QUEEN’S PLATE FIELD

QUEEN’S PLATE 160 TOPS 13-RACE, STAKES LADEN SATURDAY AT WOODBINE

1 1/4 miles. Tapeta. Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. $1,00,000. Winner goes on one of the most famous ledgers of major sports winners in Canada.

AVIE’S FLATTER will be favoured for the 160th Queen’s Plate (post time Saturday about 5;36 p.m.) and there was a bit of a buzz when Ivan Dalos’ colt drew selection order 14 of 14 before the post position selection process on Thursday.

The colt was left with post 14 which, with the very long run to the first turn, should allow US import rider Javier Castellano to situate his colt in a stalking position or in mid-pack.

Avie’s Flatter’s trainer, JOSIE CARROLL, is set to be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in August and she has won 2 Quen’s Plate. She has also come close with horses owned by Dalos and you can be sure she dearly wants him to get his first Plate win.

The colt has raced twice this year, both on grass and both in Kentucky, and he passed up the Plate Trial to come in fresh.

The probable second favourite will be SKYWIRE (he’s actually listed as third choice in the morning line) the selection of many published handicappers and a colt from the powerful Gary Barber and Mark Casse team (2 Plate wins). Skywire, co-owned by Toronto’s Lou Tucci, is one of 4 horses in the race bred by the late Bill Graham of Caledon east.

California invader ONE BAD BOY, foaled at Ron Clarkson’s farm in Ontario. ONE BAD BOY is listed as second favourite in the morning line odds and this speedy colt will race with blinkers off and have Kentucky Derby winning rider Flavien Prat on board.

DESERT RIDE, the lone filly, will start from the rail, selected by owner Rick Balaz of Sam-Son Farms. “That’s where Steve wants to be” said Balaz in reference to jockey Steve Bahen who rode the filly to the Woodbine Oaks victory three weeks ago. Fillies have won the last 2 Plate and tend to have a good record in the race.

The Oaks, held on the same day as the Plate Trial, won by Pay for Peace, went in much faster time than the Trial.

After those top 4, a win by any other horse in the 14 horse field would be considered a considerable upset. There are 3 horses listed at 50 to 1 and three at 30 to 1.

The POST POSITION DRAW on Thursday allowed attendees to meet some of the participants and MARK and TINA CASSE  were there. Casse, fresh off sending out the winners of the Preakness (war of Will) and Belmont (Sir Winston) praised Woodbine, his ‘home’ track and said he thinks “Skywire will be tough to beat”: and Federal Law “will not be on the lead”.

Longshots or no, there are some excited local owners who do not have big stables in the Plate.

The Di Scola Boys, Joe, Mark and John have HE’S A MACHO MAN in the field, a livery chestnut colt who trainer Josie Carroll calls her ‘sleeper’.

“We are really pumped,’ said Joe DiScola. “This is a fantastic sport to be a part of it and we are blessed to be around all these great horsepeople.”

JIM LAWSON, president/CEO of Woodbine Entertainment, spoke of the opening of the inner turf course on Friday (1 race Friday, 2 on Saturday) and the autumn=launch of DARK HORSE, a new horse racing ‘app’ that is developed for new racing fans.

The best quote from the Queen’s Plate draw?

That goes to jockey Steve Bahen (rider of Desert Ride) whose wife Rachel Halden trains Pay for Peace.

“I’m sleeping with the enemy.”

Post Horse                Trainer Jockey M/L Odds

1 Desert Ride (filly)    Neil Howard Steven Bahen 8-1
2 Moon Swings          Michael De Paulo Jesse Campbell 30-1
3 Krachenwagen       Angus Buntain Jeffrey Alderson 50-1
4 Pay for Peace          Rachel Halden Rafael Hernandez 15-1
5 One Bad Boy           Richard Baltas Flavien Prat 7-2
6 Lucas n’ Lori            Kevin Attard Kazushi Kimura 50-1
7 Federal Law             Mark Casse Jamie Spencer 15-1
8 He’s a Macho Man Josie Carroll Patrick Husbands 15-1
9 Suitedconnected     Robert Earl Barnett Gary Boulanger 50-1
10 Skywire                   Mark Casse Eurico Rosa Da Silva 4-1
11 Tone Broke              Steve Asmussen Luis Contreras 6-1
12 Jammin Still           Kevin Attard Alan Garcia 30-1
13 Rising Star              Michael De Paulo Justin Stein 30-1
14 Avie’s Flatter          Josie Carroll Javier Castellano 5-2

Drawing the selection order with ReThink Breast Cancer’s Emily Piercell, track announcer Robert Geller, and racing secretary Scott Lane. terence Dulay – horse-races.net

BRISNET FREE PPS: http://www.brisnet.com/php/bw_pdf_viewer.php?track=WO&race=10&param1=4740&param2=2291&param3=1756530

MORE PLATE STUFF FROM THOROUGHBLOG THIS WEEK:

*Historical Beyer Speed Figures and recent form of starters – https://canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog/plate-week/

*Where did the 2019 Plate starters come from?

AVIE’S FLATTER – Owner and breeder Ivan Dalos from Toronto won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder at the 2018 Sovereign Awards, his first. He has raced champions and has come close to winning the Plate with AMIS GIZMO and AMI’S HOLIDAY.

This guy is his best chance and trainer Josie Carroll has been training him up to the race after two US outings on the turf.

Dalos bred his mare Avie’s Empire to the A.P. Indy stallion FLATTER to get this bay colt who has won 4 of 6 races.

DESERT RIDE – The lone filly is a Sam-Son Farms homebred by Candy Ride (ARG) from the Distorted Humor mare Fun in the Desert, whose half brother EYE OF THE LEOPARD is a Queen’s Plate winner.

FEDERAL LAW – Gelding was bred by Jim Dandy Stable of Jim Lawson and this Scat Daddy gelding from the Strong Hope mare Gravelly Bay was a $220,000 Keeneland yearling. He was also offed as a 2-year-old in training at Goffs UK in April but was bought back for $261,000.

His second dam is Outstanding Broodmare in Canada DESTROY, dam of three stakes winners and daughter of the great Canadian mare ETERNAL SEARCH.

HE’S A MACHO MAN – Longtime owner and breeder and trainer PAUL BUTTIGIEG bred this colt by Mucho Macho Man from the Lemon Drop Kid mare Amelia Go Home. Bought for $47,000 at the CTHS Ontario sale. Buttigieg bought Amelia Go Home as a yearling in 2013 in October in Kentucky for $30,000. She never raced. Her first foal was an Old Forester filly Buttigieg bought back for $12,000. He’s a macho Man is her second foal. The DiScola Boys own this improving colt.

KRACHENWAGEN – Bred by Derek Buntain and raced by the family’s Greenoaks Farm this is an Ontario bred by Ontario sire Head Chopper from the Trajectory mare Plantana who never raced but has produced three useful sprinters.

LUCAS N’ LORI was bred by SILVER SPRINGS STUD, owned by Steve Johnson in Kentucky and Campbellford’s GARRY PARR. This gelding is from the mare HONG KONG DANCER who was 4th in the Woodbine Oaks, 14 lengths behind EYE OF THE SPHYNX, who is the granddam of DESERT RIDE!

HONG KONG DANCER raced for owner Peter Ho and she has had a number of foals and a couple of minor winners. She was bred to EXHI (maria’s Mon) in  2015 and that stallion, who won the Lexington Stakes, Marine and Victoria Park Stakes has been at stud at numerous different farms. He is currently in arkansas.

MOON SWINGS was bred by the late Bill Graham, foaled at Windhaven in caledon East and is by maibu Moon from England swings by Kitten’s Joy. He was a $120,000 yearling at Keeneland Sept. 2017

ONE BAD BOY was bred by Ron Clarkson and is a Twirling Candy ridgling from the Stormy Atlantic mare Cumulonimble. The mare was a multiple stakes winner in Illinois bred races in Chicago and she preferred races up to 1 1/16 miles. She was bought in 2013 for $60,000 by Clarkson at the Keeneland November sale and he sold that first foal, by Majestic Warrior, for $5,500.

The mare has since produced MS BAD BEHAVIOR  – sold b Clarkson for $75,000 and now earner of $320,000 as a miler. He sold a yearling last year at the CTHS sale from this mare to Derek Chin for $90,000.

ONE BAD BOY was a $65,00 (US) Keeneland sept. yearling.

PAY FOR PEACE – Bred by trainer Brian Lynch who trained the dam Dancing Bay, a stakes placed gal owned by Dansanray Stables. Dancing Bay, by Ontario sire Sligo Bay is out of a Bold Executive mare and she has rock solid Ontario breeding. Pay for Peace, a dark bay gelding is owned by Americans Team Penney and Carem Stables and is by Ontario sire SILENT NAME (JPN).

RISING STAR was born at Bill Graham’s Windhaven along with Moon Swings, Skywire and Jammin Still. This guy’s mum, Purple Trillium, a winning daughter of turf champion mare Perfect Sting, was bought by Graham carrying Rising Star,a  son of Ghostzapper, for $100,000. Graham then sold the Ghostzapper guy for $325,000 as a yearling. Quite a score.

Rising Star was claimed for $40,000 in April.

SKYWIRE – one of four raised at Windhaven in Caledon east and he is by Afleet Alex from the Gone West mare Meandering Stream. Graham bought Meandering Stream for $260,000 from none other than SAM-SON FARMS in foal to Giant’s Causeway in 2007. He sold a handful of her foals for not much more than the $260,000. Colebrook Farms in Ontario raced a son of this mare, Conspire.

SKYWIRE was a $47,000 yearling and then bought the next year for $45,000 as a 2-year-old in training.

His 3rd dam is the great Canadian broodmare NO CLASS.

TONE BROKE – Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry (Dixie Moon, Mr. Havercamp) bred this dark bay colt from their mare MENDOCINO BEANO,a daughter of Smart Strike bred by the Fitzhenrys. Mendocino Beano was stakes placed and she is the dam of fast miler STALLION HEIRESS.

JAMMIN STILL is yet another Bill graham creation and he was an $87,000 yearling purchase and by Take Charge Indy from Cat’s Garden by Tale of the Cat. Graham raced Cat’s Garden.

SUITEDCONNECTED is from the first crop of foals by Ontario sire ROOKIE SENSATION who stands at Adena Springs. He is from the mare KALEIDOSCOPE KERRY, owned by the late Domenic Triumbari who was stakes placed and by champion One Way Love. This is a total Ontario bred female family and this 3-year-old has several winning siblings. He is owned by Joe Triumbari.