King’s Plate: My Boy Prince leads field of 13 in Canada classic

Thirteen sophomores, including champion and multiple stakes winner My Boy Prince, will contest the US$729,355 King’s Plate, first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, highlighting a stakes-filled Saturday card of racing at Woodbine.

The 165th edition of The King’s Plate, North America’s oldest continually run race, contested at 1 1/4 miles on the Woodbine all-weather course, is the first event in the tri-surface series for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

Wando, bred and owned by the late Gustav Schickedanz, was the last horse to accomplish the triple, in 2003, and become the seventh to record the feat. The Prince of Wales, run at 1 3/16 miles on the dirt at Fort Erie on Sept. 10 is the second leg. The Breeders’ Stakes at 1 1/2 miles over the turf at Woodbine on Sept. 29 concludes the series.

This year’s running of The King’s Plate features a blend of stakes winners and long-shot hopefuls, along with high-profile owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys. The lone filly Caitlinhergrtness will carry 121 pounds, and each of the other starters 126 pounds.

Bedard, trained by Kevin Attard, has yet to net his first win in six starts. But the son of Nyquist heads into his first stakes test off three consecutive runner-up efforts. The bay gelding will be ridden by apprentice Pietro Moran. Attard also will send out Caitlinhergrtness, Jokestar and Pierre.

“This is a huge step up, but we know he has the capability to come up with a good one,” Attard said of the horse named after National Hockey League center Connor Bedard. “Hopefully, the stars align and he runs the type of race we know he can.”

Runner-up in the Woodbine Oaks on July 20, Caitlinhergrtness was supplemented to the Plate by owners Sienna Farm and WinStar Farm. The daughter of Omaha Beach is 6: 2-1-1.

“We have seen how successful fillies can be in the Plate,” said Attard, who campaigned the filly Moira to King’s Plate glory in 2022. “She definitely belongs here, and the hope is that she can continue to elevate her game.”

Essex Serpent has crafted a mark of 3:2-1-0 for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. The son of Honor Code arrives at the classic off a sharp score in the Marine Stakes (G3) on June 29. The bay gelding will be ridden by three-time Plate victor Patrick Husbands.

“He came out of his race in good order,” Casse said. “He's trained great since the Plate Trial. He's a big, strong, homebred horse.”

Trained by Evette Chartrand-Hoek, Friendly Ghost will be ridden by Justin Stein, winner of the 2012 Plate with Strait of Dover. A dark bay son of Outwork, Friendly Ghost is 3: 1-1-1, including a third in the Plate Trial on July 20.

“He has continued to get better and better with each race,” Chartrand-Hoek said. “Last year as a 2-year-old we knew he was pretty nice, just the way he trained, and how professional he was. It was always in the back of my mind, ‘Is he this special?’ But he is.”

Jokestar, a son of Practical Joke has fashioned a record of 8: 1-1-2. The bay gelding broke his maiden in the final start of his 2-year-old campaign, a head score over 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine main track.

“The road to get to the Plate is never an easy one for a horse,” said Attard. “That he made it to this moment speaks to his ability to overcome those ups and downs. He worked hard to get to this point, and hopefully he can produce his best race.”

Midnight Mascot, a son of Army Mule, has a record of 8: 2-2-3. The bay, who won this year’s Woodstock Stakes, will have the services of champion rider Kazushi Kimura. Casse, a three-time Plate winner, is the trainer.

“Midnight Mascot is interesting,” Casse said. “I think we learned a lot last time out. He sat back instead of showing speed and made a nice run. I was very happy with his race.”

My Boy Prince, Canada’s champion 2-year-old male, has won three straight races heading into the Plate. Also trained by Casse, the son of Cairo Prince brings a 10: 6-2-1 record into Saturday’s Plate.

“He just doesn’t give a hoot about much,” Casse said of the $115,000 sale-topper at the 2022 Canada premier yearling sale. “You sure wouldn't look at him and think that he’s some superstar. He saves it all for on the track.”

The father-and-daughter team of trainer Zeljko Krcmar and owner Mary Self will send out No More Options on Saturday. The dark bay son of Frac Daddy pulled off a 16-1 upset in last year’s Frost King Stakes and followed it up with a third in the Coronation Futurity. Sporting a record of 9: 3-4-0 record, the colt will be ridden by Daisuke Fukumoto, who partnered Mighty Heart to Plate glory in 2020.

“My dad and I speak every day, and he would get more and more excited about this horse when we talked,” said Self. “The longer this horse goes, the happier he is.”

Pierre has hit the podium in all four of his starts, going 1-1-2. This will be the first stakes test for the bay, who broke his maiden in his second start, a head nod at six panels on the Woodbine main track on May 4.

“This horse is very versatile, in terms of his ability to adapt to different surfaces and different distances,” Attard said. “He has always shown that willingness to take on what we have asked of him, which is what you love to see as a trainer.”

Trainer Harold Ladouceur will have two chances to win his first Plate. Rafaroo, a son of Hard Spun, has posted a pair of seconds from two starts. His latest effort, a strong runner-up performance in the Plate Trial, came at 26-1. He launched his career June 15, when he rallied to take the silver in a seven-furlong main track race.

“He just looks so good right now,” Ladouceur said. “He seems to be maturing and coming around at the right time. It feels like we could be pointing at the stars.”

Roar of the Crowd was a $25,000 claim for owner and trainer Dominic Polsinelli. The chestnut son of Reload finished eighth in his only 2-year-old start but came back with a brilliant 7 1/4-length score to break his maiden in his 3-year-old debut. He arrives at his first stakes engagement off a third-place finish at 6 1/2 furlongs over the main track.

“I claimed him because of his grandfather, Hail the Ruckus,” Polsinelli said of the graded-stakes-winning son of Bold Ruckus he both trained and owned. “Roar of the Crowd also has a three-quarter brother, Pender Harbour, who finished third in the 2011 Plate and had a great career. I did a lot of research on this horse, and he was the perfect fit for us.”

Krista Cole trains Thor’s Cause, a gelded son of Brody’s Cause-Expressly Yours. The bay has three thirds from eight starts and will be making his second stakes start Saturday. Jeffrey Alderson will be in the irons.

“He can go the distance,” Cole said. “There are some tough horses, but you never know. There have been upsets in the Plate before, and hopefully, we can add our names to that list.”

Vitality, trained by Harold Ladouceur, is 7: 1-1-1 from seven starts, the win coming in his final start before the Plate. The son of Street Boss-Belissimo, who finished fourth in his debut last August, rallied impressively to take the 1 1/16-mile main track race by 3 1/4 lengths.

“He’s beginning to shine at the right time,” Ladouceur said. “He’s out of an Awesome Again mare, so he clearly has the pedigree to go a route. I don’t think a mile and a quarter will be hard for him at all.”

The first post Saturday is at 12:25 p.m. EDT with the King’s Plate scheduled as race 11 at 6:10 p.m.

Coverage of the King’s Plate at Horse Racing Nation is made possible in part through a sponsorship by Woodbine Entertainment.