A big field of 14, plus four also eligibles, hope for glory Oct. 1 in the CA$400,000 Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine. The 1 1/2-mile Breeders' Stakes is the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Leading the charge is Paramount Prince, who won the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the King's Plate Stakes, Aug. 20.
The last time a horse won two legs of the series was 2020 when Mighty Heart claimed the first two contests.
Paramount Prince fell short with a third-place finish by 1 1/4 lengths in the second leg, the Prince of Wales Stakes Sept. 12.
"He was really gutsy in the Prince of Wales," said trainer Mark Casse. "(Trainer) Josie Carroll's horse (Ottawa) ran head-and-head with him three-quarters of the way, and obviously, the pace was very quick, but he is what he is and that's the way he runs. He ran his butt off, and the winner (Velocitor) ran great and deserved to win."
Velocitor is not in the field Sunday, but the runner-up in the King's Plate, Elysian Field, is.
One of three fillies set for the Breeders' Stakes, Elysian Field is also trained by Casse.
"Watching Paramount Prince and Elysian Field go one-two in the Plate is definitely in my top 10 highlights," said Casse. "We were extremely fortunate. It's funny, (owner Gary Barber) told me all morning the day of the Plate that he had a dream we were going to run one-two. And it happened."
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Trainer Kevin Attard has three entries in the race, plus an also eligible: Tiburon (30-1), Philip My Dear (20-1), Wickenheiser (10-1), and Enjoythesilent (20-1). Wickenheiser, a 3-year-old Lemon Drop Kid filly, might be the queen of almost in Canada this year. She has three seconds from four starts. The only time she failed to finish second was the King's Plate, in which she was 11th.
"I thought Wickenheiser came back with a nice effort last time out in the Wonder Where," said Attard. "She broke her maiden on the grass and it's a surface she's run on before. In seven of her eight races, she's been within four lengths of the winner, so we're expecting another competitive effort from her on Sunday."
Another Attard trainee, Philip My Dear, won the Sovereign Award in 2022 for champion 2-year-old colt. A 3-0-2 mark from five starts can elevate expectations. But the current year has not been so kind.
After three starts—none better than a fifth—trying to regain some of the magic of a year ago before the calendar turns will be a high priority. Since his last win, he's only run on the all-weather track. His first four career starts were on turf.
"We're very excited to see Philip My Dear get back on the grass," said Attard. "He's hooked some tough horses this year, but when you look back at his form, he loves running on the turf and has done exceptionally well on it. He's coming into the race in great shape and hopefully, he's ready to show what we know he's capable of."
Woodbine, Sunday, October 1, 2023, Race 9Entries: Breeders' S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Kaukokaipuu (ON) Rocco Bowen 126 Tedston Holder 8/1 2 2British Artillery (ON) Omar Moreno 126 Barbara J. Minshall 20/1 3 3Simcoe (ON) Christopher Husbands 126 Katerina Vassilieva 30/1 4 4Hemlo Gold (ON) Eswan Flores 126 Elizabeth R. Elder 30/1 5 5Tiburon (ON) Leo Salles 126 Kevin Attard 30/1 6 6Tito's Calling (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 123 Michael P. De Paulo 10/1 7 7Paramount Prince (ON) Patrick Husbands 126 Mark E. Casse 7/2 8 8Sammy Stone (ON) Ryan Munger 126 Catherine Day Phillips 15/1 9 9Midnight in Malibu (ON) Luis Contreras 126 Sid C. Attard 15/1 10 10Philip My Dear (ON) Justin Stein 126 Kevin Attard 20/1 11 11Touch'n Ride (ON) Kazushi Kimura 126 Layne S. Giliforte 6/1 12 12Elysian Field (ON) Sahin Civaci 123 Mark E. Casse 5/2 13 13Twowaycrossing (ON) Keveh Nicholls 126 Roger L. Attfield 20/1 14 14Wickenheiser (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 123 Kevin Attard 10/1 15 15Enjoythesilent (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 126 Kevin Attard 20/1 16 16Legal Catch (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 126 Michael P. De Paulo 12/1 17 17Over and Ollie (ON) Luis Contreras 126 Sid C. Attard 20/1 18 18Greystone (ON) Jason Hoyte 126 Sylvain Pion 30/1
