Trainer KEVIN ATTARD did not win the King’s Plate this year – his two starters were longshots – but his horses won three stakes races on Plate day and he had two other winners for a huge afternoon. All five of Attard’s wins came on the grass.
After the fillies CATTRALL (Corniche) and CELEBRITY WARRIOR (IRE) (Saxon Warrior (Jpn)) broke their maidens in races four and five for owners X-Men, Madaket and Canuck and Repole Stable respectively, Kevin’s loaded barn won its first stakes race of the day with the filly DE LA RENTA. The Oscar Performance filly was entered against boys in the $180,000 Soaring Free Stakes (Attard had firepower in the Catch a Glimpse for fillies) and was made the 8 to 5 favourite over five rivals off an impressive debut win.
Shrewdly ridden by Fraser Aebly, De La Renta, owned by Madaket and X-Men, took back and sat behind a three-horse speed battle early in the 6 1/2 furlong turf race. The fractions were fast, 21.92 and 45.12, and things were going well for De La Renta until the first time starter Speaker’s Speech came from far off the pace and zoomed around the field to take a big lead in to the stretch run.
De La Renta never gave up, however and when Aebly dropped down to hand ride the filly late, she was up to win by a nose in 1:17.19. Speaker’s Speech, from the first crop of Speaker’s Corner and trained by Mark Casse, was 5 1/4 lengths clear of Quister, owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling.
The winning Beyer Figure was unusually low for the class at 58.
A $70,000 yearling purchase from last year’s Keeneland September sale, De La Renta was bred in Kentucky by Nancy Dillman. She is the first foal for the mare Zsa Zsa Zoom, by Uncle Mo. Zsa Zsa Zoom was unplaced in two races and has two winning siblings including 12-time winner Croatian. De La Renta’s third dam is INDY FIVE HUNDRED, who won the Grade 1 Garden City Breeders’ Cup Stakes and is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner DELTA PRINCESS.
Three races later X-Men and Madaket were back with MELONI in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes for fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs. A pre-cursor to the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes next month, the Catch a Glimpse didn’t have the exciting photo finish of the Soaring Free but it had a fast time and an impressive winner.
Under Hall of Fame jockey John Velasquez, Meloni (American Pharoah)had a very awkward start from the gate and was almost 10 lengths behind the leaders early in the dash. The pace was solid with splits of 22.50 and 45.58 and Meloni turned on the jets and rallied wide around the turn and into the stretch. She zoomed away to a 3 1/2 length win in 1:15.62 for an 81 Beyer Figure. The Mark Casse-trained Canadian bred Royal Foxtrot was second over Mrs. D, traind by Steven Chircop.
Meloni was bought for $230,000 (both stakes winners for X-Men, etc, were purchased by Donato Lanni) from the 2025 Keeneland September yearling sale from breeder Bonne Chance Farm, LLC in Kentucky. The filly is from the War Front mare Black Canary, a stakes placed filly whose first foal GOLDEN CANARY won the Soaring Free Stakes in 2023.
Attard’s fifth winner on the afternoon came in the King Edward Stakes with 2025 Champion Turf Male GAS ME UP (Hard Spun).
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