His connections certainly know what it takes to win the Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most famous horse race, which will be contested on June 26 at Woodbine.
Now, Check Your Soul just has to get to the classic for his owner-breeder Charles Fipke and his Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield.
Attfield, of course, is an eight-time winner of the Plate, who also masterfully conditioned Fipke’s Not Bourbon to a victory in the 2008 ‘Gallop for the Guineas.’
Sunday at Woodbine, Check Your Soul made his Woodbine debut in the featured $100,000 Wando Stakes, over one and one-sixteenth miles. Sent postward the prohibitive 3-5 choice with Patrick Husbands aboard, Check Your Soul stalked from last early on, in a field reduced to five with the late scratch of Silverleo, as Something Extra set a pedestrian pace, galloping through an opening quarter in :25.62 before reaching the half in :51.38.
Husbands decided to push the button going into the far turn, and Check Your Soul responded by sweeping up to challenge the leaders as the field turned for home, after three-quarters was clocked in 1:15.82.
From there, the Wando was never in doubt, although the winner did run greenly through the stretch, eventually posting a two and one-half length tally over a closing Whippit, in 1:45.29. Top Prospect headed Something Extra for third, a length further back.
Check Your Soul, however, had to withstand a claim of foul by jockey Tyler Pizarro, aboard Evanderfield, alleging interference around the far turn, but the stewards disallowed the claim.
Distance will not be a problem for this Ontario-bred three-year-old colt, a product of Fipke’s former champion Perfect Soul out of Unchecked, a daughter of Unbridled.
“He ran well, didn’t he,” said Attfield. “He’ll run all day, this horse, for sure. And he’s been training very, very well. He ran a little greenly down the lane today, but he was very dominant and I’m very pleased with him.
“(Last year), he was very, very big and when I got him from the farm in Florida, he had a small chip in an ankle. We took it out and gave him the whole summer (off), which was a blessing in disguise, because I didn’t really want to run him as a two-year-old anyway. He’s a big, tall boy.”
Check Your Soul made his racing debut at Gulfstream Park in March, finishing a close eighth over a mile on the grass, before breaking his maiden at Keeneland on April 15, again on turf, as he rallied to win the mile and one-sixteenth event by a nostril.
Today was his first attempt over Woodbine’s Polytrack and he passed with flying colours.
Named for Canada’s Triple Crown champion in 2003, the Wando Stakes, now in its fourth year, was taken last year by Hotep, who went on to finish second to Big Red Mike in the Queen’s Plate.
Check Your Soul earned $72,000 for the victory, returning $3.20, $2.40 and $2.10. He combined with Whippit ($5.40, $2.70) for a $22.70 (6-1) exactor, while a 6-1-5 (Top Prospect, $2.50 to show) triactor was worth $53.60.
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