WEDNESDAY JULY 9 UPDATE – The first reported casualty of the Queen’s Plate has come in: Bear Stables’ ASSERTING BEAR is retired for the year after emerging with bone bruising. The colt was a brilliant 3rd in the 1 1/4 mile Plate after attempting to lead all the way. Trainer Reade Baker said the colt could return to racing next year.
The look of a winner – the wonderful filly LEXIE LOU. Photo by Debbie Lewis
Way to go boss! PATRICK HUSBANDS pats his longtime supporter and friend MARK CASSE after the Plate. Tina Casse leads the filly on the right side of the horse. DEBBIE LEWIS PHOTO
It has been a long time since one horse received as many roars and cheers during the course of being on the racetrack as LEXIE LOU did on Queen’s Plate ay.
From the moment she was introduced the post psrade, the light bay filly was greeted with a big cheer from the large Plate day crowd.
When track announcer Dan Loiselle picked her up as she made her advance from 6 lengths off the pace inside the quarter-pole, the reaction was close to that of Wando when he made his move in the Breeders’ Stakesd in 2003.
LEXIE LOU’s win in the 155th Plate was popular for many reasons. She is an Ontario sired filly whose existance on this earth is because of a planned mating set up by the Dr. Mike Colterjohn, the farm manager at Gardiner Farms and co-owner of Paradox Farm.
Colterjohn and Moira Gunn and Sherry MacLean were instrumental in bringing Lexie into the world. Sligo Bay (Ire) had been brought to Ontario to stand at stud in a deal between Colterjohn and Dermot Carty on behalf of Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs.
The dam of Lexie, Inexcessivenite, was bought by Colterjohn as he liked In Excess (Ire) as a broodmare sire. But the Mike Pegran-bred mare, who won over $143K on the track, had 4 foals and no starters before Lexie. Thus, Lexie was in the open yearling sale in 2012 at Woodbine and she brought just a bid of $5,500. Of course, the industry had already headed downwards by that point thanks to the Liberal government and the OLG.
John Ross, as Mark Casse has said, has a keen eye for a horse and he campaigned the filly from age 2 through to her 1st race of 2014.
Interesting that Casse also tried to buy We Miss Artie at auction, missed out and then bought, for Gary Barber, the horse that would beat Artie in the Plate.
Meanwhile, Inexcessivenite has a 2013 yearling by new sire Spaniard named Andy One Excess. She was unsold for $750.00 at the local mixed sale in 2013.
UNStable has a half sister to the mare, Relocate, who has produced 2 horses of racing age.
Congratulations to Gary Barber, Mark Casse, Patrick Husbands, Paradox Farm and John Ross, who made the filly what she is today.!
LEXIE LOU in the pink holds off a big run from AMI’S HOLIDAY (right) and ASSERTING BEAR – Cindy Pierson Dulay/horse-races.net
More Plate thoughts:
The winning Beyer Speed Figure of 88, a preliminary Beyer, was on the low side for recent Plates:
QUEEN’S PLATE WINNERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Yr Winning Beyer Figure Winner Birth Month Jockey Trainer Owner Time
2014 88 LEXIE LOU FEB Patrick Husbands Mark Casse Gary Barber 2:03.97
2013 98 Midnight Aria MAY Jesse M. Campbell Nicholas Gonzalez Tucci Stables 2:04.72
2012 95 Strait of Dover MAR Justin Stein Danny Vella Canyon Farms 2:01.99
2011 99 Inglorious MAY Luis Contreras Josie Carroll Donver Stable 2:02.63
2010 92 Big Red Mike FEB Eurico Rosa da Silva Nick Gonzalez Terra Racing Stable 2:04.89
2009 92 Eye of the Leopard MAR Eurico da Silva Mark Frostad Sam-Son Farm 2:03.84
2008 93 Not Bourbon JAN Jono Jones Roger Attfield Charles E. Fipke 2:03.59
2007 90 Mike Fox FEB Emma-Jayne Wilson Ian Black D. Morgan Firestone 2:05.45
2006 94 Edenwold MAR Emile Ramsammy Josie Carroll Jim & Alice Sapara 2:05.30
2005 92 Wild Desert MAR Pat Valenzuela Robert J. Frankel Daniel Borislow & Partners 2:07.37
2004 97 Niigon MAR Robert Landry Eric Coatrieux Chiefswood Stable 2:04.72
2003 111 Wando FEB Patrick Husbands Michael Keogh Gus Schickedanz 2:02.48
2002 86 T J’s Lucky Moon MAR Steve Bahen Vito Armata Molinaro Stable 2:06.88
2001 91 Dancethruthedawn MAR Gary Boulanger Mark Frostad Sam-Son Farm 2:03.78
2000 94 Scatter The Gold FEB Todd Kabel Mark Frostad Sam-Son Farm 2:05.53
$9.07 million Wagered on Plate day – High 5 pays $4K
The wagering on Plate day this year was down from 2013 but the large was deemed to be bigger than last year. The American Holiday, July 4 led into a long weekend so perhaps the American wagering was down because of the holiday.
The Hi5 wager went over well, the pool of $653,000 more than doubled from the carryover.
My ticket is below – OUCH. (result was 14-15-4-6-13).
Jockey JAVIER CASTELLANO tries to explain what happened when WE MISS ARTIE went straight up in the air at the start of the Plate – costing him any chance. WOODBINE PHOTO
CLEARLY, THIS WAS HIS BEST RACE
112 BEYER FIGURE FOR Canadian-owned colt
CLEARLY NOW runs 7 furlongs in 1:19 for a 112 Beyer Figure and a track record at Belmont. ADAM COGLIANESE, NYRA PHOTO
CLEARLY NOW has been tackling the best sprinters and middle distance horses in the US for almost 2 years. He won his debut at Woodbine for Uphill Stables, co-owned by Canadian Leonard Zenith and trained by Woodbine-base Brian Lynch.
The Forego at Saratoga is next up for Clearly Now.
WOODBINE PERFORMANCES FROM FRIDAY – SUNDAY
By Beyer Figures – here are some of the top performances of the last 3 days at Woodbine:
He always seems to have SOMETHING EXTRA! The Highlander winner is owned by John Menary and Gail Cox. Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
Beyer Winner Race/day
99 ALPHA BETTOR allowance/Jul 6
98 SOMETHING EXTRA Highlander/Jul6 turf
92 ALDOUS SNOW Singspiel/ Jul 6 turf
90 OVERHEARD Dance Smartly/ Jul 6 turf
88 LEXIE LOU Queen’s Plate – Jul 6
87 ANGRY MOON $40K claiming Jul 4
87 JUBILATE allowance Jul 4 turf
86 STRUT THE COURSE allowance Jul 4
SHOPPING FOR A 2015 PLATE CONTENDER?
Fasig Tipton July 14, Melnyk 2yos and more for sale
Monday’s Horses of Racing Age sale will be a place of interest for locals as many attempt to get a nice deal from what is a packed catalogue of ready runners. Among those selling are Woodbine stakes winner LEINAN, stakes placed THE IMPOSTER and allowance winner HILLABY, who is part of the Melnyk dispersal. There are some 24 juveniles in the Melnyk consignment also.
http://www.fasigtipton.com/hora/2014
