|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
QUEEN'S PLATE BREAKFAST & DRAWJune 21, 2012Roger AttfieldJosie CarrollMark CasseNick EavesNatasha KnippingBill SorokolitMark TewksburyDanny VellaDAN LOISELLE: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Dan Loiselle, and on behalf of Woodbine Entertainment and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, welcome to Woodbine and the post position draw for the 153rd running the Queen's Plate. I should mention that the HBPA has graciously donated a gift of a travel wallet to everyone in attendance this morning. You can pick up your gift on your way out after breakfast. Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen's Plate is North America's oldest continuously run stakes race. The United States has the Kentucky Derby, France the ArcdeTriomphe and Australia the Melbourne Cup, but this is Canada's race, a race steeped in tradition with a long and storied past. The past winners of the Queen's Plate is like a who's‑who of Canadian racing superstars, horses like With Approval, Izvestia, Dance Smartly, Awesome Again, Wando, and of course the great Northern Dancer just to name a few. The Queen's Plate is the first jewel of Canadian racing's Triple Crown, the second being the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie and then of course back to Woodbine for the Breeders' Stakes over a mile and a half of our fabulous EP Taylor turf course. This year's plate is shaping up. It's shaping up as a fabulous race. At this time would you please join me in welcoming the president and chief executive officer of Woodbine entertainment, Nick Eaves. Nick? NICK EAVES: Thank you, Danny. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This morning I'm not going to speak about the Queen's Plate as much as I would like to. I'm going to leave that to Danny and the connections and the video that's been prepared to introduce you to the starters in the race. Instead what I wanted to do was take this opportunity to provide you with a little bit of an update on the status of the cancellation of the racetrack slots program and the impact that it's going to have on Woodbine. It can be said certainly that the last month has been marked by really stark contradictions in our industry. All of us and so many other people witness firsthand the success and really the beauty of our core business, both at Woodbine Oaks and Pepsi North America Cup. It really summarized ultimately sort of the essence of the Ontario horse racing and breeding industry in that Ontario breds dominated with thrilling performances in both of those races. All of us and the world was following the I'll Have Another story through the Triple Crown, and ultimately that, too, put a fine point on the true essence of our industry. Here we are today in the lead‑up to the 153rd running of the Queen's Plate. It is a Canadian sport and cultural institution with a longer history and a deeper tradition than the Grey Cup or the Stanley Cup or the Kentucky Derby. On the other hand, we are in the midst of trying to deal with the cancellation of the racetrack slots program which is being continued to roll out as we speak. Unfortunately the government continues to characterize our industry and mischaracterize the size and value and ultimately the financial contribution of that industry. About two weeks ago, the government announced the formation of a panel who ultimately were tasked with working with the industry to assist it in dealing with the cancellation of the race tracks program, and ultimately helping to transition the industry to a self‑sustaining model. At the same time, we've heard from the OLG that they do intend for racetrack slot operations to continue here at Woodbine past the March 31, 2013, date, although unfortunately the model does not share any of the $600 million of revenue with our industry. That's a model that we've invested capital in, that we've partnered with the OLG to build over a 14‑year partnership. The going‑forward plan does not include racing in terms of sharing in that revenue. Instead the proposition is that there would be a form of nominal rent for the racetrack as the owner of the property. Ultimately, if that situation were to come to pass, on April the 1st, 2013, Woodbine's revenues would decrease by approximately 50 percent. Ladies and gentlemen, on that basis, we are simply not in a position to continue operating. We have built a model here at Woodbine based on the success of the racetrack slots program. We've had obligations in terms of expanding our business, meeting the requirements of the racetrack slots program, which is to support and to grow live racing in the province. We've invested $400 million in fulfillment of that objective, both on the slot floor, on the back stretch, on the front sides at our two racetracks. We're literally integrated slots in with our racing operation, encouraging our racing customers to move freely back and forth, and that's come at considerable expense to our on‑track wagering business. We eliminated the parking and admission charge that existed prior to the start of slots to facilitate the ease in and out of this facility, and we've completely changed the operating model of our business so that we can support that required mandate to promote live racing. We've gone and enhanced our operating infrastructure, we've invested millions and millions of dollars in building up an operating infrastructure such that we can fulfill that mandate, and it's simply not possible for us to go and lose the product line that has enabled us to compete, sacrifice the investment that we've made on the condition of a long‑term contract that we had no expectation would be terminated early, and be expected to then as an industry and as a racetrack, sustain ourselves on paramutual wagering alone. It's simply not possible. It's made that much more impossible when you look at what's going to happen in terms of the rollout of the OLG's expansion plan. There will be new sites, new gaming sites added across the province, additional gaming at each of the sites. There's talk of locating additional gaming at bingo halls, the distribution strategy for lottery is going to be expanded significantly, online gaming is going to be launched before the end of the year. There's talk of sports wagering coming to the lottery corporations. All of that is the competition in the hands of the government monopoly that we are going to be forced to compete against without the advantage of the partnership that has been so successful over the course of the past 14 years. It is an impossible position for us to have been put in. We simply cannot bridge to an environment where we can be sustainable given the investment that's been made in that model. We are certainly determined to continue to work with government and have them understand the importance and the value of continuing to integrate the horse racing industry with a broader provincial gaming strategy. But understand, if we're not able to have government move in that direction, then ultimately it will be the decision to end the racetrack slots program and essentially abandon the Ontario horse racing industry that will have resulted in the destruction of this industry, not our inability to operate in a self‑sustaining way against that type of competition which is going to be thrust upon us. Thank you. DAN LOISELLE: Ladies and gentlemen, our special guest today is Mark Tewksbury. Mark blasted out of the water with an incredible come‑from‑behind gold medal performance in the 100‑meter backstroke in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. His Olympic accomplishments include gold, silver and bronze model performances. He's had a career that includes 21 national titles, seven world records, and a cover appearance on Time Magazine. For his outstanding achievement, Mark was named Canada's Athlete of the Year in 1992, inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1993, and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Tewksbury has also become a champion for a number of important causes. He has proudly supported sick children and currently sits on the national boards of the Special Olympics and the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation. Mark's latest undertaking, he has been named the ChefdeMission for the Canadian Olympic team in the upcoming London Olympics. Please join me in welcoming Mark Tewksbury. MARK TEWKSBURY: Thank you, everybody. DAN LOISELLE: Ever been to the races? MARK TEWKSBURY: I sure have. I've been here close to 20 years ago, and also one of my highlights talking about some of the North American legacy races, I was at the Kentucky Derby in 2002. I was invited down there to be part of the Pegasus parade that happened before and sat on millionaire row drinking mint juleps. It was pretty fantastic. DAN LOISELLE: It's been 20 years since that gold medal performance. Tell me, when you hit the wall and you looked up and you saw on the board, Mark Tewksbury, Canada, gold medal, what went through your mind? MARK TEWKSBURY: Well, it's such a shock in a way. It was euphoria for a moment. I saw my last name blink before any other last name, which means I'd won. I didn't see the time and I didn't see the place, but that's what I saw. And then I sort of did what I think anybody would do but especially Canada. We don't win much in the pool. I totally freaked out and ended up on the lane rope, and that's when the shock set in. This wasn't just a race, this was the big one, this was the Olympics. DAN LOISELLE: What was the greatest obstacle you faced personally to push you to that gold medal performance? MARK TEWKSBURY: About 10 months before the Olympics, my main competitor smashed the world record and dropped 1.2 seconds, so I had to make a seven‑year improvement in 10 months, so that last year was a great testament to the challenge of sticking to the path and really trying to make it still happen. DAN LOISELLE: Who was your greatest influence, and what did he or she teach you that you carry with you to this date? MARK TEWKSBURY: You know, in sport I think it's so important to see the generation before you perform, and I was so lucky to be of the generation behind Alex Baumann and Victor Davis, and I was at the pool, watching these guys break world records, and when you see people do that, you're look, okay, they're human, they're ordinary people in a way, and it made it really accessible, and I think they taught me that he can be from Canada and be the best in the world. DAN LOISELLE: You were named Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic team in the London Olympics. Does that mean you cook for them? MARK TEWKSBURY: No. I can cook. I've cooked for about six of our medal favorites at my home in the past couple years. DAN LOISELLE: Describe for the people what the duties are of the Chef de Mission? MARK TEWKSBURY: It's part ambassadorial, but it's also a very serious technical position, so I'm the conduit between the International Olympic committee, the organizing committee and Canada. I'm the person that will pull an accreditation if it needs to be pulled. I'm the only one that has that authority. I'll be pulled into any sort of crisis decision making, which I hope is none. But it's been a couple years getting ready for all those different possible worst‑case scenarios. DAN LOISELLE: You're a gifted motivational speaker. Will you seek out the athletes on an individual basis and talk to them or will you speak to them as a group? What are the dynamics of that? MARK TEWKSBURY: It's a bit of both. I've spoken to many of the athletes. I've gone to a lot of the qualifying tournaments or trials and spoken to the team once they've been nominated the day after as a group. I've also been lucky enough to be in contact, as I said, with a number of our medal favorites that I've just had personal relationships with over the years. Q. I heard that you spoke to our Olympic team before the Vancouver Olympics and that you blew their socks off. Exactly what did you say to them? MARK TEWKSBURY: Well, that was a really interesting experience.  I was called in to speak to Team Canada right before they marched into the opening ceremony in Vancouver, and it was a pep rally, but if you remember the Georgian luger was killed on the track that morning. So we started the pep rally with a moment of silence. And it was so serious and so tense, and there were a few other speakers, Julie Payette was one of them, and I just decided by the time I got up there we needed to lighten it up. So I shared with the team some of the stuff that didn't go perfectly in my era, too. I'll tell one quick story. In Seoul, Korea, my first Games, the dove was very important. It represented peace that took place between North and South Korea during the games. In the opening ceremony they released 200 doves and they landed all over the place, and on the flagpoles and in the stands and on the cauldron. Then they ran in 20 minutes rater with the torch, they lit the cauldron, and 100 doves went up in smoke. They're falling on the infield around us athletes, and we're just going, this can't be happening. So I shared stories like that just to get the team kind of laughing and out of that serious mode and just to remind them, the Olympics, even though you expect perfection, they're just‑‑ it's life. Nothing goes always as planned. DAN LOISELLE: How much of being a champion is mental in your mind? MARK TEWKSBURY: Yeah, you think you need to have the physical training obviously, but on the day of competition there's nothing you can do except really think about the performance. So at that performing time, it's like 90 percent or 100 percent mental. DAN LOISELLE: We had as a country 18 medals in the Beijing Olympics. What are your expectations for London? MARK TEWKSBURY: Our goal is top 12. We've never been that high before. Depending on how you look at it, we're either 13th or 19th in the past game. Sometimes people go with gold medal counts, sometimes they go with total counts, so that's a discrepancy there. So it's a big goal. I'm not sure how many medals that we'll need. More than 18. And I feel good. We'll see when it comes time, right? DAN LOISELLE: Great to have you here. Your honesty is refreshing. You speak from the heart, and a nation will be cheering for you in London. MARK TEWKSBURY: Thank you. Go, Canada, go. DAN LOISELLE: Ladies and gentlemen, by way of explanation, the draw for the Queen's Plate will be the same as it was last year. First we will draw a selection order, which will determine the order in which owners and trainers select their post positions. That select order will be posted on the selection board. Then there will be a two‑minute consultation period, owners and trainers will discuss strategy, then in order the first draw, owners and trainers are asked to select their post positions. They'll have 90 seconds to do that. Horses' names and positions are then posted on the second board. Just a reminder, anyone missing the 90 seconds will move to the bottom of the order. That's never happened before, and it's not going to happen today. And finally, to the connections of the Queen's Plate starters, if you've decided before the allotted 90 seconds which position you want, come on up to the stage and that will quicken the process. To the members of the media, connections of the Queen's Plate starters will be available following the draw to answer any questions that you may have. Our director of racing and racing secretary here at Woodbine, Steve Lym, will assist with the draw. The field for the Queen's Plate has 14 starters, the gross purse $1 million, and the winner will receive $600,000. What we're going to do is put all these in random here. You're going to pick them out of there one at a time and hand them to me, Steve is going to match them with a number that he's about to put in this shaker or whatever we call it, match them up, and that will be the selection order. Let's go, Mark. First horse out is Golden Ridge will select first. Golden Ridge, owned by the Melnyk Racing Stable, trained by Mark Casse, who trained Hippolytus to a second place finish last year. Luis Contreras, who won the plate with Inglorious last year, will ride Golden Ridge, who will select first. River Rush will select 10th. Washington Dash will select 13th, owned by Silverton Hill Farm, Darrin Miller trains, Rajiv Maragh rides. River Rush incidentally was the winner of the Plate trial stakes owned by Stronach Stables who have won the Plate twice with Basqueian and Awesome Again. Reade Baker, who also runs Macho Whiskey, trains River Run. Jim McAleney, who's looking for that elusive first Queen's Plate victory will ride River Rush just to backtrack for a second. Next up is Wilcox, will select second, owned by the Melnyk Racing Stables of Eugene Melnyk. He won the Plate with Archers Bay in '98 in partnership with Bill and Iris Bristow. Josie Carroll trains Wilcox. She's won the Plate twice, with Edenwold in '06 and last year with the filly Inglorious. And Tyler Pizarro, who rode Hippolytus to that second place finish last year will ride Wilcox. Irish Mission is next, will select 14th, winner of this year's Woodbine Oaks, one of two fillies in the field owned by Robert Evans, trained by Mark Frostad, who has four times won the Plate, Victor Cooley, Scatter the Gold, Dancethruthedawn and Eye of the Leopard. Alex Solis in his first Queen's Plate ride aboard Irish Mission who will select 14th. Peyton is next, will select eighth, owned by the Windhaven farms of Bill Graham. Mike Doyle trains, Julien Leparoux in his first Queen's Plate ride will ride Peyton, who will select eighth. Ultimate Destiny will select 12th, owned by Brenda Selwyn Waxman. Mike Keogh, who has trained two Queen's Plate winners, Woodcarver in '99, Wando in '03, trains Ultimate Destiny. Will be ridden by Steven Bahen, who scored one of the biggest upsets in Plate history in 2002 when he guided TJ's Lucky Moon to victory at 82 to 1. Macho Whiskey will select sixth, owned by the Harlequin Ranches of Richard Bonnycastle. His Gold Strike was third in the Plate in 2005. Trained by Reade Baker who trained that filly. Reade also runs River Rush. Emma Jane Wilson, who won the Plate with Mike Fox in '07, will ride Macho Whiskey who will select sixth. Big Creek will select 11th. Big Creek owned by the Green Hills Farm, Inc., trained by Todd Pletcher, who trained the Plate winner in '98, Archers Bay. Ramon Dominguez will ride Big Creek. Classic Bryce will select third, owned by Bill Sorokolit, trained by Darwin Banach, his first Queen's Plate starter, will be ridden by Todd Cable, who's won the Plate twice, '95 with Regal Discovery and in 2000 with Scatter the Gold. Classic Bryce will pick third. Strait of Dover will select fifth, owned by the Canyon Farm, trained by Danny Vella, who trained the Plate winner in '94, Basqueian, will be ridden by Justin Stein. Making Amends will select ninth, owned by the Quintessential Racing Florida, LLC, Horse'n Around Racing Stable and Richard Lederman, trained by Mark Casse, who also runs the filly Dixie Strike and Golden Ridge. Eurico Rosa Da Silva who won back‑to‑back Plates in '09 with Eye of the Leopard and 2010 with Big Red Mike will ride Making Amends. Colleen's Sailor will select fourth, owned by Terra Di Sienna Stables, trained by Roger Attfield, who's tied with Harry Giddings for the most Queen's Plate victories at eight. Corey Nakatani in his first Queen's Plate ride rides Colleen's Sailor for trainer Roger Attfield. And finally, Dixie Strike, one of two fillies in the field, will select seventh, half sister to last year's winner Inglorious, owned by John Oxley, trained by Mark Casse, and will be ridden by Patrick Husbands, who won the Plate in '03 with Wando. Dixie Strike will pick seventh. So there you have it. That's the selection order for the Queen's Plate. That ends the selection portion of the program, ladies and gentlemen. I should mention to the connections of the starters that we spoke to our starter, Ian Ross, and the horses will go two at a time. 1 and 8 will load together, then 2 and 9 together, 3 and 10, and the 14 position will load last. We mention that just in case that has some bearing on your post position decision. And like I said, there will be a two‑minute break now while the connections of the Queen's Plate starters decide on a strategy for picking their post position. Alison Read will man the stopwatch. And while the owners and trainers are discussing those options, I'd like to mention that again this year, the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society will be conducting an excellent fundraiser for their very worthy cause. Special Queen's Plate saddle cloths will be worn by every runner in the Queen's Plate on Sunday afternoon, and following the Plate, the saddle cloths of each and every horse will be auctioned off on eBay. The auction will commence on Tuesday, June the 26th, and will close the following Tuesday, July the 3rd. Money raised will go directly to the fostering, rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming of retired racehorses. So support LongRun, just an incredible organization. Again, the auction starts this coming Tuesday on eBay. Hopefully all the Queen's Plate connections are ready and we can proceed with the selection of Plate post positions. We have Alison Read manning the stopwatch. As I mentioned earlier, you have a 90‑second time frame. The first horse in the selection process is Golden Ridge. So Mark, if you'd come up, please. Position for Golden Ridge? MARK CASSE: No.7. DAN LOISELLE: What do you think of his prospects going into the Plate? What are your thoughts on him? MARK CASSE: I think this is a really nice horse. He's got a great pedigree, and I think he's coming to the race in great shape, and I think he's going to be right there. DAN LOISELLE: He had a big work on June the 13th. Tell us about that work. MARK CASSE: Well, he's going to be almost six weeks between races, so we thought we needed to do something serious. The track was pretty slow that day, and he breezed 5/8 in 59 in two, which was impressive. I think he was about a second and a half faster than anybody else. But more importantly it's what he did afterwards. We've been doing this for a while, and we think if a horse can gallop out 7/8 in better than 29, it's pretty good. I think March Field used to gallop out 7/8 in about 28. This colt galloped out in 26 in two, so that's pretty impressive. DAN LOISELLE: Good luck, Mark. Mark Casse, the trainer of Golden Ridge. Wilcox is next, Josie Carroll. Josie has trained two Queen's Plate winners. JOSIE CARROLL: No.6. DAN LOISELLE: Post 6 for Wilcox. You've trained a couple Plate winners. This is the most lightly raced horse in the field. You had others that were under consideration, you decided to race this colt of the three. Why? JOSIE CARROLL: The other two horses weren't peaking right now, and this horse appears to be. DAN LOISELLE: What about the mile and a quarter? Is that a concern? JOSIE CARROLL: That's pretty much the reason I put this horse in. This horse wants to go as long as they ride them, I think. DAN LOISELLE: Are you concerned that he's lightly raced? JOSIE CARROLL: A little bit, of course. He doesn't have the seasoning that some of the other courses have. But he has a good mind. He's going to relax and probably sit off the pace and finish. He'll just run his race. DAN LOISELLE: Classic Bryce is next, Darwin Banach, Bill Sorokolit, Jr., representing his dad, a great patron of the sport. Who's going to do the honors? BILL SOROKOLIT: The better looking one. NATASHA KNIPPING: We're going for 5. DAN LOISELLE: This horse is ultra consistent. He looks like he's doing everything that you've asked him to do, three stakes races, three in the money finishes. Is he continuing to move forward? BILL SOROKOLIT: Yeah, I think he is. I think he'll improve off that. We like the fact that he's consistent, but we didn't sort of empty the tank so to speak. We're saving our best dance for the big dance. DAN LOISELLE: You didn't name a rider for the longest time, but you finally opted for Todd Cable, and Cable is a champion, won two Queen's Plates. What was the thought process there? BILL SOROKOLIT: Well, I think I summed it up when I said that Todd is the best rider I've ever seen, and I've been around here since the mid '80s, and I think that is coming to the forefront in his comeback year. DAN LOISELLE: Roger Attfield, Colleen's Sailor. You said earlier in the year you don't have a Queen's Plate horse. Well, you do now. You got this horse in March, and he must have came to hand quickly. Tell us how you acquired him and what he's done in the interim to impress you as being a Queen's Plate starter? ROGER ATTFIELD: Well, he was well trained by a friend of mine last year, Brian Lynch, and he ran twice as a two over two turns, so that really helps going into the three hold here, and I inherited him in March and just ran him twice, and both races were good races, and he just keeps improving in the mornings. I only had a chance to get those two races into him, but he's training like he got the mile and a quarter well enough, and very nice horse to work with. DAN LOISELLE: And what position are you taking? ROGER ATTFIELD: I'm taking nine. DAN LOISELLE: He's breezed twice since that allowance win. Were you pleased with those breezes? ROGER ATTFIELD: Yeah, actually I was. His second‑last work could have been just a little bit stronger. The pacemaker horse that I had didn't really cut it. I'd have liked him to have gone a little bit quicker early. But it was good. He galloped out well. He's not a very big horse. I think I'm fine. DAN LOISELLE: For all of us here, congratulations on a tremendous career, and you're going to Saratoga in August to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Congratulations. Next is Strait of Dover, trainer Danny Vella. In all probability the Queen's Plate favorite will have post position‑‑ DANNY VELLA: 4. DAN LOISELLE: Why 4? DANNY VELLA: Well, the timing is good. We don't want to be in the gate too long. We don't want to get hung out wide, which is something you've always really worried about, and it kind of came down to 4 to 8, and we took 4. DAN LOISELLE: Why didn't you run him in the Plate trial? DANNY VELLA: Well, we were debating whether to go. Three weeks was a little close for us, and he kind of gave us a few signs that maybe he wasn't quite ready, so we just waited. DAN LOISELLE: Tell us about his recent works. They looked impressive. Were you pleased with him? DANNY VELLA: He's training super right now. He worked three quarters in 12, he galloped out in 25 and change. I mean, with six weeks we had to put a little pressure on him, and he responded really well. He's gotten better from each work. DAN LOISELLE: Speaking of pressure, you're saddling a Queen's Plate favorite. Is that more pressure for Danny Vella? DANNY VELLA: You're trying to make me upset, aren't you? Yeah, you like to go into the Plate with what you feel is a really good horse and one that nobody is focusing on. Of course people are focusing on him a little bit. But I guess it's better to be the favorite than anywhere else, right? DAN LOISELLE: One final question that I haven't read too much, but I was glancing at the PPs the other day. He's picking up 11 pounds to go into the Plate, from 115 to 126. Is that a concern of yours? DANNY VELLA: Well, the weight and the distance is always a concern, and that was actually part of the reason‑‑ the Plate trial I think takes a little more out of a horse than maybe the Marine does when you have to go a mile and an eighth carrying 126. I think it makes a difference in the race, but sometimes I think it makes more of a difference in your next start because that race takes a lot out of you. We're fresh, and we're hoping our fresh legs will help carry that. DAN LOISELLE: Macho Whiskey, trainer Reade Baker. Well, what position? READE BAKER: We'll take the 3. DAN LOISELLE: Lightly raced horse, still looks like he's learning the game. Would that be a true assessment? READE BAKER: Yeah, and he wasn't fit enough the other day. I just got him at the end of February, so we haven't really had much time with him. I expect big things. DAN LOISELLE: What's his running style? Where do you expect to see him in the body of the race? READE BAKER: I don't know. That's up to jock. I don't interfere with that. DAN LOISELLE: Mr.Casse making his second trip to visit, races the filly Dixie Strike. She's next in the selection order. She was the favorite in the Oaks, and disappointment, she was fifth. What do you attribute that fifth place finish in the Oaks to, anything in particular? MARK CASSE: Patrick getting‑‑ no, I don't‑‑ DAN LOISELLE: Bad ride. Sounds like a trainer. MARK CASSE: You know what, she just didn't run her race. That's happened before with her. If she brings her A game, the boys are going to have to deal with her. If she doesn't, then she'll‑‑ you know. DAN LOISELLE: Bit of an equipment change with her for the Plate, you're putting the blinkers on. Your reasoning there? MARK CASSE: We just think that she loses focus sometimes or concentrates on horses around her, and we just want her to be a little more focused. DAN LOISELLE: Post 10 for Dixie Strike. Peyton is next, owned by Bill Graham, Windhaven, trained by Michael Doyle. What position are you taking? MICHAEL DOYLE: 2. DAN LOISELLE: You've described this horse as a work in progress. Describe what you mean by that and how is he coming to the race? MICHAEL DOYLE: He's coming to the race fantastic. He's just a slow learner and he's finally getting things together. He's really got it together since he was gelded last fall. His first start this year he ran a fantastic race and then he was looking around and looking in the grandstand and ducking and diving through the race. He ran a better race last time, and I think probably his best race will be this one. DAN LOISELLE: Now, you had said following the Plate trial that you had perhaps wished he had been a little closer to the pace. Is that what you anticipate on Sunday? MICHAEL DOYLE: Really just depends on how everything unfolds after they leave the gate and get to the first turn. I don't think it really matters a lot, as long as he's not too far out of it, you know? DAN LOISELLE: Making Amends, trainer Mark Casse, last visit. You're wearing out a path, buddy. What position are you taking? MARK CASSE: 11. DAN LOISELLE: He was sixth in the Plate trial, but he was in tight quarters for a while. Do you think that affected his performance at all? MARK CASSE: We do. We talked about it after the race. It was his first time going two turns, and then for almost the entire stretch run he was pinned down inside, doesn't seem to like it, and for that reason we're going to take No.11. DAN LOISELLE: Your jockey is confident about this colt, that's the feeling I get anyways. MARK CASSE: He is. We were kind of hemming and hawing whether we were going to run, and he came and talked to me and says, I think we really need to run. When a rider of his caliber believes that much in the horse, I sure have to sit back and look at it. He trained really well up to this race, so we're going to give it a shot. There's only one Queen's Plate. DAN LOISELLE: Are you expecting this colt to come from out of it? MARK CASSE: He's going to be a little closer. We're going to use some of his speed, and he won't be too far off the pace. DAN LOISELLE: River Rush is next, Reade Baker, the trainer of River Rush. Post position for River Rush in the Queen's Plate? READE BAKER: 1 hole. DAN LOISELLE: Post 1 for River Rush. A stunning performance in his last race, like eye catching, a track record. Did you think he had it in him that day? He did it, but did you think he had it in him? READE BAKER: No, I thought he'd hit the board. I thought he'd close really well and prove he belonged in the Plate, but I couldn't ‑‑ I didn't think he'd be that close early. Like at the half‑mile pole he was looking to run over the top of the field. That kind of surprised me. DAN LOISELLE: Still a little green? Would be that a fair assessment? Looks like he brushed the rail coming through the stretch in his win there. Still a little green? READE BAKER: Yeah, a little green, but I think he'll start from 1 and finish 1. DAN LOISELLE: And he came from last. Is traffic at all a concern of yours in a 14‑horse field with this colt on Sunday? READE BAKER: Not mine. Maybe McAleney's but not mine. DAN LOISELLE: The pressure is on, Reade Baker, the trainer of River Rush. Big Creek is next, and I understand no representatives are here, so Julie Bell is on the phone. Post 12 for Big Creek. Ultimate Destiny is next. Mike Keogh, owned by Brenda Selwyn Waxman, husband Warren, daughter Jennifer. Come here and see me, Jennifer. Got the number picked out yet? JENNIFER WAXMAN: Yes, we're choosing 8. DAN LOISELLE: Can I ask you a about the horse? Six lifetime starts, never missed a check. He seems to be getting better every race. Is that your assumption, too? Does he continue to improve every start? JENNIFER WAXMAN: Yeah, I think he's improving every time. DAN LOISELLE: And Michael, just watching this horse race, calling all his races, his head, he carries his head a little bit different than most thoroughbreds. Is that true? MIKE KEOGH: Yeah, we've galloped him in G‑lines, and he'll keep it down with G‑lines, but as soon as you take them off his head is up. DAN LOISELLE: You've decided to just let him be who he is. MIKE KEOGH: Yeah, exactly. DAN LOISELLE: What have you done with him since his last race? How is he coming up to the race on Sunday? MIKE KEOGH: Great. Two weeks ago he worked a mile, and I jumped one of Mr.Waxman's fillies in with him to finish up, and then we went three quarters last weekend, did the same thing, jumped another filly in just to bring him home. He seems to gallop out better than he works, actually. DAN LOISELLE: Last‑minute entry is coming up next, Washington Dash, lucky 13 for Washington Dash, a maiden going into the Plate, and as you know, maidens have won the Queen's Plate before. Frosty, I'm guessing 14, but come on up anyways. MARK FROSTAD: I demand a redraw. DAN LOISELLE: Fillies have won the Plate before. You trained one, Dancethruthedawn. This filly surprised us in the Oaks. I thought she was 9 to 1. Did she surprise you that day? MARK FROSTAD: No, not really. We expected her to run a big race. The mile and an eighth was a bit of a concern. We would rather it be a little further like the Plate distance. Hopefully that will suit her very well. DAN LOISELLE: So a mile and an eighth was a bit of a concern, now going a mile and a quarter? MARK FROSTAD: That's even better. DAN LOISELLE: You've worked her since her last race. Tell us about that work and were you pleased with it? MARK FROSTAD: Yeah, she worked very well. She worked in 59 and change and out in 13, I think, but just cruising along. DAN LOISELLE: Instructions to Solis on Sunday? MARK FROSTAD: Well, with this post position I'll let him figure that out. DAN LOISELLE: That's his problem, post 14, Irish Mission, the Oaks winner. Good luck, Mark. Ladies and gentlemen, I won't give you the morning line for the entire field on Sunday afternoon, but when wagering opens on Sunday, Strait of Dover will open at 3 to 1, River Rush will open as the second choice at 4 to 1, Golden Ridge will open as the 6 to 1 third choice, and the filly Dixie Strike will open as the fourth choice at 8 to 1. Ladies and gentlemen, I should mention that we're going to try some new twists with events surrounding the Queen's Plate this year. We're going to create a festival atmosphere just outside the walking ring that you're in with food trucks, barbecue stations, live D.J. and emcee. You can try our new Queen's Plate signature drink, the Blue Diamond. We're going to put a big screen back here so fans can watch and wager on the Queen's Plate card, that and so much more. It'll be rocking around this walking ring here on Sunday afternoon. For more information and updates on the Queen's Plate, please visit queensplate.com, a great site with terrific information. If you can't make it to the track on Sunday, the Queen's Plate will be broadcast live on CBC in HD around the nation from 4:30 until 6:00 p.m. with hosts Scott Russell and Jim Bannon. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|