Eight seen for Prince of Wales

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A field of eight, headed by Queen’s Plate winner Big Red Mike, was the prospect for Fort Erie’s Prince of Wales Stakes as of Monday morning.

The $500,000 Prince of Wales, a 1 3/16-mile race over Fort Erie’s dirt surface, is the second leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

Big Red Mike won the first leg, the $1 million Queen’s Plate, over 1 1/4 miles on Polytrack here July 4.

The post position draw will be take place on Wednesday in Fort Erie’s Prince of Wales dining room.

All of the prospective Prince of Wales starters have had their final major tune-ups for the Prince of Wales, beginning with Big Red Mike’s five-furlong breeze in 58.40 seconds over the training track here at Woodbine last Friday.

Mark Frostad, who trains both Hotep and Dark Cloud Dancer, elected to use the dirt training track here for their Prince of Wales preps as did Mike Keogh, trainer of Mobil Unit.

Hotep and Dark Cloud Dancer breezed separately here Sunday, with Hotep going in a bullet 59.80 seconds under jockey Patrick Husbands while Dark Cloud Dancer was clocked in 1:00.80 under exercise rider Billy O’Connor.

Hotep was the runner-up and Dark Cloud Dancer the sixth-place finisher in the Queen’s Plate.

Mobil Unit breezed six furlongs last Saturday, going in 1:12 under his new rider David Clark.

Trainer Mike Keogh noted that Mobil Unit had worked behind older stablemate Cheers Mate before rolling past that one en route to his quick final clocking.

Mobil Unit is heading into the Prince of Wales off a sharp allowance victory in a 1 1/16-mile, first-level allowance for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds here June 24.

Mobthewarrior, who finished fifth in the Queen’s Plate, breezed on the Polytrack surface here Sunday, going in 59.80 under regular rider Emile Ramsammy.

Trained by Greg DeGannes, Mobthewarrior would have to be supplemented to the Prince of Wales at entry time at a cost of $12,500.

Who We Gunna Call, Captain Canuck, and Golden Moka also are based at Woodbine but worked for a the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie on Sunday morning.

Gerry Olguin, who rode Who We Gunna Call to a ninth-place finish in the Queen’s Plate, was aboard for the colt’s five-furlong breeze of 1:02.20.

“He worked on his own, and did it easy,” said Tino Attard, who has a division at Fort Erie and will leave Who We Gunna Call there with assistant Chris Silverthorne.

Captain Canuck, last seen here when fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on June 13, breezed five furlongs in a bullet 59.80 seconds under Fort Erie-based jockey Real Simard.

Trained by Josie Carroll, Captain Canuck also had shipped down to work six furlongs in 1:12 on July 6. Imported rider Eibar Coa has the call for the Prince of Wales.

Golden Moka, an unusual newcomer to the Canadian triple crown trail, worked seven furlongs in 1:25.20 under jockey Anthony Stephen, who has been the colt’s regular partner during his morning exercises here.

The Prince of Wales would be the North American debut for Golden Moka, who wound up in Panama after selling as a yearling in Kentucky and was undefeated in three starts there for Stud Monserrat with the most recent coming at six furlongs last Nov. 22.

Acquired on private terms and now owned by a group known as Good Friends Stable, Golden Moka was shipped here to trainer Brian Lynch this spring and would have to be supplemented to the Prince of Wales for $12,500.

“If I’m going to take a shot at something like this, he’s the type of horse to do it with,” said Lynch. “He’s definitely got some quality to him.