ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Grade 3 Gotham Stakes winner Weyburn has been named the 3-1 winter-book favorite for the $1 million Queen’s Plate, which is scheduled to be run Aug. 22 at Woodbine The Queen’s Plate winter book, compiled by Ron Gierkink and Alex Campbell of Daily Racing Form, assigns hypothetical odds to all 125 nominees for this year’s Canadian Triple Crown. Weyburn, a Chiefswood Stables homebred trained by Queen’s Plate-winning trainer Jimmy Jerkens, earned the top spot with his nose victory in the Gotham on March 6 at Aqueduct. It was Weyburn’s second straight win following a maiden victory Dec. 5. “It was a big step up for him, going from a maiden win to a graded stakes race,” said Robert Landry, general manager of Chiefswood Stables. “It wasn’t the plan, but good horses overcome those kinds of things. Jimmy was really happy with the way he was training, and it all worked out.” Weyburn could be headed for the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3 at Aqueduct. :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. “Right now our main focus is on the U.S. Triple Crown races, but we’re not ruling out the chance that he could run in the Plate,” Landry said. “His next race will tell us a lot, and we should have a clearer picture of what the plans are after that.” Trainer Kevin Attard, who sent out Clayton to a third-place finish in the Queen’s Plate and a runner-up finish in the Prince of Wales Stakes last season, leads all trainers with nine Queen’s Plate nominees, including Stephen and Haddassah, who have been named the second and fourth choices in the winter book, respectively. Stephen (4-1) won his maiden in the Coronation Futurity on Nov. 1 at Woodbine. Haddassah (8-1) was a debut winner in a maiden special weight event on the same card. Both horses are owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling and have recorded recent two-furlong works at Woodbine. Trainer Gail Cox has four horses nominated to the Queen’s Plate, including 6-1 third choice Tio Magico. After a runner-up finish behind Stephen in the Coronation Futurity, he finished third in his 3-year-old debut behind Prevalence in an allowance on March 11 at Gulfstream Park. Trainer Mark Casse has nominated five horses to the Queen’s Plate, including Gretzky the Great and Curlin’s Catch, who are both in the winter book top 10. Gretzky the Great, the 10-1 fifth choice, finished third in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes on Feb. 26 at Turfway Park, while Curlin’s Catch, who ranks 10th at 20-1, finished fifth in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes in her most recent start Feb. 27. Dreaming of Drew is the top filly in the winter book as the 12-1 sixth choice. She finished fourth in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes on turf Sept. 20 at Woodbine before winning the Princess Elizabeth Stakes on Oct. 31 to close her 2-year-old campaign for trainer Barb Minshall. Rounding out the top 10 are Safe Conduct (14-1), Riptide Rock (16-1), and Smiley Sobotka (18-1), who have all made recent starts in the United States. A full list of Queen’s Plate winter book odds is available at woodbine.com. ◗ Woodbine has announced that 78 fillies have been nominated to the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, which will be run July 25.