Nine horses have been nominated to the 86th Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie racetrack on September 14. The second jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown is 1 3/16 miles on the dirt and worth $400,000. The Queen’s Plate’s 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th-place finishers will try their luck on the traditional dirt track while Plate hero Safe Conduct will stay in New York to prepare for the Breeders’ Stakes on the turf on Oct. 3.
H C Holiday, who had a spot of traffic trouble when mounting a rally in the Plate, seems to be the best of the Plate also-rans as the others appear to have distance limitations. The Wales is only 1 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Plate.
Three new faces to the Triple Crown trail are the filly Curlin’s Catch, 5th in the Woodbine Oaks with a 71 Beyer Speed Figure but a stakes winner over fillies at Tampa Bay Downs on dirt with an 80 Beyer in the winter; Ready at Dawn, a turf maiden winner on the pace at Fort Erie after being claimed for $15,000; and Earle Mack’s Desert Eagle, a maiden after two starts with a 65 Beyer on Tapeta and 55 on turf.