King's Plate

The absence of the 'Grizzly Bear' has not put a damper on Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes, neither for the connections in it nor likely for the betting public, but despite Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) being the class of the field, it's not as cut and dry of an affair. Currently sitting cosy at 7-5 on the morning line, Candied is deservedly the one to beat as victory in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and a gutsy second to 'TDN Rising Star'...

Mark Casse has only won the Queen's Plate/King's Plate three times, which is a little surprising when you consider how he dominates racing at Woodbine. But when 13 Canadian-breds line up for Saturday's first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown Casse will hold a clear upper hand. Among his three horses are 7-5 morning line favorite My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) and 2-1 second choice Essex Serpent (Honor Code). He will also send out long shot Midnight Mascot (Army Mule), who is 10-1 in the line. He believes this year's...

Josie Carroll recorded her 1,000th career win as a trainer in Sunday's fourth race at Woodbine when the 4-year-old Tapit gelding Spinzar won for LNJ Foxwoods. Carroll, who became the first woman to trainer a King's Plate winner in 2006, also trained this year's Woodbine Oaks winner. Horses racing out of the Josie Carroll barn include names such as two-time Canadian Horse of the Year Mighty Heart (Dramedy), Careless Heart (Stormin Fever), champion 2-year-old colt Avie's Flatter (Flatter), Ami's Holiday (Harlan's Holiday) and champion 3-year-old colt Ami's Gizmo (Giant Gizmo)....

Kin's Concerto, whose lone previous victory came via disqualification, made it to the line first for the first time with a stylish victory in the Woodbine Oaks Saturday afternoon. The chestnut filly sat just off the pace while skimming the rail through fractions of :23.78 and :47.96. Behind a wall of horses at the top of the lane, Kin's Concerto angled to the center of the track in upper stretch and closed relentlessly to hit the front in the final strides. "We just wanted to break in early position," said...

Despite rearing at the jump, it was My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) who got up in good order to take the Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday afternoon. This effort was the third stakes win in a row for the grey, who has proven nearly unbeatable at his hometrack--having not won just twice in seven jumps at Woodbine, on debut in May 2023, when he ran second and last September in the GI Summer Stakes on the grass when he again played bridesmaid. He ran a respectable third in...

Woodbine Entertainment and Rogers Sports & Media entered into a multi-year media rights agreement for Canada's first jewel in the nation's Triple Crown, The King's Plate. The new media rights partnership will provide fans with an extensive lineup of live premier horse racing from around the world, offering more opportunities to enjoy the sport than ever before. As part of the agreement, the 165th Kings Plate on Saturday, Aug. 17 will air on both Sportsnet and Citytv, and stream on Sportsnet+ and Citytv+. The second and third legs of the...

Woodbine Entertainment and Helmets to Hardhats Canada (H2H), a group that supports Canadian veterans, reservists, senior cadets, military family members and Afghan interpreters in finding second careers through the construction industry, will partner for the 2024 running of the King's Plate held Aug. 17. The partnership will see H2H recognized as the Official Building Trades Unions Veteran's Liaison and a Canadian veteran will be included in the opening ceremony for the race. "Woodbine is proud to support Helmets to Hardhats and its valuable objectives," said Woodbine Entertainment CEO Michael Copeland....

Last year, My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) secured top honors as the Sovereign Award winner for the best 2-year-old colt north of the border after he was the runner-up in the GI bet365 Summer S.  in Toronto and third in the GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old had a tough start to this year's campaign as he finished eighth in the Palisades S. at Keeneland Apr. 7, but he returned home to rebound with a 6 3/4-length win May 19. Backed to the hilt at...

My Boy Prince, Canada's champion 2-year-old colt of 2023 and a leading King's Plate fancy, returned to the winner's circle with an authoritative victory in the King Corrie S. at Woodbine Sunday. Second in last year's GI Summer S. and third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the heavy favorite was returning to the synthetic surface for the first time since dominating in the Simcoe S. at Woodbine last August. He attended the pace of Maximus Magic (Maximus Mischief) through fractions of :24.38 and :47.82, took charge approaching the...

2nd-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 12:39 p.m. ET. SF Racing's MONT SAINT MICHEL (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) makes her inaugural voyage for Brendan Walsh after she started her work regimen at Turfway in early December and then moved to Palm Meadows. The homebred is out of SP Black Dahlia (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who is also responsible for third place GI Breeders' Cup Mile runner Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Also making the post is Alpha Delta homebred Highland Light (Uncle Mo) for trainer Chad Brown. The...

Anchored by the 165th running of the King's Plate, Woodbine's 2024 stakes schedule features 38 graded races, four of them Grade I events. The track's stakes schedule this year is missing the GI Canadian International, which was put on hiatus, "after review and consideration of industry and logistical challenges," according to a Woobine press release. In another change to the track's traditional line-up of stakes, the $750,000 GI E. P. Taylor S. will be moved up three weeks and will be run on a Sept. 14 card which also includes...

The Jockey Club of Canada unveiled the 2023 Sovereign Awards finalists Monday led by Kings Plate S. winner Paramount Prince (Society's Chairman) and Woodbine Oaks heroine Elysian Field (Hard Spun). The winners of each category, along with Canada's 2023 Horse of the Year, will be revealed during the Annual Sovereign Award ceremony held April 18 in Woodbridge, Ontario. Awards will also be given to Outstanding Groom and Outstanding Off-Track Worker along with the E.P. Taylor Award. Finalists are listed alphabetically below: Champion 2-year-old Female: Living Magic (Justify), Tripolina (Constitution), Witwatersrand...