Trained by Kevin Attard, who also sends out the filly Merveilleux<\/strong>, the bay colt arrives at the Plate in sharp form, having won two straight, including the Plate Trial on August 15.<\/p>\n Bred by Bernard and Karen McCormack, Clayton will be piloted by Rafael Hernandez, who won the 2015 Plate with Shaman Ghost.<\/p>\n Attard, who finished second with the late Steve Stavro homebred Alezzandro in the 2007 running, likes what he sees ahead of the big race.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been special from the get-go,\u201d praised Attard. \u201cHe was an impressive maiden winner, so once that happened, the bell starts ringing in your head, and you\u2019re saying, \u2018Hey, maybe I\u2019ve got a good three-year-old here.\u2019 He followed it up with a good race first time out this year \u2013 didn\u2019t win but had traffic trouble \u2013 and I think he learned a lot. That was encouraging. Obviously, he\u2019s won his last two since then and stretched out. He\u2019s doing everything you want him to. Hopefully, he just needs to get a little bit better one more time and maybe he can put everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n Curlin\u2019s Voyage<\/strong>, who took this year\u2019s running of the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, could deliver Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll her third Plate victory.<\/p>\n Carroll, who won the Queen\u2019s\u00a0Plate\u00a0with filly Inglorious in 2011 and with Edenwold in 2006, will also have Belichick <\/strong>and Mighty Heart<\/strong> go postward in her quest to net the hat trick.<\/p>\n Named champion two-year-old filly in Canada, Curlin\u2019s Voyage is bred by Hill \u2018n\u2019 Dale Equine Holdings, Inc., who co-owns with Windsor Boys Racing.<\/p>\n What\u2019s impressed Carroll the most when it comes to the filly that sports a 5-2-1 mark from nine career outings?<\/p>\n \u201cHer consistency. She finds a way to get it done. She always shows up and she\u2019s a very, very special filly.\u201d<\/p>\n The multiple stakes winning daughter of Curlin will seek to become fourth filly to win the Queen\u2019s Plate in the last seven years.<\/p>\n Over the last 10 years, three Oaks winners have gone on to win the Plate: Inglorious, Lexie Lou (2014) and Holy Helena (2017).<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always thought very highly of her after her two-year-old debut,\u201d praised Carroll, of Curlin\u2019s Voyage. \u201cShe\u2019s a very uncomplicated filly and does everything you ask of her.\u201d<\/p>\n Patrick Husbands, who won the Canadian Triple Crown with Wando in 2003, and the 2014 Plate with Lexie Lou, will be in the irons.<\/p>\n Halo Again<\/strong>, trained by Steve Asmussen for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, knows the Woodbine main track well.<\/p>\n Last year, the son of Speightstown took the Coronation Futurity Stakes. This year, the bay colt won the Queenston Stakes, and most recently, finished a game second, a half-length back of Clayton, in the Plate Trial.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel very good about his chances,\u201d said Asmussen. \u201cI thought he stayed on nicely [in the Plate Trial]. He came out of the race in great shape.\u201d<\/p>\n Jockey Luis Contreras, who teamed with Inglorious to win the 2011 Plate, and partnered Holy Helena to victory in 2017, could give Asmussen his first win in the \u201cGallop for the Guineas.\u201d<\/p>\n Having never finished lower than fifth in eight career outings, Dotted Line<\/strong> will look to connect the dots for his biggest win to date this Saturday.<\/p>\n Bred and owned by Howard Walton (Norseman Racing Stable), the son of Signature Red has three career wins, including a 49-1 upset in last year\u2019s Frost King Stakes.<\/p>\n Dotted Line was third in the Plate Trial, just a shade over a half-length behind Clayton, with Justin Stein in the irons. The British Columbia-born rider won the 2012 Plate with Strait of Dover.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a horse that always tries every time,\u201d said Attard, who won the Atto Mile (G1) with Numerous Times in 2001 and the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1) with Interpol in 2015. \u201cHe has run a lot of good races, and hopefully, he comes up with his biggest one on Saturday. He\u2019s coming around really nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n Attard, who has started seven horses in the Queen\u2019s Plate \u2013 his best finish coming in 1992 when Grand Hooley finished second to Alydeed \u2013 also sends out Olliemyboy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods, Belichick<\/strong> arrives at the Queen\u2019s Plate off a second-place effort on August 1 in a 1 1\/8-mile main track race at Woodbine.<\/p>\n Bred by Sean Fitzhenry, the bay colt is a son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner and multiple graded stakes champ Lemon Drop Kid.<\/p>\n Belichick finished third in his career bow on July 4 at Woodbine.<\/p>\n \u201cHe came to me in Florida this winter,\u201d noted Carroll. \u201cHe\u2019s a tremendous-moving horse that impressed from the start. We put the Plate on our radar right at that time. His first two starts, he was very green and unfocused, and he just now seems to be pulling it together. He\u2019s a horse that had enough talent to be given a chance in there [Plate].\u201d<\/p>\n Bred by Josham Farms Limited, F F Rocket<\/strong> launches his Woodbine debut in the Plate.<\/p>\n Owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc., the son of Curlin broke his maiden in his most recent start, a two-length triumph at 1 mile and 70 yards over Presque Isle Downs\u2019 main track.<\/p>\n The chestnut, trained by Albert Stall Jr. (he won the 2010 Breeders\u2019 Cup when Blame bested Zenyatta), debuted at Fair Grounds last December, before a pair of races at Oaklawn Park to start his three-year-old campaign.<\/p>\n Glorious Tribute<\/strong>, trained by Barbara Minshall for Bruce Lunsford, finished fourth in the Plate Trial at 62-1.<\/p>\n The son of Congrats, who was third to Halo Again in this year\u2019s Queenston Stakes, broke his maiden in the final start of his two-year-old campaign.<\/p>\n Minshall was Canada\u2019s champion trainer in 1996. Her top horses include Mt. Sassafras, Strut the Course, Kiridashi, Stephanotis and Stacked Deck. She became the first female conditioner to win a Triple Crown race \u2013 in both the U.S. and Canada \u2013 when Kiridashi won the Prince of Wales Stakes in 1995.<\/p>\n Holyfield<\/strong> will look to provide a knockout Plate punch for the combination of trainer Catherine Day Phillips and Kingfield Racing Stable Ltd., along with co-owners and breeders David Anderson and Rod Ferguson.<\/p>\n The son of Uncle Mo dug down gamely in a 1 1\/16 mile turf race on August 22 at Woodbine, notching a head score at 9-1 to break his maiden.<\/p>\n Al and Bill Ulwelling\u2019s Merveilleux<\/strong> endured traffic troubles in the Woodbine Oaks, finishing a game third, 2 \u00bc lengths behind Curlin\u2019s Voyage.<\/p>\n Fashioning a record of 2-3-1 from eight starts, the daughter of Paynter finished second, a neck and a head back, respectively, in last year\u2019s Princess Elizabeth Stakes and Ontario Lassie Stakes.<\/p>\n \u201cI honestly think what has made her special is from day one of purchasing her she has been professional,\u201d said Al Ulwelling. \u201cWhat I mean is that she has just been all business. She loves her career, loves to train and compete. She has had a few tough beats and it\u2019s almost like it has bothered her. She\u2019s very smart and tries hard. She will be great addition to our broodmare band when all is said and done.\u201d<\/p>\n Bred by Mike Carroll, the bay filly is trained by Kevin Attard. Kazushi Kimura, the 2018 and 2019 champion apprentice in Canada, and 2019 Eclipse Award winner as North America\u2019s top rider, gets the mount.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I just think she\u2019s just been a very unfortunate horse this year, racing luck wise,\u201d said Attard. \u201cThings haven\u2019t quite gone her way. I had high expectations for her in the Oaks. She showed a lot of talent at two and we were really excited to have her. With her, we considered the Plate right from the get-go. The mile and a quarter distance is not going to be an issue for her.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s just one horse that you\u2019re hoping on that day everything goes right for her and she finally gets a clear run, no obstacles, no hurdles \u2013 that way she can prove whether she\u2019s good enough or not and there\u2019s no excuses. She\u2019s doing very well and I\u2019m quite please with her. Both horses [Merveilleux and Clayton] are coming into the race as good as I want them to be.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ulwellings are thrilled at the opportunity to have a Plate starter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means everything to us to have a horse in the Plate,\u201d said Ulwelling. \u201cWhen we started mapping a goal out four years ago, we set out on a mission to try to stay at Woodbine and run in as many big races as we can. When my father and I were getting a plan together, the race that always<\/em> popped up was the Plate. We honestly just feel lucky to be competing in a race with so much history. We love Kevin, his family, Woodbine, and the people who work there. This will be our goal every year. We are ecstatic to be in the Plate.\u201d<\/p>\n One-eyed Mighty Heart<\/strong> will be making his stakes debut in the Plate.<\/p>\n Bred and owned by Lawrence Cordes, the son of Dramedy has a win and a third from four career starts, those efforts coming in his past two starts.<\/p>\n On July 11, the Josie Carroll trainee broke outward, but recovered and went on to a 4 \u00bc-length victory at 1 1\/16 miles over the Woodbine Tapeta.<\/p>\n \u201cMighty Heart is a horse that will definitely get the distance,\u201d said Carroll. \u201cHe has improved leaps and bounds as he\u2019s learned. From his first two starts where he had no clue what he was doing, he\u2019s really become professional.\u201d<\/p>\n A dark bay son of Union Rags, Olliemyboy<\/strong> recorded his first career win in his latest start, a two-length triumph at 1 1\/8 miles over the Woodbine main track on August 1.<\/p>\n Owned by JMJ Racing Stables LLC, the Ontario-bred colt finished fourth in his debut at Tampa Bay Downs this March before heading north to Woodbine.<\/p>\n Steve Bahen, who won the 2002 Plate with 82-1 T J\u2019s Lucky Moon, will get the mount for the Plate for Hall of Fame trainer Sid Attard.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very good race,\u201d said the trainer of the August 1 score. \u201cHe closed very strong and he was full of run. He is learning and getting better with each race. I think the distance is no problem for this horse.\u201d<\/p>\n Trained by Dan Vella, who won the 1994 Plate with Basqueian and the 2012 edition with Strait of Dover, Sweepin Hard<\/strong>, a son of Conquest Curlinate, enters the biggest race of his career on a winning note.<\/p>\n Owned by Borders Racing Stable, Sweepin Hard notched a 1 \u00bd-length score over 1 1\/8 miles on the Toronto oval Tapeta on August 16.<\/p>\n Bred by Charles Hayden, the dark bay gelding was unraced at two.<\/p>\n Tecumseh\u2019s War<\/strong>, a dark bay son of Summer Front, won his debut last October at Indiana Downs.<\/p>\n Making his eighth career start in the Plate, the Catherine Day Phillips trainee finished second in his latest engagement, a 1 1\/8 mile race over the Woodbine main track.<\/p>\n Emma-Jayne Wilson, who draws the riding assignment, is looking for her second \u201cGallop for the Guineas\u201d victory with the Ilium Stable silk bearer. The champion rider won the 2007 Plate With Mike Fox.<\/p>\n Truebelieve<\/strong>, who sports a 2-1-0 mark from five starts, is owned by Centennial Farms (Niagara).<\/p>\n The bay son of Nephrite (GB), bred by Laurel Byrne, orchestrated a 64-1 score (for different connections) in his debut last November at Woodbine, crossing the wire a 1 \u00bd-length winner at five furlongs on the Tapeta.<\/p>\n Trained by 23-year-old Manitoba native Cole Bennett, Truebelieve earned his second career win two starts ago when the colt rallied for a half-length victory at six furlongs over the Woodbine main track.<\/p>\n \u201cI think\u2026 it\u2019s not proof to other people, but proof to myself that I can do this,\u201d said Bennett. \u201cI started training when I was really young. There was doubt from a lot of other people, but also from myself, in that you can make a living being a trainer and get to bigger places and run in bigger races. It was almost a pipe dream at one point. To be in this race, it really is a dream come true. To win it, that would be the ultimate.\u201d<\/p>\n First race post time for Saturday is 12:30 p.m. (ET), with the featured Queen\u2019s\u00a0Plate\u00a0scheduled as race 10 (5:41 p.m.). The national Plate broadcast will be televised on TSN and CTV starting at 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n For the latest information, fans can follow @WoodbineTB on both Twitter and Instagram, and visit QueensPlate.com.<\/p>\n FIELD FOR THE QUEEN\u2019S PLATE<\/strong><\/p>\n Post – Horse \u2013 Trainer \u2013 Owner \u2013 Jockey \u2013 Morning Line<\/em><\/p>\n 1 \u2013 Sweepin Hard (S) \u2013 Daniel Vella \u2013 Borders Racing Stable \u2013 Leo Salles \u2013 50-1<\/p>\n 2 \u2013 Merveilleux \u2013 Kevin Attard \u2013 Al and Bill Ulwelling \u2013 Kazushi Kimura \u2013 10-1<\/p>\n 3 \u2013 Belichick \u2013 Josie Carroll \u2013 NK Racing & LNJ Foxwoods \u2013 Slade Callaghan \u2013 30-1<\/p>\n 4 \u2013 Truebelieve \u2013 Cole Bennett \u2013 Centennial Farms (Niagara) \u2013 Keveh Nicholls \u2013 30-1<\/p>\n 5 \u2013 Holyfield \u2013 Catherine Day Phillips \u2013 Kingfield Racing Stable, Roderick Ferguson & Anderson Farms Ontario \u2013 Darryll Holland \u2013 30-1<\/p>\n 6 \u2013 Halo Again \u2013 Steve Asmussen \u2013 Winchell Thoroughbreds & Willis Horton Racing \u2013 Luis Contreras \u2013 5-1<\/p>\n 7 \u2013 Glorious Tribute \u2013 Barbara Minshall \u2013 Bruce Lunsford \u2013 David Moran \u2013 30-1<\/p>\n 8 \u2013 Olliemyboy \u2013 Sid Attard \u2013 JMJ Racing Stables \u2013 Steven Bahen \u2013 30-1<\/p>\n 9 \u2013 Dotted Line \u2013 Sid Attard \u2013 Norseman Racing Stable \u2013 Justin Stein \u2013 8-1<\/p>\n 10 \u2013 Curlin\u2019s Voyage \u2013 Josie Carroll \u2013 Hill \u2018n\u2019 Dale Equine Holdings & Windsor Boys Racing \u2013 Patrick Husbands \u2013 5-2<\/p>\n 11 \u2013 F F Rocket \u2013 Albert Stall Jr. \u2013 Frank Fletcher Racing Operations \u2013 Sahin Civaci \u2013 50-1<\/p>\n 12 \u2013 Clayton \u2013 Kevin Attard \u2013 Donato Lanni & Daniel Plouffe \u2013 Rafael Hernandez \u2013 2-1<\/p>\n 13 \u2013 Mighty Heart \u2013 Josie Carroll \u2013 Lawrence Cordes \u2013 Daisuke Fukumoto \u2013 20-1<\/p>\n 14 \u2013 Tecumseh\u2019s War \u2013 Catherine Day Phillips \u2013 Ilium Stables \u2013 Emma-Jayne Wilson \u2013 12-1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TORONTO, September 9, 2020 \u2013 Plate Trial champ Clayton and multiple stakes-winning filly Curlin\u2019s Voyage will take on 12 other Queen\u2019s\u00a0Plate\u00a0hopefuls in the $1 million classic set for 1 \u00bc miles on the Woodbine Tapeta this Saturday. The 161st edition of the Queen\u2019s Plate, North America\u2019s oldest continually run race, is the first leg of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17,83,204,228],"class_list":["post-3571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-woodbine-news","tag-2020-queens-plate","tag-horse-racing","tag-the-queens-plate","tag-woodbine"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uat.woodbine.com\/kingsplate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Clayton-QPContender-MichaelBurnsPhoto.jpg\")
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