King’s Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness won’t run in Prince of Wales race

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Published Aug 29, 2024  •  2 minute read

Jockey Rafael Hernandez celebrates while riding Caitlinhergrtness, left, across the finish line during the 165th running of the Kings' Plate horse race in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The heralded filly, named after WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, wasn't among the horses nominated for the $400,000 Prince of Wales. Photo by Frank Gunn /THE CANADIAN PRESS

King’s Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness has earned a well-deserved break.

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The heralded filly, named after WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, wasn’t among the horses nominated for the $400,000 Prince of Wales. The second leg of the OLG Triple Crown will be held Sept. 10 at Fort Erie Racetrack.

Trainer Kevin Attard said Caitlinhergrtness has come out of the $1-million Plate well. However, that race was her third in seven weeks and the plan now is for her next start to be sometime in October.

“She’s in good order, she came out of the race great and is back in training,” Attard said Thursday. “She’s had a bit of a cramped-up schedule and obviously they’re not machines.

“You’re looking after the longevity of their careers and we’re trying to do what we think is best to have her continue to be successful and have a long career. She’s done everything we’ve asked . . . you always have to do right by the horse.”

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Caitlinhergrtness’s final Plate tune-up was a second-place finish to Kin’s Concerto in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks on July 20. That came just two weeks after a victory also at Woodbine and part of the decision to supplement the filly for the Plate instead of running in the $250,000 Bison City Stakes — the second event of the Canadian Triple Tiara on Aug. 10 — was to give her additional rest.

That was further extended by six days when the Plate was rescheduled to last Friday for safety reasons following heavy rain Aug. 17, the original race date.

That means Wando will remain the last Triple Crown winner, achieving the historic sweep in 2003.

Attard should still be well represented at the Prince of Wales as he chases a fourth win in the 1 3/16-mile dirt event. Four of his horses — Pierre, Jokestar, Bedard and Airosa — were among those nominated for the race.

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Pierre was fourth in the Plate, just ahead of Jokestar. Bedard was slated to run but was a late scratch.

“When the Plate was postponed, we decided to focus on the Prince of Wales,” Attard said of Bedard. “We figured with the quick turnaround, maybe it would work better for a horse like him.”

The Attard-trained Velocitor won last year’s Prince of Wales for owners Al and Bill Ulwelling.

Also nominated were Essex Serpent and Midnight Mascot, both trained by Mark Casse. A Prince of Wales win would be Casse’s fifth and leave him second only to Gordan McCann (seven).

Midnight Mascot finished third in the Plate while Essex Serpent was 11th in the 12-horse field. Casse’s other Plate horse, second-place finisher My Boy Prince, also wasn’t nominated for the Prince of Wales.

Also nominated were No More Options (trained by Zeljko Krcmar), Passioned (trainer Justin Nixon), Vitality (trainer Harold Ladouceur) and Wyoming Bill (trainer Catherine Day Phillips).

The Prince of Wales position positions will be drawn Sept. 5. The final Triple Crown event will be the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes, slated for Sept. 29 at Woodbine Racetrack.

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