Woodbine: King's Plate winner Mansetti leads Ontario Derby
Mansetti, wire-to-wire winner of the 166th running of The King’s Plate, takes on six rivals in the Grade 3, US$106,863 Ontario Derby on Saturday at Woodbine.
Trained by Kevin Attard for owners Al and Bill Ulwelling, Mansetti enters the 1 1/8-mile main track event for 3-year-olds off a game runner-up effort in the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of Canada's Triple Crown, on Sept. 9.
Click here for Woodbine entries and results.
“Obviously, you want to win, but it was a very gutsy performance,” said Attard. “We wanted to give him time after running two demanding races, which he absolutely deserved, and now he’s ready to get back at it.”
Bred in Ontario by Jungle Racing, the son of Collected out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl debuted with a win at six furlongs over the Woodbine main track last September, dueling early before pulling away to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:11.49.
Attard, who is closing in on 900 career victories, praised the maturation of his sophomore whose stakes scores include last year’s Clarendon and this year’s Woodstock on April 27 and Marine (G3) on June 28.
“He really is night and day, mindset-wise, from 2 to 3,” said Attard. “Almost from the moment he came back this year as a 3-year-old, it was like he flipped the switch. We knew he had the talent from the start, but he had a ‘go, go, go’ type of approach to everything early on, which made it hard to think at the time that he would stretch out.
“But everything just began to click this past winter. You could see the confidence, the swagger and the focus. I think that not only speaks to his ability to learn, but also to the team here at the barn, who dedicated a lot of time and care to him. The results speak to their unwavering commitment.”
On August 16, Mansetti, at 18-1, delivered a flawless performance in the King’s Plate.
It was the first King's Plate win for both the Ulwellings and jockey Pietro Moran. It was the third for Attard, Canada’s champion trainer of 2024, who has won three of the last four editions of the race. He also won with Moira in 2022 and Caitlinhergrtness in 2024.
“He had his game face on that day,” recalled Attard. “You could feel that he was ready to run a big race. A lot has to go right to win a race like that – it isn’t an easy journey to get to the starting gate for a $1 million race – but the stars aligned for him and for all his connections.
“It was an amazing effort from both Mansetti and Pietro. Just the sheer determination to get to the wire first, it was everything we had hoped for.”
Named after a popular pizza place in the Ulwellings’ home state of Minnesota, the bay colt posted a pair of four-furlong breezes over the main track ahead of the Ontario Derby, including a 49.0-second move Oct. 4.
“We’re happy with both breezes,” said Attard. “He’s doing well and you can see he’s ready to get out there and do his thing.”
Mansetti, who has a 9: 5-1-0 record and US$747,829 in purse earnings, was a $40,000 purchase from the 2024 OBS Spring sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Lawrence Williams is the groom.
Borealis Trail, a sharp second in the Breeders’ Stakes, third jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, last year’s Grey Stakes (G3) winner He’s Not Joking, Prince of Wales Stakes winner Runaway Again, Special Session, Wagstaff and supplement Pretty Capable complete the field.
Nice Dancer, ridden by Sandy Hawley, won the inaugural edition of the Ontario Derby, in 1972. Jockey Kazushi Kimura won four straight runnings of the race, from 2020-23.
First post is 1:05 p.m. EDT.