What a year trainer Kevin Attard has had. COVID halted his training plans in Florida. He caught the virus himself and was shuttered for a time, not feeling well at all. Woodbine was shuttered too. Bills probably piled up on the boot tray by the door. He has Queen’s Plate prospects, but couldn’t get them winter-raced. One of them, Stephen, winner of the Coronation Futurity, … [Read more...] about Kevin Attard Finds the Sun
Woodbine Oaks
Gary Boulanger: Rebirth
Gary (Boo) Boulanger had a bit of a renaissance at Woodbine July 10. Yet another one. He suffered a serious knee injury in June 2020 and has spent months of rehab to recover after surgery - just after he was to have been inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. He’s known this rock and rolling motion of horse racing for his entire career. Up one … [Read more...] about Gary Boulanger: Rebirth
Queen’s Plate or bust
We’ve waited a long time for this 161st running of the Queen’s Plate, as in an extra three months or so, but finally we have the clues as to what it will look like. Aside from fences instead of spectators, sanitizer stations instead of Timbits, and barely familiar faces wrapped in all manner of masks, Woodbine and its premier $1-million race looks like a close … [Read more...] about Queen’s Plate or bust
Start Your Engines for the 2019 Queen’s Plate
This is a milestone year for the Queen’s Plate: it’s the 160th running, so many years from the first, won by Don Juan. Don Juan had to run three heats to win it and defeat seven others in Toronto, which at the time had a population of 44,425. This time, there are 14 horses, and it’s one dash for $1-million in front as the crowd tries to muster up the Royal Ascot flavour. … [Read more...] about Start Your Engines for the 2019 Queen’s Plate