What a difference a couple of weeks make as the road to the 162nd Queen’s Plate enters its final furlong towards the August 22 Canadian classic.
One million dollars is the purse for the famous race and as it becomes more likely that graded stakes winner WEYBURN, who has topped the Canadian Thoroughbred Top 15 Queen’s Plate contenders all year, will not come north for the race, that means the 1 1/4 mile Tapeta race could be won by almost anyone.
In conversation with Canadian Thoroughbred this week, Chiefswood Stable’s racing manager Robert Landry said he will watch Weyburn train at Saratoga this coming weekend and a decision will be made with trainer Jimmy Jerksen and owners Mark and Robert Krembil about whether to come to the Plate. Weyburn landed fourth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga last weekend, just over six lengths behind champion Essential Quality.
Landry said that Weyburn, who is a very large colt, fared okay in the Jim Dandy but that the colt is more of a same-speed galloper rather than a fellow who can quicken sharply and perhaps if he had been able to extend himself earlier to the lead would have resulted in a better finish. Weyburn won the one-mile Gotham Stakes (G3) in March and was second in the Pegasus Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in June.
Should Weyburn come to the Plate it would be his first run on the all-weather Tapeta surface.
So who does that leave as the top contender for the 2021 Plate? Horses no. 2 and 3 on our last list are not near the top. STEPHEN, the Coronation Futurity winner, is off the trail with a minor issue and turf, maiden winner HOMBRE fizzled in a recent turf race at Saratoga, so he moves down the list.
The Plate Trial win by AVOMAN was solid and workmanlike, but it was a four-horse field that went very slow early and finished modestly. Still, the 83 Beyer Figure he earned, plus the fact he carried the Plate weight of 126 pounds, are appealing. Oaks winner MUNNYFOR RO, tabbed as the top Oaks contender on the CT TOP 15, did not disappoint in her victory, finishing in much faster time than the Trial and earning an 82 Beyer Figure, a career best.
It could be the Kevin Attard Plate as he could have as many as half a dozen starters. Those are allowance winner HARLAN ESTATE, Marine Stakes (G3) third HADDASSAH, MUNNYFOR RO, Plate Trial runners TRUFFLE KING and H C HOLIDAY and maiden winners LENNY K and NONNO’S LITTLE BOY.
Oh, and his son Joshua has the very honest fellow, KEEP GRINDING, as a contender trained by his grandfather Tino. Keep Grinding, a white-faced fellow by Tizway – Samsal by Consolidator was a $13,000 CTHS Ontario yearling purchase from breeder Dan Mooney of Huntington Stud Farm. Keep Grinding is the fourth foal of 3-time winner Samsal and third winner. Samsal is a half-sister to fast turf sprinter Stormy Rush.
From the United States, SAFE CONDUCT is scheduled to ship up for trainer Phil Serpe and owner WellSpring Stables.
Serpe told Canadian Thoroughbred the colt, a two-time turf winner, will work this weekend at Saratoga. Safe Conduct does not like soft turf or slop, said Serpe. He also raced without Lasix in his last two stakes starts in New York and will have Lasix available for the Plate.
Graham Motion is sending Sam-Son Farms’ DANCE SOME MO up for the Plate to give that owner a strong hand. Gail Cox trains TIDAL FORCES and Queenston Stakes winner TIO MAGICO, the latter who could be entered in the Plate.
Michael Stidham is expected to send up PALIO from Fair Hill for DARRS Inc. Palio, by Twirling Candy, won an allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on turf July 20 with his second straight 80 Beyer Figure.
GIANT WATERS, who won his maiden on the grass last weekend, is expected to enter for Track West Racing and trainer Danny Vella. He was third in the Coronation Futurity last year.
CT has put HARLAN ESTATE on top, although the son of Kantharos has yet to crack the 80 mark in Beyer Figures. He came from off a very slow pace to edge Dance Some Mo in a July 16 allowance race. SAFE CONDUCT, should he handle the Tapeta, is a factor, as is the filly MUNNYFOR RO and the improving AVOMAN.
But it’s wide open!
*1. WEYBURN (Pioneerofthe Nile) – 4th in Grade 2 Jim Dandy. Remains unlikely to ship to Woodbine for Plate. Second by a neck in the Pegasus Stakes to Mandaloun, 93 Beyer
2. HARLAN ESTATE (Kantharos) – Steadily ground out allowance win at 1 1/8 miles last week in modest time
3. SAFE CONDUCT – exits tough races on tough surfaces in New York, question on Tapeta surface. Owns 87 Beyer Figure on turf.
3. MUNNYFOR RO (Munnings) – Strong win in Oaks, 82 Beyer
4. AVOMAN (Old Forester) Won Plate Trial, will face hotter pace in Plate
5. KEEP GRINDING (Tizway) – Well named, tries hard, second in Grade 3 Marine
6. HADDASSAH (Air Force Blue) Set slow pace in Grade 3 Marine, not his preferred style
7. DANCE SOME MO (Uncle Mo) – Led late in Harlan Estate’s allowance win, missed by a nose
8. TIDAL FORCES (Malibu Moon) Lost for first time in Grade 3 Marine when he forced slow pace, not his preferred style
9. HADDASSAH (Air Force Blue) Set slow pace in Grade 3 Marine, not his preferred style
10. H C HOLIDAY (Ami’s Holiday) 4th in recent allowance/optional to older horses with 81 Beyer Figure
11. TIO MAGICO (Uncle Mo) – Front running type sped to big win in Queenston at seven furlongs
12. HOMBRE (Tourist) – Big maiden win and 83 Beyer Figure on July 4 for trainer Barclay Tagg
13. PALIO – turf allowance winner at Colonial Downs, 80 Beyer Figure
14. TRUFFLE KING – maiden was second by 3/4 in Plate Trial but disqualified
15. RIPTIDE ROCK – big win in a sprint with 88 Beyer Figure
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