Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales winner and multiple champion MIGHTY HEART is back at the track and the seven-year-old had his first comeback workout on Feb. 10 at Turfway Park in Florence, KY.
Now gelded, Mighty Heart worked an easy 3 furlongs in 37.20 over the Tapeta. The son of Dramedy owned by Lawrence Cordes of Uxbridge, ON, had been training at Margaux Farm in Midway, KY before moving to Thomas’ barn.
Mighty Heart has not raced since he was seventh in the Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in March 2023. Earlier last year he won an allowance race at Tampa Bay, his first victory since 2021 when he captured his second Horse of the Year title at the Sovereign Awards. That season followed his remarkable 2020 campaign when he won the Queen’s Plate in near record time for Cordes and trainer Josie Carroll and came back to win the Prince of Wales Stakes on the dirt at Fort Erie.
Mighty Heart went to Ballycroy Training Centre last spring when it was announced that he would retire. There were offers for the horse to stand in Kentucky, according to Cordes’ daughter Angela Perrin, but the horse had retired sound.
“Larry is getting older and wants to enjoy and watch his horse doing what he loves versus potentially not being able to see his offspring produce,” said Perrin. “He was always sound; he just got some well-deserved time off to be a horse for a bit. He has come back to training thoroughly enjoying what he does and we can’t wait to see what he has to offer as a seven-year-old. There are no high expectations, we just want to let him enjoy doing what he is good at.”
Thomas, who has been a longtime trainer for Augustin Stable, has had a string of horses at Woodbine in recent years. Mighty Heart has earned $1.13 million. His story is detailed in the bestselling book Run With a Mighty Heart, available at Amazon.ca.
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