The Queenston and Fury Stakes are seven-furlong stakes races that mark the official beginning of the journey to the Queen’s Plate and they take place this upcoming weekend at Woodbine.
The Queenston will mark the return of Champion 2-Year-Old of 2020, GRETZKY THE GREAT, who had mixed results in a couple of stakes races at Turfway Park in the winter and has been patiently waiting and training since March. The Nyquist colt remains high up on the Plate list based on his current record, although the 1 1/4 miles of the Aug. 22 Plate is a bit of a question.
A few Plate hopefuls were in action this past week at Woodbine. STEPHEN, the Coronation Futurity winner who has been training since the winter but then had an issue that needed a brief break recently, finished sixth, beaten 4 3/4 lengths in his long-awaited return July 3. Meeting older horses including Breeders’ Stakes hero Belichick, Stephen raced in mid-pack behind a slow pace and essentially had an even effort under Justin Stein. It was a good starting point for the son of Constitution owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling and trained by Kevin Attard.