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Will Dance with Ravens be all smiles on Sunday?
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Ablo
● "He's my kind of horse." That's the way Hall of Fame conditioner Roger Attfield describes Ablo, a bay colt that could give the trainer his record-tying eighth Queen's Plate victory this Sunday. And though he hasn't hit the winner's circle in his past four starts, the son of Lite the Fuse, who lit up the toteboard at 19-1 in taking last year's Coronation Futurity, comes into the 1 1/4-mile classic off a solid outing, second to stablemate Palladio in the Victoria Park Stakes on June 12.
●He's seen a boost in Beyers (Daily Racing Form speed rating) in four consecutive races, including a career-best 83 in the aforementioned Victoria Park, and an ability to come up with a grand effort when the odds suggest otherwise. Is Ablo ready and able to come up with the finest showing in his career this weekend at Woodbine? "He's a trier," praised Attfield, whose last Plate win came with Regal Discovery in 1995. AHe always tries his best. He's a very genuine horse."
●And what of that Victoria Park effort, Mr. Attfield? AI was very happy with it. I really think if Palladio was a Canadian-bred, it would have been very exciting to see him in the Plate. He's a very nice horse. Going into that race, I was confident that Ablo couldn't beat Palladio, but I needed to get a good race into Ablo. I was delighted with the way he ran and how he tried to tough it out against a horse that is better than him."
●"He's a very well conformed horse, nicely-balanced, good looking," said Attfield, of the 2003 yearling purchase, who was listed at 10-1 (fifth choice) in the 2005 Queen's Plate Winterbook. "That's why I bought him. He's always been very easy to be around, very easy to train."
●After two fourth-place finishes to launch his career, both at six furlongs, one on turf, the other on dirt, Ablo took back-to-back scores, a 1 1/4-length triumph at seven furlongs on October 21, followed by the 1 2-length Coronation Futurity win. That's how the Ontario-bred finished his two-year-old campaign...on a winning note, times two. "As a two-year-old, his shins were always stinging him. That's what bothered him throughout his entire season. But he showed a fair bit of heart."
●He's consistent, too. With the exception of a seventh-place finish on April 8 at Keeneland to kick off his three-year-old campaign ("The track was deep and cuppy. He came out of it a little body sore."), Ablo has picked up a cheque in seven of his eight starts, including two runner-ups and a fifth in 2005.
●"He's gotten bigger and stronger," said Attfield, in reference to the most noticeable changes in Ablo from a two- to three-year-old. "His shins have settled down. So all that's behind him. He's a very happy horse. Every time he runs, he runs as good as he can."
●Heading into the Victoria Park, Attfield pondered the possibility of priming his pupil for the Plate. "I think 1 1/4-miles (Plate distance) would be questionable, but then again, I thought 1 1/8-miles was questionable, too. But he came through for us." Can he do it again on Sunday? Attfield, who finished fourth with Just In Case Jimmy in last year's Plate, has plenty of reason to hope so.
Dance With Ravens
●He has the credentials any Queen's Plate starter would crave: impeccable breeding, Canada's most prolific owner/breeder, a prominent trainer and a five-time Sovereign Award winner at the controls. Dance With Ravens, a son of classic sire A.P. Indy, out of Sam-Son Farm's Hall of Fame mare and 1991 Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly, heads into Sunday’s 146th edition of the Plate with plenty of pedigree and a sparkling resume.
●Did we mention that Dance With Ravens is also a half-brother to Plate winners (2000) Scatter The Gold and (2001) Dancethruthedawn? The bay colt made his debut on August 22 on a firm Woodbine turf, finishing third to Stag Nation, 1 1/2-lengths back in the seven-furlong race. After being blocked in the stretch, the Ontario-bred rallied gamely. "He ran a pretty green race, obviously looking around and not paying much attention," said conditioner Mark Frostad, who is seeking his fourth Plate victory. "That's why we put blinkers on him after that."
●Fashioning a new look, Dance With Ravens was once again on the green, but wasn't quite as green, finishing a game second, 2 1/4-lengths in arrears of U.S. invader Dubleo in the Grade 2 Summer Stakes on September 19. But the third time was indeed the charm for the Sam-Son star, as 'Ravens' winged his way to the winner's circle in the Grade 2 Grey Breeders' Cup Stakes, one of the most significant races in the country for two-year-olds. "The Grey Breeders' was a great race," said Frostad. "The unfortunate thing was that he came out of the race with chips in both ankles. For him to win it and win it the tough way, it was pretty encouraging."
●So what exactly does Frostad mean when he made reference to "the tough way?" "He waits for horses, there's no question about it. He likes to engage them and he won't let them by, but that gives you a heart attack. Of course, that leaves the late closers or horses on the outside that he can't see, the opportunity to blow right by him and he wouldn't know it."
●That sounds like a familiar issue for Frostad and Co. In fact, he doesn't have to look very far to find another horse with the exact same approach, Sam-Son standout Soaring Free. "He does that a bit, too," said Frostad, in reference to last year's Atto Mile champion, Top Turf Male and Horse of the Year. "Soaring Free has done that with maturity, he knows what the game is all about. He's a lot more hip as to how fast they are coming and what he has to do to win. Dance With Ravens, I'm not sure he gets it. He likes to play around as well."
●When Dance With Ravens does "get it," the lifetime winner of $270,110 should be a real handful for his rivals. But, as many have discovered, the April foal, who finished third on the turf to kick off his three-year-old campaign at Keeneland in April, is already tough to contend with. On May 7, Dance With Ravens, fended off a talented rival in Atanas (out of the Plate due to a season-ending injury) by a neck.
●Then came the Plate Trial on June 5. After a three-wide bid, Dance With Ravens took the lead in the 1
1/8-mile feature. When Three In The Bag, whom he'll face once again in the Plate, began a powerful rally to his outside, Dance With Ravens dug in and fended off his rival by a hard-fought neck. But what should have been cause for celebration was dashed, after Ontario Racing Commission Stewards ruled 'Ravens' interfered with Atanas at the start, placing the winner sixth. Sam-Son and Frostad have appealed the decision.
●Still, Frostad had to be plenty pleased with the effort of his emerging star, who earned a 92 Beyer figure (Daily Racing Form speed rating), his highest number to date. "At one point, early in the stretch, I thought he was going to get passed. Part way down the stretch, the horse (Three In The Bag) closed up ground very quickly on him. When they finally engaged, the jock (Todd Kabel) came back and told me, 'He wouldn't have let him by.' He galloped out very well, too."
●"(In the Plate) You'd like to see something out there a little longer, so he wouldn't have to find himself on the lead and leave himself susceptible to a late closer, especially if he starts loafing."
●"He is just more mature and stronger - that's all. He was a nice two-year-old and he's turned into a very nice three-year-old. He's pretty even-tempered, a pretty nice horse. He's got a lot of talent."
Get Down
● Get Down very quickly became the ‘wise guy’ horse of this year’s Canadian-bred three-year-old crop, so much so that he was hammered down to 7-5 in his first Woodbine stakes try, the Plate Trial Stakes. Why not? He sported an undefeated local record with each of his three victories more impressive than the previous one.
● For those that expected a win in the Plate Trial, the performance of the son of Doneraile Court would have been a let down. But for trainer Nancy Triola, the effort proved that Get Down could compete with the division’s best at a route of ground. “I’m happy with him. He really didn’t have a clue. I’ve been breezing him a full mile, trying to get him to focus for the whole two turns. But it’s not the same when you run (in a race). I thought we were going to be close (to the pace) and we were. When he got to the 3/8ths pole, he wasn’t paying attention anymore. Those horses came up on him. It took him a little while to figure out what was going on. To be honest, at the quarter-pole, it looked like we were going to be beaten nine lengths. Once he figured it out and Slade (Callaghan) kind of swung him out, he came flying and he only got beat two lengths. It was a learning experience.”
● In mid-stretch, Callaghan angled Get Down out to the middle of the track, a maneuver which helped the colt finish stronger. “Slade thought that he would like it a little better to get out there and have one run. That way he galloped out great. If you get in there, and everybody backs into you, you don’t get the gallop out. It was a good move.”
● Get Down debuted October 17 in a 6 ½-furlong maiden allowance race in which he won by 1 ½ lengths after leading at every call, much to the surprise of Triola. “You could have told me any other horse was going to be on the lead, just through how he was working.” He returned November 20 at seven furlongs, rating nicely in fifth and unleashing a powerful middle move, crossing the wire 4 ½ lengths in front and hinting at a bright future.
● Ending his two-year-old season undefeated, Get Down wintered in Ocala, Florida. Triola raced him in the Sam F Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 26, finishing 10th, beaten 20 ¾ lengths to Belmont Stakes runner-up, Andromeda’s Hero. “It just wasn’t his day and it wasn’t his race. He ended up getting slammed twice on the first turn. We’ve totally written it off.”
● Freshened off the Tampa ‘disaster,’ Get Down resumed his quest for the Plate in an allowance race, a seven furlong dash in which his long, powerful strides turned many heads. “I was excited going into that race,” recalled Triola. “He got to relax and explode at the head of the lane. He won by 8 ½ lengths in a hand ride.”
● Triola rides Get Down daily, describing him as a ‘tough’ horse. “He wants to do too much in the mornings. I use a pretty strong bridle called a Citation. You have to have something on him that tells him he can’t go, otherwise he will. He’s a bit of a brat. He likes to bite. I look after him and he’ll bite and kick. He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s playing. He just doesn’t realize you’re much smaller and it hurts.”
● Get Down will be ridden for the first time by world-class jockey Richard Migliore, who rides a number of horses for West Point in the United States, in the Queen’s Plate. “He’s New York-based, and Kiaran McLaughlin and Rick Violette are there. He rides pretty much first call for both of them. For $1 million, they want to pull out everything. It’s not very often you get to run for that much. Migliore watches tapes better than most jocks anywhere. He’ll analyze all the tapes of the horses and he’ll know where everybody’s going to be before I even talk to him.”
● “He actually went through the sale with the name Get Down. I’m not sure how he got it, but it’s a great name though.” It’s certainly a catchy enough name to print on 150 bright yellow T-shirts, an endeavor of excited part-owner Sherm Cunningham, a Canadian who is part of the West Point group. “He’s been in with West Point for a few years and has been in with nice horses, but nothing up here. It’s the first West Point horse that comes to Canada and he’s going to run in the Queen’s Plate. He’s just ecstatic. He thought it would be fun. Let him have his fun. It’s like a once in a lifetime thing, he might as well enjoy it.”
Gold Strike
●After an impressive 3 1/2-length win in the June 12 Labatt Woodbine Oaks, three-year-old filly Gold Strike will compete against the country’s best Canadian-bred colts in Sunday’s 1 ¼-mile Queen’s Plate, her second ever co-ed assignment and much tougher than the 15-¾-length beating she handed fellow Manitoba-breds in the $41,000 Buffalo Stakes at Assiniboia Downs (Winnipeg) on September 26.
● When assessing Gold Strike’s Plate prospects, it’s important to note that the $1-million event isn’t just a post-Oaks afterthought. Since the filly’s win in the Selene, trainer Reade Baker charted a course for the Harlequin Ranches charge that would include the Oaks and Plate. The game plan has come together beautifully. “You always make those plans,” said Baker. “Typically, they don’t turn out for one reason or another. Usually, the horses run out of talent along the way. In this case, we had the talent. We had everything.”
● Using her gift of speed, class and consistency, Gold Strike, who has the most wins (four, all stakes) and most earnings ($542,242) of any runner in the Plate field, seeks to follow in the hoofprints of Flaming Page, La Lorgnette, Dance Smartly and Dancethruthedawn, the only four fillies to ever perform the Oaks-Plate two-step.
● “I was really confident that we were going places when I got the Ragozin sheet numbers on her because she compares favorably with the best three-year-old fillies in America. She’s vastly superior to the ones that ran last year.”
● ‘Ragozin sheets’ are an alternative rating system, incorporating factors like trip and weight into a horse’s performance, not just time and relative speed of the racetrack. The lower the number, the better the rating. “She ran a six. She’s run three sixes in a row. It’s the same kind of line Giacomo had coming into the (Kentucky) Derby. Is there a bounce in the offing? After running three ‘sixes’ in a row, I would have to say no. If she had dipped down to a four or three, I would be really nervous. If she runs a six again, I think she wins the Plate.”
● Baker says Gold Strike, who was a May 15 $15,000 supplemental nomination to the Plate, responded well to the Oaks experience. ”You hear this phrase all the time, ‘she came out of it better than she goes in,’ but she actually might have. (Jockey) Jim (McAleney) galloped her two days later. I don’t think she’s ever been that tough.”
● Interesting body language, considering Baker felt the filly showed fatigue finishing up the 1 1/8-mile Oaks, after reviewing the video. “She looked really tired coming home in the Oaks. She doesn’t show that right now.”
● With ample pace for the fleet filly to target, the Oaks ended up being a slightly easier trip for Gold Strike compared to the Selene, where McAleney opted to use her early. “Because there was speed in the race, we didn’t have to use her to go get anybody early,” adds Baker. “She’s got tactical turn speed. That’s a huge thing. When he (McAleney) wants her to go, she responds. She doesn’t have to get long and prolonged, which some horses who run in races that long are like. When he wanted her to jump on Lemon Maid (in the Selene), she was right on top of her in a heartbeat. It’s up to him when he’s going to pull the trigger. He’s got one that works.”
● As for the challenge of replicating her outstanding Oaks triumph on two weeks rest, Baker points at her size and temperament. “She’s a big, good filly. Whenever we’ve done anything to her there’s never been a single day where she didn’t eat up. That’s half the battle right there. You get a non-eater, it’s a delicate thing and you have to plan everything perfectly.”
● “I think the ‘name’ horses we’re talking about won’t be on the lead. There will always be somebody to volunteer. Big races like this you’ll have some horses in there that are longshots who figure that there’s no speed in the race and they’ll try to steal it on the lead. Hopefully they’ll volunteer and do the job Bosskiri did (in the Oaks).”
● Gold Strike will be the second horse (Classic Mike, 2002, finished eighth) Baker has saddled that is by Smart Strike, a stallion he considers world-class. “She’s by an exceptional sire that, of course, got Eye of the Sphynx last year and one good horse after another. They’re not commercial horses, but they can really run. They grass, they route, they do it all.”
Granique
●It's the perfect Hollywood script: a high-profile owner, a talented trainer who has had tough luck in past Plate experiences, a hard-knocking horse and a rising star rider. Can the team of Steve Stavro, Alec Fehr, Granique and Corey Fraser come up with a summer blockbuster on Sunday? "It is a good story, now we just have to have the proper ending," said Fehr, who lost the services of his other 2005 Plate prospect, Atanas, after a season-ending injury in the Plate Trial.
●Time for a quick history lesson. It was Alexander The Great who defeated the satraps of minor Asia in the Battle of Granique in 334 B.C., a victory accomplished through meticulous planning and an organized cavalry. Fast-forward to modern times and it's 'Alec The Great' looking for victory in the "Gallop for the Guineas." Does he have the warrior to accomplish the feat?
●"What I liked about him as a yearling was his cold stare," said Fehr, of the $46,696 (U.S.) purchase at Woodbine in 2003. "He's got a mean look to him. He'll look through you and he'll walk right over you. He doesn't have any friends and he doesn't want any friends - that kind of look. He'll strike at you, he'll kick you - he'll do anything. That's what he does. I went into his stall to check him out a few times and he gets on his hind legs and wants to box with you. That's what I like about him."
●But that's not all to like, according to Fehr, when it comes to the son of Mutakddim. "He's gotten over his greenness. He's figured it out. He's still a very playful horse and I don't want to take that away from him. I want him to be happy. He's learned the business."
●After a lacklustre career bow on November 6, a ninth-place finish at six furlongs, the colt finished second to 2005 Victoria Park Stakes champion Palladio over a sloppy main strip on November 28, Granique's final race of 2004. His three-year-old debut was a reasonable fifth-place effort on April 23. Two weeks later, the Ontario-bred broke his maiden, a two-length score at 1 1/16-miles.
●Granique heads into the Plate off a second-place finish, albeit 12-lengths in arrears of Accountforthegold. "The plan was to ease back off the early fractions," said Fehr, of the race that earned his pupil a 75 Beyer (Daily Racing Form speed rating). "The early fractions were pretty quick and we were on the inside. We didn't want to be there. He runs a lot better on the outside. Even in his morning works, he doesn't like being on the inside. It would have been nice to get outside and he could eye them and then run at them. He did a lot of running from the five-sixteenths pole."
●The silver lining? Granique once again showed he doesn't like to go down without a fight. "What I like about him is that he won't quit. I think he's a very tough horse. We have him incredibly sound. He's landing properly, he's pushing off evenly. Everything is coming together for this race. I think they're going to have to run to beat him."
●"He's a fighter. If he hooks up with horses at the three-eighths pole, he's going to win the battle. I'm not worried about that. He'll win the fight to the wire. We want to be close enough to the pace when others start making their runs."
●Having the services of Woodbine's leading rider and last year's Top Apprentice in Canada certainly won't hinder Granique's chances come Sunday. And even though they've never been paired together in a race, Corey Fraser and Granique appear to be on the same page. "Corey worked him for the first time and said that he wasn't expecting that type of horse underneath him. What he had read and heard - that Granique was a bit green - was untrue. The horse picked up the bit right from the start and knew what he was doing. Corey was very happy with him."
●So after the heartbreak of having Atanas unable to compete and the tragedy of losing hopeful Rockfield after a training accident just days before the 2003 Plate, the connections of Granique are hoping for a little racing luck and a big payday in Canada's most famous horse race.
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