The Champions of Canadian racing will be honoured at the 46th Sovereign Awards hosted by the Jockey Club of Canada, Thursday, April 15.
It is the second consecutive year that the Sovereigns will have to be presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to keep Ontario under a stay-at-home emergency order.
The live stream begins at 7 p.m on the Woodbine website.
The Horse of the Year title figures to come down to the probable Champion 3-year-old, MIGHTY HEART, the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales winner and one-eyed colt owned by Lawrence Cordes and trained by Josie Carroll. The colt’s remarkable rise from his erratic races early in the year to 7 1/2-length Plate winner in near record time, and then his quest for the Triple Crown, was one of the biggest racing stories of the pandemic year.
PINK LLOYD, another Canadian hero, is going for his second Horse of the Year title and once again had an amazing season, winning four of his five races, three graded sprints for Entourage Stable and trainer Robert Tiller. Pink Lloyd is odds-on to win another Outstanding Sprinter title.
SAM-SON Farms will receive a Special Sovereign Award and is also up for Outstanding Owner and Breeder and its turf stars Say the Word, Count Again and Rideforthecause are up for Sovereigns.
Carroll, Kevin Attard and Mark Casse are the finalists for Outstanding Trainer and Rafael Hernandez, Justin Stein and Patrick Husbands are up for the Outstanding Jockey trophy.
2020 Sovereign Awards Finalists
The finalists in each of the following categories are listed in alphabetical order.
Champion Two-Year-Old Female
Alda
Dreaming of Drew
Lady Speightspeare
Champion Two-Year-Old Male
Gretzky the Great
Master Spy
Ready to Repeat
Stephen
Champion Three-Year-Old Female
Artie’s Princess
Curlin’s Voyage
Merveilleux
Champion Three-Year-Old Male
Belichick
Mighty Heart
Shirl’s Speight
Champion Older Main Track Female
Painting
Souper Escape
Summer Sunday
Champion Older Main Track Male
Mr. Ritz
Pink Lloyd
Skywire
Champion Female Turf Horse
Elizabeth Way
Rideforthecause
Theodora B.
Champion Male Turf Horse
Count Again
Say the Word
Silent Poet
Champion Female Sprinter
Artie’s Princess
Boardroom
Lady Grace
Champion Male Sprinter
Not So Quiet
Pink Lloyd
Silent Poet
Outstanding Broodmare
Count to Three
Danceforthecause
Include Katherine
Outstanding Breeder
Anderson Farms Ont. Inc
Sam-Son Farm
Tall Oaks Farm
Outstanding Owner
Barber, Gary
Live Oak Plantation
Sam-Son Farm
Outstanding Trainer
Attard, Kevin
Carroll, Josie
Casse, Mark E.
Outstanding Apprentice Jockey
Alderson, Nikki
Malvaez, Maurcio
Zenteno, Edgar
Outstanding Jockey
Hernandez, Rafael Manuel
Husbands, Patrick
Stein, Justin
Digital Audio/visual and Broadcast Category:
Santino Di Paola – Dear Horse Racing
Horse Racing Alberta – Canadian Derby Year of the Mask
Woodbine Entertainment Group – The Queen’s Plate
Photograph Category:
Rusty Barton – The Race Goes on a Year Without Fans
Michael Burns – Training Before Dawn
Lisa M. Thompson – One Rider Two Horses
Will Wong – Mambointheforest
Writing Category:
Muriel Lennox – Northern Dancer: A virile stable genius – appeared TORONTO STAR, Feb. 2020
Chris Lomon – The Pep-Talking Groom, Willy, and a Queen’s Plate Crown – appeared on Ontario Racing website
Bruce McDougall – Riding for Freedom – Book on Eurico Rosa da Silva
Horse of the Year
The Horse of the Year finalists will be announced during the 46th Annual Virtual Sovereign Awards Ceremony.
Special Sovereign – Sam-Son Farm
Outstanding Groom – Michelle Gibson
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