THE MINKSTER (English Channel – Cabriole by Flatter), under David Moran, made his three-year-old debut a winning one, taking the $125,000 Queenston Stakes on Sunday at Woodbine. The 3-year-old bay colt, owned by Ray and Debbie Burke of Buffalo, NY and trained by Dan Vella, remained undefeated in three starts with his scintillating victory in a rapid 1:21.01 for seven furlongs.
The Queenston is one of the key prep races leading up to the $1 million Queen’s Plate on August 21.
This year’s edition was quick from start to finish. His Time, under Patrick Husbands, grabbed the early lead in the seven-furlong main track feature, as Moran aboard The Minkster sat just off the pacesetter, with Ironstone and mutuel choice Duke of Love occupying the third and fourth spots, respectively, through an opening quarter in :22.54.
As the seven-horse field reached the half-mile mark in :45.16, Moran then made his move, putting The Minkster on top, as Ironstone and Duke of Love maintained their positions.
Heading into the final turn, The Minkster was asked for his best run, while Ironstone, hemmed in along the rail, found daylight and began his quest to tackle the leader. Rondure, coming off a spectacular maiden-breaking performance, began to rally to the outside, as Duke of Love looked to keep pace with his rivals.
At the wire, The Minkster, sent off at a fat 8-to-1, had held on for a head score. Rondure, a son of Oxbow, finished a head in front of Ironstone for the runner-up prize, with Duke of Love taking fourth.
“He travels good,” said Moran, of last year’s Coronation Futurity winner. “I knew Patrick [jockey Husbands aboard His Time] would be in front and I was wondering if Justin [jockey Stein aboard Duke of Love] would go on. So, when I was sitting second to Patrick, I was happy. The plan was to stalk him anyway. I was happy to have Ironstone locked in on my inside. He [The Minkster] traveled lovely and I saw Patrick struggling half-way around the bend. My guy had come on the bridle at that point, so I just let him at it, and he ran right to the wire. Actually, he got a little bit bored for a couple of strides until the other ones came and then he galloped out nice again. He has matured, even in the morning, his works are very nice. Hopefully, this is a stepping-stone for the right way.”
Vella, who has two Plate triumphs to his name, in 1994 with Basqueian and in 2021 with Strait of Dover (also by English Channel), will look to net the hat trick with his sophomore who was a $52,000 yearling purchase from breeder Dr. Tan Hyka, through agent Sherry McLean at the 2020 CTHS sale.
“A good friend of mine, Mike Cooke, had him in Florida, and he did a lot of work and got him ready for us. He’s a horse that trains well in the morning and we didn’t have much trouble getting him ready. He developed a lot from two to three. Not every horse does, but he’s matured a lot. He’s training at a better level than last year, so we’re very excited.”
“He’s as good or better than anything I’ve ever had. The Plate Trial is probably our next goal.”
The Burkes, who consider themselves “half Canadian” named the colt The Minkster after seeing a mink run across their path one day. Ray Burke also has a lucky piece of sea glass in his pocket when he comes to the races.
“We’ve been in the business about five years, and we had some Kentucky-breds and those we raced for a couple of years,” noted Ray. “We teamed up with Danny and Mike Cooke down in Ocala and bought some Canadian-breds. Obviously, we are really excited about The Minkster and his development. We were very anxious waiting from age two to age three, to this day, to see that development. It’s been a long nine months, but we’re pretty happy.”
“It’s very exciting,” added Debbie. In addition to The Minkster, the Burkes also won with Where’s Neal in 2021, a colt who won the Bull Page Stakes, and this year had a win with Uncle Spider.
The Minkster’s dam, Cabriole, won six of 35 races and over $156,000 while racing for various trainers including Mark Casse, Mike DePaulo and Ross Armata.
The Minkster paid $19.10, $7.50 and $4.50 and combined with Rondure ($4.90, $3.50) for a $94.50 exactor. Ironstone ($3.60) completed a $474.40 triactor. Duke of Love rounded out a $1 superfecta worth $610.85.
– with files from Woodbine Communications
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