ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Top sprinter Patches O’Houlihan was voted Horse of the Year and Kevin Attard finally won for outstanding trainer during the 50th Sovereign Awards ceremony, which honored the 2024 Canadian champions on Thursday evening in suburban Toronto. Patches O’Houlihan, a Frank Di Giulio Jr. homebred trained by Robert Tiller, accumulated 97 points in the voting, besting Grade 1 E.P. Taylor winner Full Count Felicia (49) and Filo Di Arianna (48). Off his three graded stakes scores, “Patches” won convincingly for champion male sprinter as well, leaving Filo Di Arianna and My Boy Prince in his wake. In the tightest vote among all categories, Attard beat out Mark Casse for outstanding trainer by a margin of 135-134. Casse has won the award an astounding 16 times and in each of the 13 years leading up to 2024.   Attard trained champion female turf horse Full Count Felicia and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Moira, who was ineligible for any awards due to an insufficient number of starts but received a Special Sovereign for her accomplishments. His other 2024 champions were Fashionably Fab (older main track female), and Caitlinhergrtness (champion 3-year-old filly). “[The trainer award] is something that I’ve wanted to accomplish,” Attard said. “We did enough to warrant a win in that category – an E.P. Taylor, a King’s Plate, and a Breeders’ Cup, all in the same season. That’s pretty hard to replicate. To be recognized by your peers and the voters in the industry, it means a lot. We put a lot of hard work into it.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Attard is targeting the May 31 Belle Mahone Stakes as the first 4-year-old start for the popular Caitlinhergrtness, who ran down the favored My Boy Prince to take the rain-delayed $1 million King’s Plate for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. “She’s doing really well,” Attard said. “She seems to have matured and got stronger over the winter.” Casse had another exceptional year in 2024, training champions Filo Di Arianna, who beat out Patches O’Houlihan for outstanding male turf horse; Paramount Prince, the 2023 Plate winner, who was voted champion older main track male; outstanding 2-year-old filly Nitrogen, a maiden who placed in two Grade 1s before notching two graded stakes this year; and champion female sprinter Play the Music. One of Casse’s primary owners, Gary Barber, won outstanding owner for the second year in a row. Their go-to rider was Sahin Civaci, who prevailed for outstanding jockey after winning the Woodbine riding title. Sofia Vives, who lost her apprentice allowance midway through the year, won her second straight outstanding apprentice award over Fraser Aebly and Pietro Moran. In the most contentious equine category, He’s Not Joking (86) was voted champion male 2-year-old over Scorching (77) and Dream On (61). Champion male 3-year-old male went to Dresden Row, who denied My Boy Prince by a margin of 151-100. Ericka Rusnak’s Platinum Steel, the dam of Paramount Prince and two other stakes performers, won for outstanding broodmare. Adena Springs garnered outstanding breeder honors for the third year in a row. Moira’s breeder has now won that award 11 times.  Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson was awarded a Special Sovereign for her accomplishments. She passed Julie Krone as the leading money-winning female rider of all time last summer. Trainer Roger Attfield was bestowed the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit, a prestigious lifetime achievement accolade. The other award winners were Mike McIntyre (outstanding writing), Mary Jane Sibbitt (outstanding photograph), Horse Racing Alberta (outstanding audio visual/digital broadcast), Victor James (outstanding groom), and Ian Dick (outstanding off-track worker). :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.