Last year, Canadian Hall of Famer trainer Josie Carroll told co-owner Andrew Rosen she believed their promising 2-year-old Luster would take the winning connections into the winner's circle in 2026 with a victory in the 167th King's Plate Stakes, the historic first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
On Aug. 15 at Woodbine, Carroll and Luster made good on that prediction. The Knicks Go filly dusted 10 Canadian-bred 3-year-old males and another 3-year-old filly in the $722,187 race, scoring by 7 1/4 lengths. She became the 40th filly to win the oldest continuously run horse race in North America.
Favored at 1-5, the last-out Woodbine Oaks winner never gave her backers much need to sweat before returning $2.50 to win. Settling in third and then fourth in the 1 1/4-mile race, she rated a few lengths off the pace of longshot Fire and Wine, who carved out splits of :22.78, :46.48, and 1:11.05.
Then after American Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez angled Luster into the clear on the second turn, it was her time to shine. She advanced, and though Military Time loomed with a wide bid at that stage, she quickly accelerated away from him and others under a confident hand ride from Velazquez. She hit the wire in a final time of 2:02.01, the fastest since Paramount Prince ran 2:01.93 in 2023.
"I asked her to go, and she responded really nice," said Velazquez, who won his second Plate after his initial success aboard Wonder Gadot in 2018.
"I've been in the business over 40 years, and winning a race like this is just fantastic," added Rosen, who owns Luster with Gainesway Stable.
Military Time finished second, 3 lengths ahead of Fire and Wine, who held on for the show.
Luster's performance and margin of victory conjured memories of Canadian Horse of the Year Moira, whose 7-length triumph in the 2022 Plate for trainer Kevin Attard signaled her elite potential. A couple of years later, Moira won the 2024 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T), a victory that propelled her to an Eclipse Award as outstanding female turf horse.
Moira's connections chose to forgo running her in the subsequent legs of the Canadian Triple Crown—the CA$400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes over 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Fort Erie and the CA$400,000 Breeders' Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on turf at Woodbine—in favor of graded stakes.
Twelve horses have swept the series since the Canadian Triple Crown was formalized in 1959, though none since Wando won all three races in 2003.
Carroll, who won her fourth Plate—20 years after her first with Edenwold—indicated Luster might get a short break after Saturday's race, meaning a quick return in the Sept. 7 Prince of Wales is unlikely. One alternative that allows for a short freshening is the Oct. 10 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) for 3-year-old fillies on the grass at Keeneland.
"That has certainly been a race that's been tentatively on our radar," Carroll said.
All six of Luster's races have come on Tapeta or turf, resulting in five victories and one third-place finish. She won over the Keeneland turf in the spring.
Via Ben Gowans, Rosen and Gainesway acquired Luster at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Machmer Hall Sales consignment for $80,000. Ravi Sugrim and Joannie Dass bred her in Ontario out of Ruby Frost, by The Factor .
Knicks Go, the 2021 American Horse of the Year, stood initially at Taylor Made Farm before being relocated to Korea for the 2026 breeding season.
