The Plate Trial and Woodbine Oaks on Saturday at Woodbine will determine much of the makeup of the most famous Canadian race, the KING’S PLATE, which will be run for the 165th time on August 17.
There are a few Plate hopefuls not in either of the two races, but because of the continent-wide horse population issue, this is a very lean year for top of the crop Canadian-bred three-year-olds, fillies or males.
MY BOY PRINCE, the Champion two-year-old colt or gelding of 2023, has been the early favourite for the Plate since his super third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita last year. The diminutive grey son of Cairo Prince, owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, has been perfect at Woodbine this year as he won two sprint stakes easily.
Now comes his biggest test to date: 1 1/8 miles on the Tapeta.
How big of a test it will be is not clear since the colt has more earnings than all of his six rivals combined, plus he could be the lone speed just as his older stablemate Paramount Prince was a year ago, when he strolled to wins in the Trial and Plate.
Two of his competitors are maidens: Beautiful Sky, a filly, could not get into the Oaks (yet) and is stuck on the also-eligible list, and Stronach Stables’ Rafaroo who debuted on June 15 in a seven furlong sprint and was second.
No More Options (Frac Daddy) is the other stakes winner in the field as he took the Frost King at 6 1/2 furlongs last fall before he was third in the Coronation Futurity behind Babbo (off the Plate trail) and Piper’s Factor (in the Trial). Piper’s Factor was all the rage when he won a 1 1/16 mile optional claiming race with an 85 Beyer Figure (according to Daily Racing Form) but he fared poorly in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes.
Jokestar is a maiden winner who was third to the older horse Junipero Serra last time in an allowance/optional claiming race. Friendly Ghost came off the layoff to win his maiden in his second career start June 9 with a 76 Beyer Figure.
The Plate Trial is race 6 set for 3: 36 p.m.
Field for the $150,000 Plate Trial (Race 6)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Beautiful Sky (S) – Fraser Aebly – Mike De Paulo
2 – No More Options – Edgard Zayas – Zeljko Krcmar
3 – Jokestar – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Kevin Attard
4 – Piper’s Factor – Patrick Husbands – Katerina Vassilieva
5 – My Boy Prince – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
6 – Friendly Ghost – Justin Stein – Evette Chartrand-Hoek
7 – Rafaroo – Ryan Munger – Harold Ladouceur
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