Breeders' Stakes: 14 Go in Final Jewel of Triple Crown

King’s Plate winner PARAMOUNT PRINCE will make his turf debut in the 133rd Breeders’ Stakes on October 1 at Woodbine, the final jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. The talented three-year-old gelding owned by Michael Langlois and Gary Barber led all the way in the Plate and won for trainer Mark Casse and jockey Patrick Husbands. Over a very fast but sloppy track at Fort Erie for the second jewel of the Crown, the Prince of Wales, Paramount Prince set rapid splits and could not quite hang on, winding up third.

Now the country’s leading sophomore will tackle the toughest race of the Crown, a 1 1/2 mile tour of the big E.P. Taylor turf course with 13 rivals ready to take him on. Paramount Prince, just one of two horses coming into the Breeders’ having run in both the Plate and Prince of Wales (along with Kaukokaipuu), is by the turf-loving Society’s Chairman.

“He was really gutsy in the Prince of Wales,” said Casse. “(Trainer) Josie Carroll’s horse (Ottawa) ran head-and-head with him three-quarters of the way, and obviously, the pace was very quick, but he is what he is and that’s the way he runs. He ran his butt off, and the winner [Velocitor] ran great and deserved to win.”

Scroll to continue with content

“His breeding says he should like the grass, but we’re going to find out,” offered Casse. “We just went easy with him after the Prince of Wales. It’s coming back pretty quickly, so we didn’t feel the need to do too much with him.”

Typically a race won by a longshot because of the distance and the surface, the Breeders’ has attracted a variety of horses including three fillies. Some great fillies have won the Breeders in 132 previous runnings including Dance Smartly, who was one of four gals to win the race in a five-year period in the 1990s.

ELYSIAN FIELD, a muscular filly owned by Team Valor International and Barber and trained by Casse, won the Woodbine Oaks and then was a strong second in the Plate to her stablemate. Well bred for turf and placed on the surface, Elysian Field is fresh coming into the Breeders. TITO’S CALLING was supplemented to the Breeders’ by owner Robert Marzilli. Also by Society’s Chirman, Tito’s Calling just won the Wonder Where Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf. The third filly in the field is WICKENHEISER, who was second in the Wonder Where.

One of the most intriguing horses in the Breeders’ field is the 2022 Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in Canada, PHILIP MY DEAR, who won the Cup & Saucer and Soaring Free Stakes on turf last year but has been outrun in his Tapeta runs this year, including the Plate.

“We’re very excited to see Philip My Dear get back on the grass,” said trainer Kevin Attard. “He’s hooked some tough horses this year, but when you look back at his form, he loves running on the turf and has done exceptionally well on it. He’s coming into the race in great shape and hopefully, he’s ready to show what we know he’s capable of.”

ROGER ATTFIELD, a duo Hall of Fame trainer, has won a record nine Breeders’ Stakes and will try for a 10th with his own horse TWOWAYCROSSING, a son of English Channel. “I have wanted to try him in a long race on the grass, just to see what I’ve got,” said Attfield on the YouTube show Journeys this week.

BRITISH ARTILLERY is a full brother to 2021 Breeders’ winner British Royalty. Both horses are trained by Barbara Minshall, who owns British Artillery. The son of English Channel was recently fifth in the Toronto Cup Stakes, an open stakes race.

There are three horses on the also eligible list and one will draw in for every scratch there may be from the race.

Breeders Stakes contender Kaukokaipuu under jockey Rico Walcott breezes in preparation for the the 132nd running of the $400,000 race at Woodbine on Sunday October 1, 2023. Kaukokaipuu is trained by Tedston Holder. (Woodbine/ Michael Burns Photo)

Field for the Breeders’ Stakes (Race 9) 
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer  

1 – Kaukokaipuu – Rico Walcott – Ted Holder

2 – British Artillery – Omar Moreno – Barbara Minshall

3 – Simcoe – Christopher Husbands – Katerina Vassilieva

4 – Hemlo Gold – Eswan Flores – Elizabeth Elder

5 – Tiburon – Leo Salles – Kevin Attard

6 – Tito’s Calling (S) – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Michael De Paulo

7 – Paramount Prince – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

8 – Sammy Stone – Ryan Munger – Catherine Day Phillips

9 – Midnight in Malibu – Luis Contreras – Sid Attard

10 – Philip My Dear – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

11 – Touch ‘n Ride (S) – Kazushi Kimura – Layne Giliforte