We Miss Artie will lead a mixed field of 15 starters going to the gate on Sunday for the 155th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate Stakes at Woodbine.
Although the winning margin of the Plate Trial at Woodbine three weeks ago was only 3/4 of a length, the race didn’t seem as close as that, as favored We Miss Artie took command in mid-stretch with ease, under a patient ride by jockey Javier Castellano. On Sunday the pair will try to duplicate that winning effort in the $1 million Queen’s Plate Stakes, going 1 1/4 miles over the same Woodbine polytrack. Off that effort, We Miss Artie has been installed as the 8-5 favorite for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
The race has drawn a field of 15 three-year-old Ontario breds, including the filly Lexie Lou, who captured the Woodbine Oaks on the same day as the Plate Trial, covering the same 1 1/8 miles distance a full second faster than We Miss Artie, to win by more than four lengths. Over the past year she’s only finished out of the money once in seven stakes tries at Woodbine, with three wins. While she will have to overcome the #14 post, she will carry five pounds less than the rest of the field and has been made 4-1 second morning line choice.
Also in the field at 10-1 is Coltimus Prime, who ran well to finish fifth three starts back in the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes on the Keeneland all weather track against a strong field that included Medal Count, most recently third in the Belmont Stakes. After an unsuccessful run of graded-stakes tries, Matador comes into the Plate off an allowance score and is the only other runner in single digits in the ML at 8-1. Nigon Express (30-1) is the son of Nigon, winner of the 2004 Queen’s Plate, and grandson of multiple Grade I winner Harlan’s Holiday.
Saturday, January 29 at Gulfstream Park is one of the biggest races of the year: the Pegasus World Cup (G1)! This $3 million race, covering a mile and an eighth on the Gulfstream dirt track, drew a field of nine handicap horses. The eyes of the racing world will be on Gulfstream on Saturday, and you can bet it from the comfort of your own home here in Canada!
The Kentucky Derby trail makes its way to Oklahoma on Friday, December 17 for the Remington Springboard Mile! The race drew a field of nine up-and-coming two-year-olds to go a mile on the main track. The prizes are rich: a $400,000 purse, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points (10-4-2-1) for the first four horses across the wire.
The Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), California’s most important Kentucky Derby Prep in December, is coming up on Saturday, December 11! The race features the most promising two-year-olds in California, set to go a mile and a sixteenth over the dirt at Los Alamitos Racecourse. The race offers a purse of $300,000, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points, apportioned 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.
Let's have a look at the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf betting picks and predictions.
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