A Live Queen's Plate Longshot

--Brian DiDonato

   I don’t think I’ve ever picked a Queen’s Plate winner. I did talk my father off last year’s 16-1 upsetter Midnight Aria, however. He wasn’t very happy. So consider that a disclaimer before I state my case for a horse who I think is an extremely live longshot in Sunday's feature...
   Three of the last four Queen’s Plates have been won by the pacesetter: Big Red Mike (2010, 5-1), Strait of Dover (2012, 7-2) and Midnight Aria (2013, 16-1). Despite an average of 13 horses in those three renewals, North America’s longest-running race seems to differ significantly in terms of dynamics from the U.S. equivalent. The nature of the Kentucky Derby makes it close to impossible to go box to wire, but the Queen’s Plate seems to feature the opposite phenomenon in recent years. Maybe it’s the different surfaces the two races are contested over, or maybe I’m just being fooled by randomness, but I expect this recent trend to continue in 2014.
   Heart to Heart, who’s 30-1 on the morning line but will likely go off at about half that price at post time, was a decent, if not standout 2-year-old last term while trained by Mike Stidham. He was beaten a nose in the six-panel Vandal S. here last August while finishing ahead of two other Queen’s Plate runners, and finished off his juvenile campaign with a fourth-place run in the nine-furlong Coronation Futurity in which a number of these horses competed. That final 2013 effort wasn’t bad considering he was a bit headstrong early and was being asked to carry his speed over a distance that’s probably a bit too far for most 2-year-olds.
   Subsequently transferred to Brian Lynch, Heart to Heart resurfaced in a grassy one-mile Keeneland allowance in April, and couldn’t have been much more impressive setting quick splits before drawing off to win by 6 1/4 lengths. He earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for that effort--tied with Lexie Lou’s Woodbine Oaks win for the fastest race by any horse in the Queen’s Plate. Jessica’s Star, second in that allowance, has won three times since then, including last Saturday’s GIII Iowa Derby.
   Heart to Heart was a very close sixth last time in the Marine S., but I think you can toss that effort. His rider took a hard hold of him early despite what looked like a significant pace edge, and he just wasn’t quite as effective. Now Eurico Rosa da Silva, winner of the 2009 and 2010 Queen’s Plates climbs aboard, and there’s no way he won’t send Heart to Heart.
   The distance might prove too far, but the aforementioned Strait of Dover was also by English Channel (who could obviously run all day himself), and I’ll take my chances in the stretch if Heart to Heart can get to that point without much pressure.

Bonus Pick: I really like Main Sequence in Monmouth's GI United Nations S. He has some very good European form and Graham Motion does extremely well with foreign imports making their first Stateside starts.

A Day Fit For a Queen

--Christina Bossinakis

   Queen’s Plate day started out sunny but, by the time the Bossinakis tribe (my mother Lily, uncle Costa and aunt Artemis) set off for Woodbine, it looked like we might get yet another round of rain. Luckily for us, we were spared the predominant theme since my arrival in Toronto last Wednesday. Back up in the Woodbine Club dining room, we found ourselves in great company–seated nearby was Martin Schwartz (owner of Plate runner Bowman’s Causeway); the West Point team, headed by the always dapper Terry Finley (represented by Enduring Star); and the connections of Queen’splatekitten (Nicholas Brady’s Mill House), including agent Steve Young and trainer Todd Pletcher. It’s interesting to note that Mr. Pletcher, who was at Belmont Saturday to accept the trophy for Buster’s Ready’s runaway victory in the GI Mother Goose S., arrived at the Toronto oval shortly after noon before jumping back on a plane to New York not long after a fifth with the ‘Kitten’ in the feature. Oh, did I forget to mention that this is the way he spent his birthday? And that’s one of the reasons why I refer to him as ‘T-Train.’ (other than the obvious reason, of course). Sometimes I swear he is superhuman. His dedication, discipline and commitment to his clients and horses are really quite admirable.

   As for our dining experience, the staff was very attentive, and accommodating, and the food was superb, with plenty of fresh seafood and a tasty dessert selection (and this coming from the daughter of an accomplished pastry chef!). As for the Bossinakis crew, we kicked off Sunday the same way we concluded Saturday–winning. The big score of the day, however, came from Costa, who hit a healthy payday of $600. That’s the great thing about horse racing, sometimes blind luck proves more lucrative than over analysis.
A couple of races prior to the Plate, we accompanied the Romeo family (of Big Red Mike fame) down to the paddock to watch their horse, Daniel Be Good, in an allowance (optional claimer). (FYI: ‘Daniel’ came home a winner in the race prior to last year’s Queen’s Plate...that’s TWO wins in front of the Queen for Terra Racing). The whole crew seemed to be in the paddock Sunday: Dom, and his sons Steve and Frank, who also had his wife Rose and son Mike in tow. (Note: If you have the chance to see Mike, you will know precisely why he is the namesake for the Queen’s Plate hero). With speed appearing to hold up well earlier in the day, ‘Daniel’ seemed to have a very good chance at 7-1, and though he ran admirably, he weakened late to be a close-up third. I must say that it was such a pleasure to get to know the Romeos. They are people of the highest class who have a tremendous passion and affection for our game. We certainly would be blessed if we had more of them in our industry.

Christina and Lily Bossinakis in the Woodbine Paddock

   The paddock area prior to the Queen’s Plate can best be described as a mass of humanity, and horseflesh. Inglorious was led out of the saddling enclosure and into the paddock fairly early, and never seemed to turn a hair. I observed her owner, Vernon Dubinsky, rushing back and forth between the bay filly (Post 9, saddled in the center of the enclosure) and his other entrant, Seawatch (Post 12, situated at the far corner). In all honesty, if races were based on looks, I would have given the nod to Check Your Soul, who looked absolutely stupendous. Just a picture of health and confidence. Also getting a notable mention was Queen’splatekitten. While those two might have collected the ribbon for sexiness (at least of the equine variety), it was obviously not their day. (Check Your Soul tired late to be seventh). On the front side, the atmosphere leading into the race was almost electric, only muted by the seemingly endless loading process. The stands looked filled to capacity, however, I am told that was nothing compared to last year when Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance. When all was said and done, the winner of the Woodbine Oaks came away with a 2 1/2-length win, becoming the 34^th filly to collect the first leg of Canada’s Triple Crown. Returning in front of the stands amid a rousing ovation, the filly was greeted by her visibly moved trainer, Josie Carroll, who was collecting her second Plate win following her 2006 score with Edenwold. The day couldn’t have ended more fittingly with a pair of gallant ladies collaborating to win the "Gallop for the Guineas." Bringing down the curtain on my Queen’s Plate experience, I couldn’t help but think just how gracious and helpful our friends at Woodbine were during my visit, which really added to the whole experience.

March to the Winner's Circle

   This morning, I was greeted with an absolutely stunning day for my departure (after most of my trip was spent under an umbrella!). However, I can’t really complain, because the weather really cooperated when it had to. And while I was sitting in the airport sipping on my Tim Horton’s coffee (Dunkin’ who??), I couldn’t help thinking, this may not be my town, but they sure are my people.

Lights Out at Woodbine

--Christina Bossinakis

   With less than 24 hours until the running of the 152nd Queen’s Plate, Saturday provided a good start to a great weekend of racing at Woodbine in Toronto. On this particular occasion, I had the pleasure of being escorted to the races by my uncle Costa Bossinakis (and you thought the female version of a Bossinakis was a handful!) and his long time associate, Frank Romeo, whose Terra Stables campaigned last year’s Queen’s Plate hero Big Red Mike. I must admit, I was a bit anxious when we arrived at the track, shortly after the third race. Frank was being a great host, leading us past the walking ring and paddock, and through the Canadian Hall of Fame (a must see if you visit the track). However, to be honest, I had just one thing on my mind--bet Clement Rock in the fourth. Thankfully, we made it up to our station on the fourth floor in the Woodbine Club in time for us to go to town on the Mark Casse 3-year-old. I cashed out on the next two as well, which made it a pretty good day on the betting front. Fingers crossed, Sunday will prove as fruitful.

I’ve been to racetracks all over the country, but I experienced a ‘first’ at Woodbine Saturday--a blackout. (I missed the famous Big Brown/Belmont power outage as I was at Epsom for the Derby) It was as dark as pitch in the owners club where we were seated, and before the backup lights had a chance to kick on, most seemed to be only marginally concerned. As for me, I took a renewed interest in my Cosmo, which I had been sadly neglecting while I ran back and forth between the paddock and the betting window. In total, the power couldn’t have been off for more than about 10 minutes, and when it came back on, it was back to business. Racing folk really are a hard core bunch.

Among Saturday’s highlights, a Reade Baker 2-year-old filly named Tu Endie Wei put in a sparkling performance in winning the My Dear S. The half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year Biofuel certainly looks like she has a successful career ahead of her. I also got a huge kick out of seeing many of Canada’s top racing figures, having received much of my early racing instruction watching operations like Kinghaven Farms, Sam-Son Farm and Knob Hill Farms dominate the local scene. While the majority of Canada’s top connections were out in full force today, including local trainers Michael Doyle, Mark Casse, Roger Attfield and Josie Carroll (there are too many to recount here), Sunday’s Queen’s Plate card will surely draw some of America’s finest. With the opening act over, I am looking forward eagerly to the headlining show.