Canada: Paramount Prince is favorite Tuesday in Prince of Wales
Paramount Prince secured this year’s King’s Plate, the first jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown series. By all vantage points, he is the one to beat Tuesday in the US$293,200 Prince of Wales Stakes going 1 3/16 miles on the dirt track at Fort Erie.
Trained by Mark Casse for owners Michael Langlois and Gary Barber, the 3-year-old Society’s Chairman colt will be ridden from post 8 in a field of 12 Canada-breds. Patrick Husbands will be aboard the 8-5 morning-line favorite.
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Paramount Prince won the Plate Trial on July 23 and the King’s Plate on Aug. 20 in dominant fashion. He posted his final work Sunday, going four furlongs in 49.2 seconds over Woodbine’s dirt training track.
Always humble, breeder Ericka Nadine Rusnak remains optimistic about Paramount Prince’s chances.
“I would never say I’m confident,” Rusnak said. “I believe that he is certainly capable of doing it. But I don’t want to jinx anything. I’m a little superstitious. So I’m just going in there with a hardy sense of optimism.”
Stanley House, who finished third behind runner-up Elysian Field in the King’s Plate, was made the 4-1 second choice after drawing post 4. He posted his final work on the Woodbine dirt Tuesday under the watchful eye of trainer Mike De Paulo.
Stanley House’s owners John and Diana Russell also were on hand to catch their horse prep for the race. Although Stanley House did not secure the crown in the first leg, the Russell’s were ecstatic about running in the historic Canadian classic race and continuing into the next leg.
“It was very exhilarating,” said John Russell, who has been involved in racing since the ’80s. “To have a small stable like ours and have a horse that runs third in the King’s Plate is pretty exciting stuff. Those opportunities are few and far between for an operation like ours. We were ecstatic to be in that position for such a small operation.
De Paulo, who is adding blinkers Tuesday, felt confident in Stanley House’s chances, noting his breeding would suggest Fort Erie’s dirt course is potentially his preferred surface.
“He is bred to be a dirt horse,” De Paulo said. “He has never run on it, but his sire Army Mule was only dirt. I think he ran three times and was undefeated. His mare (Stormy’s Song) is by Unbridled’s Song, who was a dirt horse, so we are looking forward to running him on the dirt. It’s a little shorter.”
Rafael Hernández will ride Stanley House in the Prince of Wales, which will be the 10th of 11 races Tuesday. Post time is 5:35 p.m. EDT.