Inglorious, Canada’s outstanding three-year-old filly, provided the goose-bumps moment of the year when sent down the stretch of the prestigious Queen’s Plate by jockey Luis Contreras and proceeded to run down her male counterparts as a wave of jubilation, inspired by the momentum of the onrushing champion, washed over the grandstand.
That Queen’s Plate success, the third and final victory of her seven-race season, was the result of a hard winter’s work as trainer Josie Carroll laid the foundation for her filly to have both the stamina, and killer instinct, to take down the boys with the money on the line.
Inglorious, owned by Donna and Vern Dubinsky’s Donver Stables, started her three-year-old campaign on February 19 at the Fair Grounds in Louisiana, where she finished second to well-regarded Kathmanblu in the Grade III Rachel Alexandra Stakes.
The result propelled Inglorious into the public eye as a Kentucky Oaks (GI) contender and she became the first filly since La Prevoyante (1973) to be named the winterbook favourite for the Queen’s Plate.
Sent to post as the 6-5 favourite in the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks, Inglorious would finish fourth following a troubled trip and the connections brought the filly home to Canada to prepare for the Woodbine Oaks.
On May 15, Inglorious marked her return to Woodbine with a furious performance in the La Lorgnette Stakes. Blocked behind a wall of horses at the top of the lane, the Hennessy-Noble Strike bay, bullied her way through a narrow seam and carried Contreras to a length and a half score.
Inglorious arrived at the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser, in peak condition and Contreras handled the filly perfectly racing from mid-pack in the nine furlong main track event before launching a well-timed rally in the final turn to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Spooky Kitten.
On the undercard of the Woodbine Oaks, a dark bay colt named Check Your Soul put in a powerful performance to win the Plate Trial covering a mile and an eighth in 1:51.16, marginally faster than the 1:51.77 registered by Inglorious in the Oaks.
Speculation that the filly would run in the Queen’s Plate was soon confirmed and Contreras stood by the leggy filly, engineering a memorable trip.
Leaving from post nine, as the third-choice at odds of 9-2 in a field of 17, Contreras and Inglorious followed the favoured Check Your Soul all the way around the racetrack, but when the favourite faltered at the top of the lane, Inglorious surged four-wide and took command from the sixteenth pole to romp by 2 1/2 lengths.
The result was the pinnacle performance of the precocious filly’s season. “When you beat the boys it’s pretty special,” said Vern Dubinsky. “And to win the Queen’s Plate, one of the biggest races in Canada, was incredible.”
Following a much-needed freshening after her winter’s work and run to the Canadian classics, Inglorious would finish sixth in the Grade I Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Her season ended with a third-place effort in the Grade III Selene Stakes won by Smart Sting.
The incredible campaign by Inglorious played a pivotal role in Donver Stables earning a share of the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Owner.
“It’s Inglorious that got us there,” admits Dubinsky. “At home (in Edmonton), I don’t go by one day without somebody asking me about her. It would be great if she could come back and be good as a four-year-old.”
