Cheburashka looks for Queen's Plate 2016 Upset

 

There was a time, not so long ago, when Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller wasn’t quite sure whether Cheburashka, a son of Milwaukee Brew, should contest the Queen’s Plate. A recent work, however, gave him his answer.

“He worked really well,” said Tiller, of the bay, who worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 on June 25. “I liked the way he did it. When he galloped out, he didn’t want to pull up. I texted Dave and Liz (Goldmart Farms) and told them about the work. I explained to them that he’s fit and ready, that there’s no way I could say to them, ‘Don’t do it (supplement the horse to the race).’ Earlier in the week, we weren’t going to run. After that work, things changed.”

Now, Tiller, who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, is dialed-in on springing the upset in Sunday’s 157th edition of the Plate.

The lifetime winner of 1,858 races would love nothing more than to go one better than he did with his first Plate starter, Near the High Sea, who was second at 53-1 to L’Enjoleur in the 1975 running.

His most recent starter has two wins, a second and one third from six starts, along with $75,124 in purse earnings.

“I guess the only difference is that I was 26 for that race and now I’ll be turning 66,” quipped Tiller. “It’s the Queen’s Plate and if everything is right, you take that shot. It’s a tough field, but we have a happy horse.”

Cheburashka is a character in children's literature, from a 1966 story by Soviet writer Eduard Uspensky. 

Leavem in Malibu never even recorded a breeze as a 2-year-old, did not make his first start until this April 16, and is one of the least experienced members in the prospective field for Sunday’s Queen’s Plate.

But despite his late start, Leavem in Malibu now has three races under his belt and is looming as one of the horses to beat in the Queen’s Plate.

“He’s a big, big horse,” said trainer Mark Casse. “He just had a lot of growing pains, and he just took forever and I just kept giving him time.

“He always showed run. I kind of told them, as a 2-year-old, that we had a Queen’s Plate horse.”

Leavem in Malibu will be seeking his third consecutive win under jockey Gary Boulanger in Sunday’s showpiece. His successes came over one and one-sixteenth miles and he was pulling away late on each occasion. 

“I think if there’s a real mile and quarter horse in the Queen’s Plate it’s him,” said Casse.” 

Owner Gary Barber acquired a half-interest in Leavem in Malibu from Conrad Farm following the colt’s maiden victory.

The filly Lexie Lou gave Barber and Casse their first Plate wins in 2014 after being purchased privately from owner/trainer John Ross.

 

In honour of Queen’s Plate week, Woodbine Entertainment Group opened the market at the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday, June 27. Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson, who will be riding Queen's Plate Winterbook favourite Shakhimat in Sunday's $1 million race, along with Hall of Famer and four-time Queen's Plate winning rider Sandy Hawley, were part of the contingent.

Watch the event here.

 

Environment Canada is calling for sun, with a high of 25 degrees Celsius for Sunday, July 3.