Moira dominates Woodbine Oaks

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - No hind shoes was no problem for the favored Moira, who stamped herself as a prime Queen’s Plate contender with a dominating 10 3/4-length triumph under Rafael Hernandez in Sunday’s $500,800 Woodbine Oaks.

Moira saved ground toward the rear of the 10-horse field down the backstretch in the 1 1/8-mile contest, as Loaded Vixen set quick fractions while being pressed by shipper Sahlabiya.

Moira made her way into contention entering the far turn and then hit the front at the quarter pole before drawing away. Her final time of 1:49.78 was much faster than the Plate Trial clocking of 1:50.62 earlier on the card.

Sister Seagull rallied nicely to finish a clear second over Sahlabiya. Souper Flashy, Pioneer’s Edge, Swoop to Finish, Maccool’s Girl, Bizymaline, Curlin Candy and Loaded Vixen completed the order of finish.

“She was push-button,” Hernandez said. “On the first turn, we saved as much ground as we could - made sure on the backside that no horses were going to top in front of me. By the three-eighths, I was already where I wanted to be. Turning for home, I talked to her, and she just exploded. She just played with the rest of the field.”

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Trainer Kevin Attard said there were a few anxious moments in the paddock before the decision was made to go without hind shoes on Moira.

“She’s always been a little bit antsy in the paddock,” Attard said. “We schooled her a lot. She just had a little episode and unfortunately stepped on her hind foot. That knocked off the one shoe and bent the other shoe. The paddock blacksmith tried to fix it. Hopefully, he’s not hurt. I appreciate his effort. We elected to run her without the hind shoes. I wasn’t too concerned with it being a synthetic surface. She’s a class horse. I’ve always thought highly of her, and she ran to that today.”

Moira ($4) earned $300,000 for the partnership of X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables, and SF Racing.

The $1 million Queen’s Plate will be run here Aug. 21.