Day Phillips has two for Queen's Plate

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Guy Caballero sprung an upset in the $125,000 Plate Trial at Woodbine on Sunday, giving trainer Catherine Day Phillips two prospects for the Queen’s Plate in three weeks.

Guy Caballero sat last in the six-horse field early under jockey Rafael Hernandez behind pacesetter State of Honor but rallied down the lane to get up by a neck over King and His Court.

“He had a perfect trip,” Day Phillips said. “He settled beautifully in behind horses. While he was last, he wasn’t really that far out of it. He was on the bridle and traveling nicely. I saw him lengthening his stride, and I was pretty confident at the head of the lane that he was going to get there.”

The Plate Trial was Guy Caballero’s second start of the year, following a second-place finish in a seven-furlong allowance race May 7.

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As a 2-year-old, Guy Caballero had a tendency to pull at the jockey early in his races, but this year, Day Phillips said, he has been relaxing much better early on.

“He’s been more rateable this year,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of work in the mornings. Rafael has breezed him a lot. We’ve sat him behind horses, and he closes into them, and he’s kind of getting the hang of that. It’s a good time of the year to be getting the hang of that.”

Day Phillips also has Watch Me Strut pointing toward the Queen’s Plate after he won an allowance in his first start around two turns June 4.

“I think the two of them deserve a chance,” she said. “He’s an improving horse as well. He’s sharp, and he’s happy.”