{"id":3509,"date":"2020-09-03T16:30:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T20:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uat.woodbine.com\/queensplate\/memorable-queens-plate-firsts\/"},"modified":"2020-09-03T16:30:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T20:30:56","slug":"memorable-queens-plate-firsts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uat.woodbine.com\/kingsplate\/2020\/09\/03\/memorable-queens-plate-firsts\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorable Queen\u2019s Plate Firsts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Chris Lomon<\/a> for uat.woodbine.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

TORONTO, September 3, 2020 – Three Queen\u2019s Plate stories, each one a decidedly different recollection of the iconic horse race, but united by one common theme. Trainer Nicholas Gonzalez, farm manager David Whitford and jockey Justin Stein all have fond memories of the oldest continually run Thoroughbred race in North America, which celebrates its 161st edition on September 12.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

It was 1971, and 19-year-old Nicholas Gonzalez was hard at work in his quest to become a Thoroughbred trainer.<\/p>\n

His first training win wouldn\u2019t come until just over five years later, but on June 19, 1971, Gonzalez, eyes glued to a TV set in Fort Erie, Ont., imagined what it would be like to saddle a Queen\u2019s Plate champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a very impressionable older teenager when the mighty Kennedy Road galloped in the Queen\u2019s Plate, with Hall of Famer Sandy Hawley riding him, and \u2018Gentleman\u2019 Jim Bentley training him. I remember that race vividly. You know what impressed me about Kennedy Road? He wasn\u2019t just a good Canadian-bred\u2026 he went to California after and was also very successful. That Plate, it really got my attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
1971 Queen’s Plate champion Kennedy Road (Michael Burns Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As did the Plate wins of Big Red Mike in 2010 and Midnight Aria in 2013, both of them Gonzalez trainees.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of the greatest days in my life were when Martha [Nick\u2019s wife, and assistant trainer] and I won that race. In 2010, when Her Majesty The Queen was there \u2013 we had the chance to meet her \u2013 that\u2019s something we will always cherish. When you\u2019re racing in Canada, it\u2019s like the young guys who dream of running in the Kentucky Derby. To be in the Queen\u2019s Plate and win, that\u2019s something that\u2019s hard to put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both remain treasured accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo meet the Queen in 2010, and to win the race with [owner] Carlo Tucci in 2013, with a horse we claimed at Gulfstream\u2026 those are things you\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez, who has more than 1,500 career wins, is reminded daily of his victory 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a huge framed photo on the wall in our condo. I look at it quite often, and it puts a smile on my face every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

It was 32 years ago when the young man from Ireland went to Woodbine to watch his first Queen\u2019s Plate.<\/p>\n

Working for the legendary Windfields Farm at the time, Dave Whitford had a bird\u2019s-eye view of the proceedings before, during, and after the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came from Ireland in 1987, so the first Plate I saw was when Market Control won. But the first year I went to see the race was a little more memorable. It was determined Regal Classic, who Windfields bought into [in 1989], would stand at Windfields, so we had a vested interest in him. He was a great horse, who had done so much before the Plate. He ran in the U.S., in the Breeders\u2019 Cup, and just missed winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Plate in 1988 was a high-profile group. Granacus was in there, Sam Son\u2019s Regal Intention [who bested stablemate Regal Classic for the win] was obviously in there, Plate Dancer was ridden by [future trainer] Wesley Ward, and Julie Krone rode No Malice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
1988 Queen’s Plate champion Regal Intention (Michael Burns Photography)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It would be a somewhat eventful afternoon for the man who would take over the reins as farm manager for Sam-Son Farm in 2003, experiencing numerous successes, including Plate glory six years later with Eye of the Leopard.<\/p>\n

\u201cA group of us went that day in 1988 and we didn\u2019t have reserved seating or anything like that. We were on the second or third level, looking at the saddling ring, and royalty was there that year, Princess Margaret. There was another Irish guy with me and he was a little more Irish than I was because he had bright hair, and quite the thick accent. We were standing up above and looking at the horses going out to the track. People started heading towards the track, and the royal entourage also made their way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitford added with a laugh, \u201cI think they saw us with our Irish accents and drinks in both hands, and said, \u2018Whoa, these guys are trouble.\u2019 So, we got yanked off the railing \u2013 maybe they thought we were going to throw our drinks down on Princess Margaret \u2013 and I sort of felt like a criminal after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, for Whitford, the most arresting performance came on the racetrack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty lucky to have that Plate be the first one I saw in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Although he was just starting his journey towards becoming a jockey, and there was no thought of chasing Queen\u2019s Plate glory, what Justin Stein saw in the 2004 edition of the \u201cGallop for the Guineas\u201d has stuck with him to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was on TV and I was in Vancouver. To be honest, I didn\u2019t know much about the Plate at that time. In 2004 \u2013 I was just learning how to gallop and work horses \u2013 I watched Niigon win it. I remember [jockey] Robert Landry \u2013 and I didn\u2019t know much about race-riding \u2013 setting his horse up in a great position early. I think that strategy ended up winning him the race. That left an impression on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
2004 Queen’s Plate champion Niigon (Michael Burns Photography)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was something Stein recalled when he got a leg-up on Strait of Dover in the 2012 Plate.<\/p>\n

The British Columbia-bred son of English Channel went off as the second choice in the race, but the man in the irons rode the dark bay as if he were 1-9.<\/p>\n

Strait of Dover led from start to finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rain really came down after the race was over, but no one connected to the horse, including me, cared at all. We were drenched\u2026 it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he take anything from the first Plate he saw and incorporate it into his winning playbook eight years later?<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t even ridden in a race in 2004, but when I watched that race, as I look back on it, to see the confidence Rob had in his horse, it really stayed with me. I had that confidence in my horse in 2012. I was calm. I knew I had a nice horse and I had the go-ahead to ride him the way I wanted to, not to worry about anything, and to have fun. And I did. That Plate that I saw in 2004, you saw someone who believed in their horse. That\u2019s how I rode my Plate winner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Chris Lomon for uat.woodbine.com TORONTO, September 3, 2020 – Three Queen\u2019s Plate stories, each one a decidedly different recollection of the iconic horse race, but united by one common theme. Trainer Nicholas Gonzalez, farm manager David Whitford and jockey Justin Stein all have fond memories of the oldest continually run Thoroughbred race in North […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[48,83,99,141,204,228],"class_list":["post-3509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-woodbine-news","tag-david-whitford","tag-horse-racing","tag-justin-stein","tag-nicholas-gonzalez","tag-the-queens-plate","tag-woodbine"],"yoast_head":"\nMemorable Queen\u2019s Plate Firsts - Kings Plate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uat.woodbine.com\/kingsplate\/2020\/09\/03\/memorable-queens-plate-firsts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Memorable Queen\u2019s Plate Firsts - Kings Plate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Chris Lomon for uat.woodbine.com TORONTO, September 3, 2020 – Three Queen\u2019s Plate stories, each one a decidedly different recollection of the iconic horse race, but united by one common theme. 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