An Interesting Plate Shaping Up

When it comes to winning major stake races in Canada, the Plate included, there are no bigger Canadian stables than Melnyk Racing, Stronach Stables, Sam-Son Farms and Gustav Schickedanz.  Between them they have won 14 of the last 16 Outstanding owner Sovereign awards, 7 of the last 14 Queen's Plates and Schickedanz owned Wando, the last triple crown winner. 

Thus a year ago today it was no surprise when the early favourites for the 2010 Queen's Plate were Hotep (Sam-Son Farms), Mobilizer(Stronach Stables) and Artic Fern(Gustav Schickedanz).  2011 however has proved to be a trying year for the big stables and between the four of them they appear to have no starters or at best a couple of the longest shots in the race. 

All is not lost however as there are four stars in the making who make this years Plate not only worth the price of admission but potentially the deepest Plate field since Woodbine installed the polytrack:  Check Your Soul, Queensplatekitten, Bowmans Causeway and Inglorious.

Check Your Soul stumbled onto the scene at Gulfstream Park in Florida back in March; essentially galloping through his first start, in which he ultimately finished 8th.  Since then he has been downright unbeatable:  Winning at the prestigious spring Keeneland meet before picking up two of the Queen's Plate prep races in the Wando and Plate Trial Stakes.  In the Plate Trial he won for fun and despite jockey Patrick Husbands not urging him at all he was well clear and won by more than three lengths.  His breeding is all class and with Sadlers Wells being his grandsire and Unbridled his damsire the extra distance of the Plate should only help him. 

Queensplatekitten announced himself as a potential Plate favourite in the last week of the 2010 Woodbine meet winning his maiden race with an eye-opening 'turn of foot' entering the stretch.  He would then head down to the ultra-competitive Gulfstream Park meet and knock heads with some of the best American three year old turf racers.  In an allowance race there he handily beat Moonshine Mullin who came back to capture the Victoria Park stakes last weekend at Woodbine.  A start in the graded Palm Beach Stakes earned him a good runner-up effort losing to a loose on the lead Joes Blazing Aaron.  In his first trip back to Woodbine he won the Marine Stakes easily again demonstrating a brilliant turn of foot entering the stretch.  Like Check Your Soul his pedigree is loaded with stamina influences starting with his sire Kittens Joy (also from the Sadlers Wells line) and his damsire Wild Again winner of the inaugural Breeders Cup Classic. 

Bowmans Causeway immediately moved to the top of many a Queen's Plate watch list when he won a maiden race at a mile and an eighth at Gulfstream Park.  He subsequently ran a credible fourth in the Derby prep race, Fountain of Youth.  Finishing fifth in that race... Preakness winner Shackleford.  He was then an okay third in an allowance at Gulfstream where he was again against top competition in Dance City who would run fifth in the Preakness.  After a non-run in the Florida Derby he re-emerged at Woodbine in the Plate Trial Stakes and looked the easy winner until Check Your Soul flew past him.  Bowmans Causeway is sired by perennial top sire Giants Causeway and should have no trouble with the extra distance of the Plate.

Inglorious is not-confirmed as a starter in the Plate as of this writing but if she does run she arguably is the most proven of all those entered.  Inglorious is a perfect 4 for 4 at Woodbine, all in stake races, including most recently a commanding performance in the Woodbine Oaks.  It may however be her two losses that really demonstrate just how classy Inglorious is.  Both came at Fair Grounds on traditional dirt, a surface that ultimately is not her best and doesn't allow her to fully utilize her most dangerous weapon; a beautiful turn of foot.  In the Rachel Alexandra she was a game second finishing behind the multiple graded stake winner Kathmanblu.  She then was fourth in the Fair Ground Oaks behind St Johns River who would come out of that race to run second in the Kentucky Oaks.  A case could be made that Inglorious is the front runner for horse of the year at this early stage of 2011 and a good result in the Plate would only further strengthen her case. 

In the past 17 years only Wando has won the Queen's Plate and gone on to win the Sovereign award for horse of the year in Canada.  Check Your Soul, Queensplatekitten, Bowmans Causeway and Inglorious all have made strong progress towards earning a Sovereign award for horse of the year but first one of them has to win the Queens Plate.