TODAY’S (TUESDAY,) BLOG – Just some notes from a day at the Plate
Thanks to Cindy Pierson Dulay and Terence Dulay at www.horse-races.net for photos ( I believe they might the media champs for the Queen’s Plate Fantasy pool too!)
Thanks also to NORM FILES for his cool shots.
EURICO ROSA DA SILVA likely could not have believed how slow he got to go during the early part of the Plate. if he doesn’t get the Sovereign award for top jockey this year…
QUEEN’S PLATE DAY
Wasn’t that a party?
About 32,000 folks crammed into Woodbine (apparently the track did a count as folks came in through the
makeshift gates that were put up for security) for the 151st Queen’s Plate.
We sweltered, even in the shade, even on the 5th floor of the grandstand, but we saw an exciting day of racing, a visit by Her Majesty the Queen, dressed in turquoise and we saw BIG RED MIKE power his way to a 1 1/2 length Plate score, the first for Dom Romeo and his family who race in the green and yellow silks of Terra Farm.
It was neat to watch The Queen flip through the pages of her leather-bound race program (hope she got a copy of the Queen’s Plate Souvenir magazine!) as she sat in the Royal Box and watched the two races she was there for – the Singspiel Stakes and the Plate.
The Queen toured the paddock with the throngs watching and only a selected few folks were allowed in.
If you thought interest in the Royal family has waned, think again, a large part of that 32,000 came just to
see her.
Horse racing aficionados were treated to some down-right goofy results all day long – must have been the
ridiculous heat and the speed favouring surface – and then in the big race itself, well, if you have had a
chance to watch it again, it was anti climatic as Mike went 24 and change and 49 change and that was all he
wrote!~ 91 BEYER FIGURE for the win.
HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH in the Woodbine paddock
NORM FILES PHOTO
Certainly it was a fun race, at least when you consider the winning owner is a man and his family who have been in the game a long time.
Frank Romeo is the racing manager and the grandchildren are the source of names.
Big Red Mike , the human, was there and greeted press in the press box following the race. He’s 24 and yes,
he’s tall with red hair!
But good result aside, gosh it was disappointing that no one took a shot at the lead – each rider thought they
would get the perfect stalking trip, slow splits or no.
Patrick Husbands rode a smart race – he was left stranded by his stablemate, Dark Cloud Dancer, who apparently was supposed to be a rabbit but he broke a bit slow and then was taken a good hold of by his rider – an American import, Javiar Castellano.
No one else had a shot and indeed the best runner in the race could turn out to be ROAN INISH, a gritty filly
who busted through and off the pace to be 3rd.
ROAN INISH is now off to Saratoga for the ALABAMA STAKES.
HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH, DOM ROMEO AND EURICO ROSA DA SILVA (and big, red Mike in the background
TENPINS now stands in Louisiana at Elite Thoroughbreds, he won the Philip Iselin, Wash. Park ‘Cap and over $1 million
BIG RED MIKE, a son of the Smart Strike stallion Tenpins, is a success story to for Martha and Nick Gonzalez,
nice folks from Fort Erie who now live in two separate towns to train two separate stables.
While we were surprised there was no party at their barn after the race, surely there was one at the Fort!
Woodbine enjoyed it’s biggest betting day in its history (save Breeder’ Cup day in 1996) with $6.8 million
going through the mutuels on Woodbine races.
It was a big, big day for the track which did quite okay with its show.
Okay, there were some woes – escalators breaking down, sound system was atrocious, anyone in the 5th floor
heard a lot of droning all day long without being able to understand a word, but hey, we likely won’t see that
many people at Woodbine again.
Folks who did get to meet the Queen had their troubles…(the British press seemed to be terribely lacking in things to write about..)
EXCERPT – THE MIRROR
Off with his hands!
By Rebecca Evans 6/07/2010
Everyone knows the No1 rule of royal protocol: DON’T TOUCH THE QUEEN.
That is, everyone except racetrack boss David Willmot, who made the biggest blunder possible as he hosted Her
Majesty on her Canada tour.
The 84-year-old Sovereign, an avid racing fan, was enjoying a day at the Toronto track when Mr Willmot jovially
put his arm around her as she inspected the horses.
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Then, to the horror of her courtiers, he placed his hand in the small of her back, letting it linger there
momen-tarily. The Queen, in turquoise silk jacket, matching hat and floral skirt, continued to smile and
exchange pleasantries.
But Daily Mirror royal commentator James Whitaker said: “The Woodbine track’s chairman
Read more:
DAILY MAIL
Queen keeps cool as Canadian racecourse owner commits faux pas by putting his arm round her
By Fay Schlesinger
If she was taken aback by the repeated faux pas by her Canadian fans, Her Majesty was too dignified to show it.
The Queen yesterday put up with a series of breaches of royal protocol while attending a prestigious horse race on a state visit to Canada.
They began when David Wilmot, chairman of the group that owns the racecourse, brought his hand close to the small of the Queen’s back when meeting her ahead of the Queen’s Plate Stakes race in Toronto.
