirits up above cheering that horse (Eye of The Leopard) home today. It is a special day for the family and we are going to savour this for a long time.”
“Well, it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I had hoped,” kidded Frostad. “But we managed to win the race. It was very nice. The horse ran a super race. Mr. Foricos Two U ran a super race. (Jockey) Mike Smith was trying to steal it from us, but we got there.”
For the win, his third in four starts, Eye of the Leopard pocketed $600,000 and will now likely head to the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie on July 12, over one and three-sixteenth miles on a dirt track. The third leg is the Breeders’ Stakes, at one mile and one-half over Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Turf Course, on August 2.
“No, I didn’t expect to make the lead,” said Smith, who was trying for his second Plate win aboard Mr. Foricos Two U after guiding Awesome Again to victory in 1997. “But warming up, I kind of thought that was going to happen. He was very much on his toes. When he got his head in front, he really relaxed. That was a big key. Before that, he was taking a pretty big pull. Finally, I had to let him out a little bit. It was a gallant effort in defeat. I thought if Eye of the Leopard had been on my hip instead of Milwaukee Appeal, maybe I would have held him off. He didn’t see him out there.”
Eye of the Leopard became just the second favourite in the last 15 years to win the Plate. Wando won the 2003 edition as the chalk, as well. Eye of the Leopard paid $6.70, $4.10 and $2.90, combining with Mr. Foricos Two U ($7.20, $4.60) for a $56.10 (7-5) exactor.
A 7-5-4 (Milwaukee Appeal, $3.70 to show) triactor fashioned a $183 payoff while a $1 Superfecta [7-5-4-11 (Tasty Temptation)] was worth $344.20.
Total handle on the Woodbine card was $5,779,982, compared to the $5,459,862 bet in 2008.
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