The Queens Plate
The Canadian Thoroughbred Residency is a proud sponsor of first anaugaral Queens Plate
The Oldest Active Race In North America
The Queen’s Plate (named the King’s Plate from 1901 to 1952, when the reigning monarch was male) is Canada‘s oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860.[1] It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America.[2] It is run at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles for a maximum of 17 three-year-old Thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer, normally in June or July, at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke, Ontario, and is the first race in the Canadian Triple Crown.
Let’s have a look at the field for today’s Queens Plate
#6 ORANGE FACED GOD – ontracinge stables 12-1
Orange Faced God is the reigning turf 2 year old Canada Sovereign award winner , and has been lightly run so far this his 3 year old season. His first two starts did not go as planned. He was improving and getting stronger , but the competition was much saltier than he had been facing, and looking like a tired colt when fading in both. He was shelved, and prepped for the big race. He might need at least one or two before being a real threat though, and will try a new surface this time in the newly developed Tapeta poly course at the Ontario track. There is always a shot, and he is capable.
#8 CAPE WASHINGTON – desertwine stables 7-2
Cape Washington was one of the early favorites to win a sovereign award, but ran into a few hot shots who also had a good chance, and on that day anyhow, had to settle for 4th, and watched his Sovereign chances go down the drain. The winner that day went on to become the Canadian Sovereign Dirt winner, and both the second and the third place finishers have decided not to join the plate. This is a valued opportunity as he should go off as the early favorite in the race. He has been running very well in his first two attempts this year just missing in the Oblivious Dirt Route when finishing 2nd and trying out his luck in a G2 event in his last where he finished a well deserved 4th in a 14 horse field. A big chance here.
#4 ILIAD SADLER – mrxrayz17 stables 7-1
Iliad Sadler tried his luck in the Canadian Sovereign Stakes at the end of last year , and although the result was not what they were hoping for , he did run quite well running in a large field and making up a ton of ground down the stretch to finish 7th of 19 by 5 and a quarter lengths. The first two were long gone by this point. He at the time was considered a bit of an outsider from the main contenders, and I guess again you can still say the same , but here he is, hanging around just waiting for his chance. He has been running at lower levels for the most part t his year, but popped a nice 101 SP in his last just missing when surrounded by a pack of Kentucky breds. He did Canada well in this race, and should do the same here as well.
#9 RED SENSATION – jms8 stables 12-1
Red Sensation has only had two off the podium finishes this year a, and both were gallant stakes tries where she was near the top but could not put on the finishing touches and faded somewhat in the wire crossing finishing 4th and 5th respectfully. I want to focus on her latest ,the Project Baby Dirt Filly Sprint. This was a strange race to say the least. A large field of 12 , and it was like right from the hop of the gate the field was settled into finishing position and no one and I mean no one even moved up or down in position the whole race. It was like the sim got lazy and could not bother participating in the final result. She finished a solid 2nd just missing with a 94 SP. Will need to be at her best plus but the added distance might be a huge difference for her. Most in here are going through the same growing pains.
#10 NEWGENE GONE – 123stud stables 14=1
As is the case with most in here, Newgene Gone tried his luck in the sovereign Stakes as a 2 year old but did not fair so well, picking up spots late finishing 11th from way back , but still over 8 lengths out of it. If you look at the contenders in that race, it was a very solid group, so no shame there. I would like to think that The Sovereign Stakes made horses better and stronger and better prepared for their 3 year old campaigns, and many have flourished since then. He has tried a new strategy since switching to the turf and subsequently hitting the board in all three of his races in 2021 with improving SP values to add to his repertoire. He will need a significant SP improvement in this one though to have a chance as many here are already busting the 100 plateau.
#14 GOTTCHA MOON – oldmoonfarms18 stables 8-1
Gottcha Moon ran a solid race in the Sovereign turf side finishing 2nd and solidifying himself as one of the top Canadian breds out there and has gone on to do some dirt running since winning his segment of the Survivor Series. He tried his luck one again in the Northern Slew Dirt Route going the distance of none prepping him for the Plate. This was a tough race on him. He ran his eyeballs out, but soon reality set in that he needed to do more and on this day at least , he was not able finishing 7th. He was picking up tired horses in the end but was also being picked up in the end as well. I blame the jockey on this day, but the experience will be a factor. After all he did a run a 95 SP in a losing cause that far back. Tells you a lot about the field. Also tells you a lot about how close he is to being the factor.
#12 CANADIAN COINS – canadaclass0 stables 20-1
Canadian Coins was a late starter last year as a 2 year old, and therefore was not really on the radar of top Canadian bred until just recently scoring a nice 91 SP in a win on the dirt at 9f, which was a major jump in SP for him, and put him in the conversation for the Plate. He has been running considerably lower classes, and this will be an acid test for him. His latest cannot be overlooked, nor can the distance. It will be interesting to see how he works among these top horses. We will get a better idea where he fits at this time. Got a feeling he might be a horse we will be talking about in late October /November though. Not likely here, but this is horse racing. One never knows.
#13 ILIAD ESTAMBUL – santiago stables 10-1
Iliad Estambul came into the Canadian Sovereign Awards as a probable outsider to the likes of Cape Washington and Seattle Anthem, and in the end ran away with the title, taking the Dirt Sovereign, and the horse of the year honors in Canada as well. One could say he was the horse of the hour, as he was smoking hot, with a 97 SP as a two year old while winning. Iliad Estambul has not yet been able to rediscover this form, although his numbers suggest he could be horse of the day again when the Plate rolls around. I have seen what he can do, on his best he will be a handful for any in here. Since his 2 year old campaign came to a close, his 3 year old campaign has been not so hot. He did try his luck in the G2 St. Vincent, where he was a factor right til the end , but then faded badly finishing 8th in the final stretches. In his last, he showed signs of tiring earlier than usual ,and again faded never being a factor in this one. Has not raced now for 2 months and hopefully the time off will have done this one some good .
#1 ALABEL R – nknowlton stables 15-1
Alabel R is another who was not on the radar during his 2 year old campaign getting a late start and when tried on the turf did not respond well, running one paced finishing 6th in a 10 horse field. As a 3 year old his relations have decided a surface switch might be a good thing , and so for he has not let them down banging off 3 wins in a row improving SP and level of competition each time. It seems like a good time to try him at this level , and he might find these ones a little more testy than he is used to but his improving ways tell us he is capable of popping one off here. A long shot possibility ?
# 7 DEATHSWITCH – mississauga stables 15-1
Mississauga stables horses are known to be a tough crowd, and this one appears to be no different. Deathwish has 3 races under his belt, and has reeled off 3 wins making him the only undefeated horse coming into the race. He does take a decisive jump in class here not to mention distance and is eager to try the Tapeta poly course first up. I will consider this one the mystery horse , only because I have no idea what to expect from this one. He obviously has the cookies to bring it home but does he have the finish needed in the time of crunch ? Definitely one to keep an eye on .
# 2 RUFF STUFF JO – canadaclass stables 10-1
Ruff Stuff Jo surprised a lot of people with his showing in the Sovereign Stakes at the end of last season. In what was a large competitive field he stalked the pace the whole race and only faltered slightly in the stretch as three missiles blew by him right at the end. He finished 5th that day, and this is his only off the board blemish. He has since come back with some nice races including a nice 3rd place finish in the Must Just Be Glue Dirt Filly Special. She has since come back with a solid win in the high allowance levels. She is only one of two fillies in this trying on the boys again, and she is quite capable. Win would be a surprise here but not a podium finish.
#5 JUST A FRAC – aam4 stables 10-1
This Frac Daddy colt has yet to try the poly or dirt surfaces as of yet and this could be a certain deterrent as to how well he does here in this series. Just A Frac has certainly enjoyed the turf living though and is very rarely off the board, which makes him a threat every time he is on the track. Although I personally think this one might be a little tough for this one at this time, it could be he just needed to be pushed a little to bring out the best in him and so now he gets his chance against this group. One to watch for sure and hope he does well as I do all competitors.
#11 LOWDOWN BAR – radiojock stables 8-1
Lowdown Bar is a bit of a surprise entry here. Not because he was not invited ….cause he was but because many with horses eligible in or near the bottom of the list balked at the idea feeling their horse was not worthy of the invite and so I am so glad his relations decided to take a chance and give him a shot where he might just be a threat. It is simple , if his SP was not competitive, he would not have gotten the consideration. I’m a firm believer, that in the sim in particular, sometimes you need to step out of the safety zone and see where your horse might really fit. I mean some horses just do not like to win , and this goes for real life ones as well. They can be second at all levels but just don’t have the want to be the best horse. Seems like many people in this world are a lot like this as well.
#3 DRS Warrior – gcrs1 stables 22-1
DRS Warrior was a late entry into this field but does have experience we most in here from last year’s Canadian Sovereign Awards races where he unfortunately did not fare well finishing well back in 18th on that day. Those races in a lot of ways was a stepping stone , or a dropping off for many of the 2 year olds at the time. DRS Warrior seems to have used that event as a springboard to succession as he has hit the board twice now in his two races this year in improving fashion. He went off as the long shot in his last race, it was a small field of four but he broke well, and only had the favorite come at him in the stretch, as he held on willingly to claim the third prize in a nice SP. He will need to really improve greatly off his last to have any chance here, but he has had success already on the Poly, winning, and being a versatile horse will be a big plus in these Triple Crown events.