Toronto, July 23, 2023\u2014Paramount Prince, racing beyond seven furlongs for the first time, made all the running and drew off for an emphatic five-length victory under Patrick Husbands in Sunday\u2019s 1 1\/8-mile Plate Trial at Woodbine Racetrack.<\/p>\n
The Plate Trial, a race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, is the major local prep for the $1 million King\u2019s Plate, which will be run on August 20.<\/p>\n
A field of 12 contested the Plate Trial but Paramount Prince left his rivals reeling.<\/p>\n
“Looking at the [Daily] Racing Form, it was fun for me,\u201d said Husbands, who was riding his fourth Trial winner. \u201cLooking at the race, seeing how it would unfold, all the trainers are going to say, ‘Take back’ and I can get everything my way. And the race unfolded that way.”<\/p>\n
Paramount Prince carved out fractions of :23.83, :48.58, 1:12.93 and 1:37.40 en route to a final clocking of 1:49.99.<\/p>\n
Cool Kiss rallied to take down second money by a head in a photo with closing Twin City.<\/p>\n
Velocitor was prominent throughout and finished fourth, just another half-length back in an improved performance, with stablemate Phillip My Dear a length behind in fifth.<\/p>\n
Stanley House, sent away as the even-money favorite, trailed the field into the backstretch and launched a wide move around the far turn only to come up empty and finish sixth.<\/p>\n
Tiburon, Guns n\u2019 Rojas, Forest Buzz, Gran Spirited, Simcoe and Pat\u2019s Gamble completed the order of finish.<\/p>\n
The Plate Trial win was the fourth for Casse, but his first three were unable to duplicate that success in the King\u2019s (now Queen\u2019s) Plate. Big Red Mike, in 2010, was the last to convert the double.<\/p>\n
Paramount Prince, a gelding by Society\u2019s Chairman out of Platinum Steel, was bred in Ontario by Ericka Rusnak. The Ontario-bred gelding was making his fifth career start and third of this season.<\/p>\n
“A dream come true, an absolute dream come true,\u201d said Rusnak. \u201cI was just hoping he would hold on and he kept pulling away.<\/p>\n
“Just having a horse being talked about in the same sentence as the King’s Plate… this is a dream come true.”<\/p>\n
Bill Tallon for Woodbine Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n