Tuesday’s 89th running of the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie looks like a showdown between Team Attard and Team Casse. Trainer Kevin Attard has trainer Mark Casse outnumbered 4 to 2 in the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, and he didn’t even enter King’s Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness, who is getting a little break. Attard runs Pierre and Jokestar, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers in the King’s Plate, along with Airosa and Bedard. All are competing on dirt for the first time in the 1 3/16-mile test for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. Pierre was beaten four lengths in the 1 1/4-mile Plate under apprentice sensation Pietro Moran. “Pierre was in a good spot,” Attard said. “He followed Caitlinhergrtness the whole way around. It seemed like he was going to run third and then got a little tired late. I think cutting back to a mile and three-sixteenths might to his advantage. His brother” – Harlan Estate – “ran second to Haddassah in the [2021] Prince of Wales. He trains a lot on the dirt and looks good out there.” Jokestar closed belatedly from a trailing 12th to finish 5 1/2 lengths back in the Plate. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “Jokestar lost touch with the field early,” Attard recalled. “It would be nice to see him closer, but he’s a horse who tends to [lay back] for some reason. I thought he finished up well. His female line is dirt.” Pierre and Jokestar are owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling, who won the Prince of Wales with Haddassah, and again in 2023 with Velocitor. The talented maiden Bedard was entered and scratched twice from the King’s Plate after the race was postponed from Aug. 17 to Aug. 23 due to inclement weather. “Bedard hasn’t run to expectations,” Attard admitted. “He’s definitely working well on the dirt. It’s going to be interesting to see.” Bedard and the stakes-winning filly Airosa worked five-eighths together in a sizzling in 57 seconds on the dirt training track at Woodbine Aug. 27. Airosa breezed a half-mile in a bullet 47.20 at Fort Erie Sept. 3. “Her last two works were phenomenal,” Attard said. “She got hit with a strong virus that went through the barn [last September]. That really affected her. It took her some time to come back to the races. We had to give her a little more downtime during the winter and she never really bounced back enough. We’ve been patient with her and I’m hoping it’s going to pay off.” Casse entered 5-2 favorite Midnight Mascot and Essex Serpent, who should be lower than his 8-1 morning-line price. Midnight Mascot rallied wide for third in the Plate after ending up third in the Grade 3 Marine. Kazushi Kimura has the mount after missing out on riding him in the Plate due to traveling problems from Southern California. Essex Serpent set a fast pace in the Plate before fading on the far turn en route to a 10th-place finish as the 9-2 second choice. Casse said he was unsure why the Marine victor came up empty in the Plate. “I think maybe I was a little too easy on him going into the race,” Casse said. “It got a little complicated with the change [in dates]. If I’d known we were running when we did, I would have put a much stronger work into him, probably two weeks out. Instead, I was in between and so I think I was a little too soft on him. He’s big boy. I probably didn’t do enough with him.” ◗ There are two $100,000 Ontario-sired stakes for 3-year-olds on the expanded 11-race card, the Rondeau Bay for fillies and Lake Erie for males. ◗ Post time is 1 p.m. and the Prince of Wales is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.