Kevin Attard will be looking to win again with his filly on Saturday in the $1 million King's Plate at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto.
The longtime trainer previously achieved this feat with Moira in 2022, but his mare Wickenheiser finished 11th out of 17 in the first leg of last year's Canadian Triple Crown.
Caitlinhergrtness.WoodbinePhotos.
The Kingsplate has boasted many female winners in its history.
This time, Attard is sending four of his 13 three-year-olds to the King's Plate, including 12-1 longshot filly Caitlin Helgutnes.
Attard's other entries are even longer bets: Jokester and Pierre are both at 20-1, and Bédard at 30-1.
“We've seen how successful fillies can be at the Plate,” Attard said. “She's definitely the right horse to be here and we're looking forward to seeing her continue to improve.”
The 1 1/4-mile Plate, the oldest continuous race in North America since 1860, has 38 fillies competing in this race for 3-year-olds.
Canada's Unique Triple Crown
The Canadian Triple Crown races are unique in that they are contested on three different courses: the King's Plate on an all-weather track, the Prince of Wales's over 1 3/16 miles on the dirt course at Fort Erie, and the Breeders' Stakes over 1 ½ miles on the turf course at Woodbine.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse sent out two popular horses, the 7-5 My Boy Prince and the 2-1 Essex Serpent.
My Boy Prince is a 2-1 favorite
My Boy Prince, Canada's champion 2-year-old colt, comes into the race on the back of three consecutive wins.
“He just doesn't care about the big things,” Kase says. “You don't look at him and think he's a superstar. He saves it all for the track.”
My Boy Prince. Woodbine Photography.
Caitlin Helgness, ridden by jockey Rafael Hernandez from post four, was added to the King's Plate after finishing second in the Woodbine Oaks on July 20. Owned by Siena Farm and WinStar Farm, the horse has a record of two wins, one loss and one draw in six starts.
Bedard was hitless in three at-bats, but finished second both times.
“It's a big step up, but I know he's capable of running a good race,” Attard said of the horse, named after NHL player Connor Bedard. “Hopefully, with any luck, he'll run the race we expect him to.”
Post time is 6:10pm ET.
For those who bet on horse racing…
Selected: 1 Caitlinhergrtness 2 My Boy Prince 3 Jokester
$1 million Kings Plate field, starting from outside, with jockeys, trainers and odds:
1 Jokester (Emma Jane Wilson, Kevin Attard), 20-1
2 LaFalou (Ryan Munger, Harold Ladouceur (8-1)
3 Essex Serpents (Patrick Husband, Mark Casse), 2-1
4. Caitlin Haag Rutness (Rafael Hernandez, Kevin Attard), 12-1
5. Midnight Mascot (Kazushi Kimura, Mark Casse), 10-1
6. Friendly Ghost (Justin Stein, Evette Chartrand-Hook), 30-1
7 My Boy Prince (Sahin Civaci, Mark Casse), 7-5
8 Pierre (David Cohen, Kevin Attard), 20-1
9 Thor's Purpose (Jeffrey Alderson, Krista Cole), 50-1
10 Bedard (Pietro Moran, Kevin Attard), 30-1
11 Crowd Roar (Fraser Avery, Dominic Polsinelli), 50-1
12 No More Options (Daisuke Fukumoto, Zeljko Kurcmar) 30-1
13 Vitality (Jose Campos, Harold Ladouceur), 20-1
US Racing's writing team is made up of full- and part-time contributors with expertise on various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
