Luster Shines at 167th King's Plate; Triple Crown Attempt Unlikely

You may have only received $2.50 for a win bet on the grey filly LUSTER in the 167th King’s Plate, but the display the Ontario-bred daughter of Knicks Go put on was worth much more.

Luster and American Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez flew down the Woodbine stretch and left 11 fellow Canadian-bred three-year-olds in the Tapeta dust, taking the 1 1/4 mile Plate by 7 1/4 lengths in a stunning run. Her win was the fifth by a filly in the Plate in the last 10 years and the 40th Plate win by a gal in the race’s history. These boys better pull up their polo bandages.

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Owned by Antony Beck’s Gainesway Stables in Kentucky and Andrew Rosen, a New York garment industry entrepreneur and longtime horse owner, Luster was coming off such an easy win in the $750,000 Woodbine Oaks on July 19 that bettors and fans around the world were convinced the race was hers. And, much like her journey in the Oaks, Luster, with the help of ‘Johnny V’, tucked in nicely behind the trio of longshot Fire and Wine, Kevin Attard-trained Very Special and Chiefswood Stables’ Magical Factor.

The Equibase chart says the rest:

[Luster] sauntered four wide taking the lead with the jockey statuesque in the saddle leaving the quarter pole, had the three path pulling away with a furlong to go with little asking, was tapped once on the right shoulder to keep interested with no rivals around in the late going and increased the winning margin while geared down crossing the finish line for the dominant win.

Luster’s win in 2:02.01 was good for a 102 Beyer Speed Figure over a Tapeta surface that was not yielding fast times. It was the fifth fastest in the last 20 years, but her Beyer was the highest of any Plate winner since Wando’s 111 in 2003.

That $2.50 payoff? The lowest for a Plate winner since the brilliant Alydeed in 1992.

“I knew she was special, but I certainly didn’t expect that,” said Carroll, who was winning her fourth Plate, continuing her very successful career as one of North America’s top trainers.

Gary Barber and St. Elias Stables’ (Vincent Viola) MILITARY TIME, by Gun Runner, was a very good rallying second, leading his trainer Mark Casse to say, “I was very proud of him, filly is amazing.” Paul Ryder’s 61-to-1 shot FIRE AND WINE, last year’s Coronation Futurity winner who had been beaten some 50 lengths in his three races this year, set a fast pace of 22.78, 46. 48 and 1:11.05 and plugged on for third, edging another filly, DIXIE LAW, owned by Garland Williamson, who had trouble late. DON IQUE finished a good fifth for his owner Mike Carroll.

But the filly, who could likely have a good chance at sweeping the Canadian Triple Crown, which continues at Fort Erie on the dirt in the Prince of Wales, September 7, and wraps up back at Woodbine with the Breeders’ Stakes going 1 1/2 miles on turf on Sept. 27, is not likely going to pursue that journey.

“The owners and I pretty much decided that after this, she would get a break,” said Carroll. “When she runs, she runs hard and she’s tired after.”

The Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland on the grass on October 11 would be a major goal for Luster.

Luster has raced five times this year, once a month since April, and easily won four of them. Her only career loss was a third-place finish in her first try on Tapeta in the seven furlong Ruling Angel Stakes in May. She has a career record of five wins from six races and $1,093,490.

The Prince of Wales will certainly be the next target for Military Time and seventh-place finisher Imyourmedicineman, who had a dreadful trip in the Plate.

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The tale of Luster began with Ottawa resident RAVI SUGRIM and his wife JOANNIE DAAS, the filly’s breeders. Sugrim, who owns the filly’s two-year-old half-brother by Frac Daddy, currently training at Woodbine, bought Luster’s dam Ruby Frost (The Factor) off a Facebook ad. He bred her to Gormley twice in Kentucky before setting her up with Breeders’ Cup Classic winner KNICKS GO in his first year at stud. Luster was foaled at Ron Clarkson’s farm in Mono, Ontario and sold by Sugrim and Daas as a weanling (named SWEET SELENA) for $50,000.

Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall in Kentucky bought her, renamed her Luster and sold her for $80,000 in 2024, deep into the Keeneland September sale. Ben Gowans, as agent for Gainesway and Rosen, signed the ticket with Beck’s son Andrew also present. Ruby Frost, sold to Ontario breeder Alison McLeod by Sugrim in 2024 for $3,500, is now owned by Gainesway. She has not had a foal since Sugrim’s Frac Daddy juvenile.