Casse shooting for Queen's Plate repeat with Skywire, Federal Law
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse will saddle a pair of horses in search of his second consecutive win, and third overall, in the $1 million Queen’s Plate on Saturday afternoon at Woodbine.
A field of 14 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds will contest the 1 1/4-mile journey around Woodbine’s Tapeta surface. Casse won the Queen’s Plate last season with the filly Wonder Gadot, and won in 2014 with another filly, Lexie Lou. This year, Casse will send out Wando Stakes winner Skywire and Queenston Stakes winner Federal Law.
Skywire is the 4-1 third choice on the morning line, and comes into the Queen’s Plate off of a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on May 25. Skywire has shown versatility in his running style, which could give jockey Eurico Da Silva a tactical advantage.
“He’ll do whatever you kind of want him to do,” Casse said. “Going a mile and a quarter, that’s kind of important. Sometimes, when you get those horses that are real fast, they won’t rate and they have a tough time going a mile and a quarter. But he’ll rate.”
Casse said he is pleased with how Skywire is coming into the Queen’s Plate. He covered four furlongs in 47 seconds in his last work on June 23.
“I think he has an extremely good chance,” Casse said. “He’s getting better. He’s training really well.”
Federal Law, meanwhile, comes into the Queen’s Plate off of a runner-up finish in the Plate Trial Stakes on June 8. He’s set the pace in his last two route races, but Casse anticipates a change in tactics in the Queen’s Plate.
“He will not be on the lead in the Queen’s Plate,” he said. “He’s going to take back and try to make one run. He had every chance to win the Plate Trial but it didn’t work for him. We definitely have to change strategies.”
The 5-2 morning line favorite for the Queen’s Plate is Avie’s Flatter, Canada’s champion 2-year-old of 2018. Avie’s Flatter has made two starts as a 3-year-old, both on turf. He captured the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland in April off of an extended layoff, and then finished a close sixth in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 4.
Trainer Josie Carroll and owner Ivan Dalos opted to skip the Plate Trial Stakes to come into the Queen’s Plate with a fresh horse. Avie’s Flatter has been working exclusively on the Tapeta, and breezed four furlongs in 47.80 seconds on June 23 in his final work for the Queen’s Plate.
“He’s a deceptive horse,” Carroll said. “I’ll watch him work and I’ll think this horse is going too slow, this isn’t what I’m looking for, but then I’ll look down at my watch and I’ll say ‘wow.’ I call him a goosebump horse. He gives you a rush every time you watch him perform.”
Key Contenders
Skywire, by Afleet Alex
Last 3 Beyers: 87-88-66
◗ Casse and Da Silva have a 37 percent strike rate from 76 starts together at Woodbine over the past two years, according to DRF Formulator, an angle that has a positive $2.56 return on investment.
Avie’s Flatter, by Flatter
Last 3 Beyers: 87-81-80
◗ No horse has won both the Queen’s Plate and Coronation Futurity since 1976, but that is not something Carroll is thinking about with Avie’s Flatter. “When I ran Edenwold, they told me he couldn’t win because the 2-year-old champion hadn’t won in a zillion years,” she said. “I’m not too worried about curses.”
One Bad Boy, by Twirling Candy
Last 3 Beyers: 89-85-73
◗ He looks to be the controlling speed on paper and will shed the blinkers for the first time in his career.
◗ He was entered to run on turf in the Alcatraz Stakes at Golden Gate last time out, but got synthetic experience when that race was washed off of the grass.
Desert Ride, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 83-75-73
◗ The Woodbine Oaks winner, she drew the inside, and that should allow her to save ground with her off-the-pace running style. She’ll be looking to become the third consecutive filly to win the Queen’s Plate after Holy Helena in 2017 and Wonder Gadot in 2018.
Federal Law, by Scat Daddy
Last 3 Beyers: 68-73-75
◗ He’ll be looking to replicate his effort in the seven-furlong Queenston Stakes, where he came from off of the pace to win. Jockey Jamie Spencer will come in from England for the mount.
Tone Broke, by Broken Vow
Last 3 Beyers: 89-77-71
◗ He ran a strong second in the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico on May 18 in what was his first start back in North America following a pair of races in Dubai. However, he has yet to race over a synthetic surface.
He’s a Macho Man, by Mucho Macho Man
Last 3 Beyers: 75-36-62
◗ Carroll, his trainer, called He’s a Macho Man her “sleeper horse” for the Queen’s Plate. He’s lightly raced, but is unbeaten in two starts on the Tapeta.
