WHAT ARE THE ODDS...
WOODBINE RELEASES EARLY PLATE ODDS
(Woodbine press release) Toronto, March 14 - Two highly regarded three-time winners, one based in the United States, the other in Canada, are the early favourites forthe 2007 Queen's Plate.
Two years ago, it was U.S.-based runners who stole the Queen's Platespotlight, as Wild Desert outdueled King of Jazz. In 2006,Woodbine-based Edenwold, named after a small town in Saskatchewan, wasthe upset winner.
Based on early projections, the trophy, the 50 guineas and the $600,000first-place prize could leave the country, as Peachtree Stable'sTwilight Meteor, trained by Todd Pletcher, was today named the 3-1Winterbook favourite for the 148th renewal of the $1 million race, setfor Sunday, June 24, 2007 at Woodbine.
However, undefeated Leonnatus Anteas, the 5-1 second choice for the 11/4-mile "Gallop for the Guineas," Canada's most famous horse race andNorth America's oldest continuously-run stakes event, could havesomething to say about the outcome. Locally owned and trained, Leonnatus Anteas was named Canada's top two-year-old male at the 2006 SovereignAwards.
The 84th edition of the Winterbook offers early odds on all 131 horses,120 colts and geldings, as well as 11 fillies, nominated to the 2007 Queen's Plate. Rounding out the top five in the Plate rankings is Cobrador, aU.S.-stationed grey son of El Prado, at 8-1; Brian Lynch-trained HighAct is 12-1 and Display Stakes winner, Jiggs Coz, is 15-1.
Twilight Meteor (3-1), a chestnut son of Smart Strike, is the early favourite on the strength of back-to-back wins in two stakes events, theBourbon on October 27 at Keeneland and the Hallandale Beach atGulfstream, on February 24.
"The Queen's Plate is definitely on the radar for him." saidPletcher, who saddled Sterwins to a second-place finish in last year'sPlate. "He's going to run in the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes at TurfwayPark on March 24 and we'll see how he does there." Pletcher said it's possible the colt could contest the Blue GrassStakes or Lexington Stakes in April at Keeneland were he to run well inthe Lane's End, but, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Then again, he could come up for the Plate Trial after the Lane's Endand then go to the Plate. He's doing very well and should handle the 11/4 mile distance no problem." Twilight Meteor has three wins and one second from five career starts.
Bred by Kinghaven Farms, Twilight Meteor is a son of Canadian-bredstallion Smart Strike out of One Over Prime, whose sire, With Approval,won the Canadian Triple Crown in 1989.
Leonnatus Anteas (5-1) is a worthy prospect. The son of Stormy Atlanticburst onto the racing scene in mid-August, winning three consecutivestakes over three different surfaces at Woodbine: the Vandal on theinner dirt track, the Cup & Saucer on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, and a key Plate prep, the Coronation Futurity, over the Polytrack.
"He's never been a little guy," noted trainer Kevin Attard. "I first saw him last January when I broke him at Payson. When you see him, helooks like a good horse, he has that presence." Owned by Knob Hill Stable and the Estate of Steve Stavro, the chestnut has spent the winter in Florida.
"He's doing well," said Attard, who recently brought the colt to hisPayson Park stable from Harris Training Centre in Ocala. "He was turnedout for a while after his campaign and then started swimming at the training centre on February 1." Attard, who said he was "taking a shot" by running him in a stakesrace, the Vandal, in his first career start last summer, is undecided about Leo's 2007 debut.
Cobrador, who finished eighth to Leonnatus Anteas in the Coronation Futurity, his only Canadian start to date, is listed at 8-1. Also a sonof El Prado, the grey's most recent effort was a third-place finish inthe John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, at Kentucky's Turfway Park on March3. After breaking his maiden in his second lifetime start, September 4, atArlington Park, the Paul McGee-trained colt has posted two thirds and asecond in three of his four most recent performances.
High Act, who launched his career with a runner-up effort on November 5at Woodbine, has since posted a win and two fourth-place finishes, thevictory coming at Churchill Downs, the most recent two coming atGulfstream. The bay colt is owned by Frank Stronach and trained by Brian Lynch. "He will head back to Woodbine at the end of March and we'll look at the Marine Stakes," said Lynch. "He's a horse with a lot of potential."
Jiggs Coz, who took his career bow at the Toronto oval on October 9,ended his 2006 campaign with a third to Leonnatus Anteas in theCoronation Futurity and a victory in the Display Stakes on November 25. Mike Fox is 20-1, with four others at 30-1, Sam-Son Farm's two-year-old champion filly, Catch the Thrill, Sealy Hill, Dancer's Bajan and March to Victory, round out the top 10.
Racing fans can also participate in the Plate chase by playing the seventh annual Queen's Plate Fantasy Challenge at www.WoodbineEntertainment.com/fantasy. The contest, which launches onMarch 23, is FREE, with prizes available to be won. For a list of all 131 eligibles and their odds, in-depth analysis of the Winterbook and further details, please visit www.WoodbineEntertainment.com andwww.WoodbineEntertainment.com/thoroughbred/thb_raceevents.asp
Top 10 Winterbook Favourites
Horse Name / Odds
Twilight Meteor (Smart Strike – One Over Prime, by With Approval) 3
Leonnatus Anteas (Stormy Atlantic – South Sea Blues, by Cure the Blues)5
Cobrador (El Prado – Dynamite Diablo, by Diablo) 8
High Act (El Prado – Class, by Thunder Gulch) 12
Jiggs Coz (Cozzene – Young Brodie, by Broad Brush)15
Mike Fox (Giant’s Causeway – Alexis, by Alzao) 20
Catch the Thrill (A.P. Indy – Radiant Ring, by Seeking the Gold) 30 (f)
Dancer's Bajan (Trajectory – Thoughtful Deed, By Alydeed) 30
March to Victory (Dixieland Band – Frayne, by Red Ransom) 30
Sealy Hill (Point Given – Boston Twist, by Boston Harbour) 30 (f)
(Note: The Top 10 Plate hopefuls are also listed on the Queen’s Plate microsite from Woodbine, see the link to right. This list will change as horses start to compete.)
WINTERBOOK NOTES
Reached by telephone yesterday, trainer TODD PLETCHER said TWILIGHT METEOR has all the best qualities of a top racehorses. “He’s a medium sized horse and a great mover. The colt, who has won stakes on turf and Polytrack, is headed to Turfway Park for the Mar. 24 Lane’s End Stakes and could continue on the road to the Kentucky Derby first, should he do well in that test.
Pletcher often races horses at Woodbine and he has won the Queen’s Plate before with Eugene Melynk’s Archers Bay almost a decade ago. Last year, Pletcher sent out Sterwins to finish 2nd in the Plate.
The 131 eligibles is the lowest number of nominees to the Plate since 1998 when only 123 were eligible as of the February payment. Last year, 191 sophomores were eligible and in the three years before that the numbers were 173, 190 and 194.
Not sure what to blame that on as the foal crop has been steady in recent years. Forgetful owners? Change in format that now allows supplements to the Plate right up to entry day ($25,000 to supplement on entry day) or more Canadian-breds living south of the border?
Notables missing from the list include a couple from the Mark Casse stable: SEASIDE LINKS and LEGAL MOVE.
LABATT WOODBINE OAKS NOMINEES
One hundred and five fillies were made eligible for the biggest race for Canadian-bred 3yo fillies, the Labatt Woodbine Oaks, to be win on June 10.
CATCH THE THRILL, who had surgery at the end of her 2yo campaign and is still in Kentucky working on an equicizer, is one of the early favourites and she is one of nine from Sam-Son Farms on the list.
Eugene Melnyk has 11 nominated including SEALY HILL, who is in Ocala in training currently with Mark Casse.
The top two fillies are also eligible for the Queen’s Plate.
Woodbine also has a microsite for the Oaks and soon, a Top 10 List of hopefuls.
(Woodbine press release) Toronto, March 14 - Two highly regarded three-time winners, one based in the United States, the other in Canada, are the early favourites forthe 2007 Queen's Plate.
Two years ago, it was U.S.-based runners who stole the Queen's Platespotlight, as Wild Desert outdueled King of Jazz. In 2006,Woodbine-based Edenwold, named after a small town in Saskatchewan, wasthe upset winner.
Based on early projections, the trophy, the 50 guineas and the $600,000first-place prize could leave the country, as Peachtree Stable'sTwilight Meteor, trained by Todd Pletcher, was today named the 3-1Winterbook favourite for the 148th renewal of the $1 million race, setfor Sunday, June 24, 2007 at Woodbine.
However, undefeated Leonnatus Anteas, the 5-1 second choice for the 11/4-mile "Gallop for the Guineas," Canada's most famous horse race andNorth America's oldest continuously-run stakes event, could havesomething to say about the outcome. Locally owned and trained, Leonnatus Anteas was named Canada's top two-year-old male at the 2006 SovereignAwards.
The 84th edition of the Winterbook offers early odds on all 131 horses,120 colts and geldings, as well as 11 fillies, nominated to the 2007 Queen's Plate. Rounding out the top five in the Plate rankings is Cobrador, aU.S.-stationed grey son of El Prado, at 8-1; Brian Lynch-trained HighAct is 12-1 and Display Stakes winner, Jiggs Coz, is 15-1.
Twilight Meteor (3-1), a chestnut son of Smart Strike, is the early favourite on the strength of back-to-back wins in two stakes events, theBourbon on October 27 at Keeneland and the Hallandale Beach atGulfstream, on February 24.
"The Queen's Plate is definitely on the radar for him." saidPletcher, who saddled Sterwins to a second-place finish in last year'sPlate. "He's going to run in the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes at TurfwayPark on March 24 and we'll see how he does there." Pletcher said it's possible the colt could contest the Blue GrassStakes or Lexington Stakes in April at Keeneland were he to run well inthe Lane's End, but, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Then again, he could come up for the Plate Trial after the Lane's Endand then go to the Plate. He's doing very well and should handle the 11/4 mile distance no problem." Twilight Meteor has three wins and one second from five career starts.
Bred by Kinghaven Farms, Twilight Meteor is a son of Canadian-bredstallion Smart Strike out of One Over Prime, whose sire, With Approval,won the Canadian Triple Crown in 1989.
Leonnatus Anteas (5-1) is a worthy prospect. The son of Stormy Atlanticburst onto the racing scene in mid-August, winning three consecutivestakes over three different surfaces at Woodbine: the Vandal on theinner dirt track, the Cup & Saucer on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, and a key Plate prep, the Coronation Futurity, over the Polytrack.
"He's never been a little guy," noted trainer Kevin Attard. "I first saw him last January when I broke him at Payson. When you see him, helooks like a good horse, he has that presence." Owned by Knob Hill Stable and the Estate of Steve Stavro, the chestnut has spent the winter in Florida.
"He's doing well," said Attard, who recently brought the colt to hisPayson Park stable from Harris Training Centre in Ocala. "He was turnedout for a while after his campaign and then started swimming at the training centre on February 1." Attard, who said he was "taking a shot" by running him in a stakesrace, the Vandal, in his first career start last summer, is undecided about Leo's 2007 debut.
Cobrador, who finished eighth to Leonnatus Anteas in the Coronation Futurity, his only Canadian start to date, is listed at 8-1. Also a sonof El Prado, the grey's most recent effort was a third-place finish inthe John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, at Kentucky's Turfway Park on March3. After breaking his maiden in his second lifetime start, September 4, atArlington Park, the Paul McGee-trained colt has posted two thirds and asecond in three of his four most recent performances.
High Act, who launched his career with a runner-up effort on November 5at Woodbine, has since posted a win and two fourth-place finishes, thevictory coming at Churchill Downs, the most recent two coming atGulfstream. The bay colt is owned by Frank Stronach and trained by Brian Lynch. "He will head back to Woodbine at the end of March and we'll look at the Marine Stakes," said Lynch. "He's a horse with a lot of potential."
Jiggs Coz, who took his career bow at the Toronto oval on October 9,ended his 2006 campaign with a third to Leonnatus Anteas in theCoronation Futurity and a victory in the Display Stakes on November 25. Mike Fox is 20-1, with four others at 30-1, Sam-Son Farm's two-year-old champion filly, Catch the Thrill, Sealy Hill, Dancer's Bajan and March to Victory, round out the top 10.
Racing fans can also participate in the Plate chase by playing the seventh annual Queen's Plate Fantasy Challenge at www.WoodbineEntertainment.com/fantasy. The contest, which launches onMarch 23, is FREE, with prizes available to be won. For a list of all 131 eligibles and their odds, in-depth analysis of the Winterbook and further details, please visit www.WoodbineEntertainment.com andwww.WoodbineEntertainment.com/thoroughbred/thb_raceevents.asp
Top 10 Winterbook Favourites
Horse Name / Odds
Twilight Meteor (Smart Strike – One Over Prime, by With Approval) 3
Leonnatus Anteas (Stormy Atlantic – South Sea Blues, by Cure the Blues)5
Cobrador (El Prado – Dynamite Diablo, by Diablo) 8
High Act (El Prado – Class, by Thunder Gulch) 12
Jiggs Coz (Cozzene – Young Brodie, by Broad Brush)15
Mike Fox (Giant’s Causeway – Alexis, by Alzao) 20
Catch the Thrill (A.P. Indy – Radiant Ring, by Seeking the Gold) 30 (f)
Dancer's Bajan (Trajectory – Thoughtful Deed, By Alydeed) 30
March to Victory (Dixieland Band – Frayne, by Red Ransom) 30
Sealy Hill (Point Given – Boston Twist, by Boston Harbour) 30 (f)
(Note: The Top 10 Plate hopefuls are also listed on the Queen’s Plate microsite from Woodbine, see the link to right. This list will change as horses start to compete.)
WINTERBOOK NOTES
Reached by telephone yesterday, trainer TODD PLETCHER said TWILIGHT METEOR has all the best qualities of a top racehorses. “He’s a medium sized horse and a great mover. The colt, who has won stakes on turf and Polytrack, is headed to Turfway Park for the Mar. 24 Lane’s End Stakes and could continue on the road to the Kentucky Derby first, should he do well in that test.
Pletcher often races horses at Woodbine and he has won the Queen’s Plate before with Eugene Melynk’s Archers Bay almost a decade ago. Last year, Pletcher sent out Sterwins to finish 2nd in the Plate.
The 131 eligibles is the lowest number of nominees to the Plate since 1998 when only 123 were eligible as of the February payment. Last year, 191 sophomores were eligible and in the three years before that the numbers were 173, 190 and 194.
Not sure what to blame that on as the foal crop has been steady in recent years. Forgetful owners? Change in format that now allows supplements to the Plate right up to entry day ($25,000 to supplement on entry day) or more Canadian-breds living south of the border?
Notables missing from the list include a couple from the Mark Casse stable: SEASIDE LINKS and LEGAL MOVE.
LABATT WOODBINE OAKS NOMINEES
One hundred and five fillies were made eligible for the biggest race for Canadian-bred 3yo fillies, the Labatt Woodbine Oaks, to be win on June 10.
CATCH THE THRILL, who had surgery at the end of her 2yo campaign and is still in Kentucky working on an equicizer, is one of the early favourites and she is one of nine from Sam-Son Farms on the list.
Eugene Melnyk has 11 nominated including SEALY HILL, who is in Ocala in training currently with Mark Casse.
The top two fillies are also eligible for the Queen’s Plate.
Woodbine also has a microsite for the Oaks and soon, a Top 10 List of hopefuls.
posted by Jen Morrison @ 2:06 PM
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