ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Solid Appeal and Irish Mission, the 1-2 finishers in the May 25 Nassau Stakes, will renew their rivalry Sunday in the Grade 2, $200,000 Dance Smartly.
But Moment of Majesty, Hard Not to Like, and Distorted Legacy all are shipping to their former hunting grounds for the Dance Smartly, along with invader Julie’s Love, and contention runs deep in the 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares that attracted a field of 11.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Craig MacPherson is still trying to understand how Miss Derek was able to win the $50,000 Supernaturel after fighting her jockey Enrique Gonzalez just about every step of the way until a seam opened up at the top of the stretch.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Maybe someday the $150,000 Singspiel Stakes will be renamed after trainer Roger Attfield, who has won the Grade 3 turf marathon five times, including in each of the past four years. In 2012, he ran one-two after a stirring stretch battle between the 10-year-old Musketier and Simmard.
On the Queen’s Plate undercard Sunday, Attfield will saddle Forte Dei Marmi in the 12-furlong Singspiel. The inconsistent European import ran the race of his life in his last Woodbine appearance in October, when he was a prominent third in the Grade 1 Canadian International.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sunday’s Queen’s Plate will be aired live in high definition by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in a 90-minute special beginning at 4:30 p.m. local time.
The CBC’s David Amber will be joined on the telecast by colleague Elliotte Friedman. Woodbine’s Jim Bannon and Sandy Hawley will provide insight and analysis along with Renee Kierans, who will be on horseback for an on-the-spot interview with the winner.
Woodbine announcer Dan Loiselle will call the Queen’s Plate for the 27th consecutive year.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Dino Condilenios has both ends covered in a $25,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that drew eight horses and will serve as Sunday’s feature at Hastings.
Golden Triumph will be the one they have to catch in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint, and Crew Leader looks like the one with the best chance of running down his speedy stablemate.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Up With the Birds has used his good turn of foot to win four of six starts against some quality opposition, and that kick could propel him to victory in Sunday’s 154th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate at Woodbine.
A powerful little colt, Up With the Birds is one of two Sam-Son Farm entrants trained by Malcolm Pierce, along with his workmate, His Race to Win. Both are by speed sire Stormy Atlantic and from a stamina-oriented Sam-Son family.
F ORT ERIE, Ontario – Standing outside one of her stalls on the Fort Erie backstretch, Francine Villeneuve, in blue jeans and T-shirt, looks as trim and as fit as she did during her riding career.
Villeneuve, in her jockey role for more than two decades, had a career full of special occasions, including a ride in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Wilderness Song, who finished seventh behind her winning stablemate Dance Smartly in 1991. She also rode Wilderness Song to a second-place finish behind Dance Smartly in that year’s Queen’s Plate.
Trainer D. Wayne Baker said he always considered Ourwestcoastghost a come-from-behind sprinter. But when Ourwestcoastghost broke slowly from the rail in the $75,400 Casual Lies Handicap at the Alameda County Fair on Thursday, Baker said, "I wasn't that happy."
SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Badge of Glory took the $50,000 Frances Genter Stakes for 3-year old Minnesota-bred fillies, giving trainer Bernell Rhone back-to-back wins in the race after having won with Happy Hour Honey in 2012. He also became the first trainer to win the race three times, his initial win having come with Anisha in 1997.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - When talking about Rainbow Heir, Ben Perkins Jr. often draws comparisons to the colt’s sire, Wildcat Heir.That link becomes more apparent with each victory.
Rainbow Heir is now 4 for 4 after his latest triumph, the Grade 3, $116,000 Jersey Shore Stakes for 3-year-olds on Thursday at Monmouth Park.
Wildcat Heir was a top class sprinter, the Grade 1 winner of the 2004 De Francis Memorial Dash for Perkins. Rainbow Heir is following those hoof prints.
