One Bad Boy steals Queen's Plate on the lead

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – One Bad Boy was a front-running tour-de-force in Saturday’s $1 million Queen’s Plate at Woodbine, fending off Avie’s Flatter in the stretch to win comfortably under Kentucky Derby-winning rider Flavien Prat.

Even with blinkers off, One Bad Boy was the clear speed on paper, and he went straight to the front in the 10-furlong Tapeta route for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

Avie’s Flatter, the 5-2 second choice under Javier Castellano, pressed One Bad Boy most of the way through soft fractions of 24.42 seconds, 49.52, and 1:14.18. Avie’s Flatter drew even with the leader entering the stretch, but One Bad Boy repelled the challenge and drew away to prevail by 3 1/2 lengths in a time of 2:02.98. He returned $9.70 to win.

Tone Broke finished third, after wiping out the 2-1 favorite and eventual 11th-place finisher, Skywire, at the break. Following a stewards’ inquiry regarding that bumping incident, the result stood.

“We had a good trip,” said Prat, who won this year’s Derby by disqualification on Country House. “The horse broke well. From there, it didn’t look like anybody was going to the lead. I decided to make the lead, and we went pretty easy the first quarter. Even down the backside, I was pretty happy with the way things were going. I had [Avie’s Flatter] outside of me. I thought he was the horse to beat. When we turned for home, my horse re-engaged and drew away at the eighth pole.”

Trainer Richard Baltas said by phone from California that the plan was to go to the lead if nobody else wanted it.

“When I handicapped the race, I said 'There isn’t much speed in the race,'” Baltas said. “I just think the blinkers off really helped him to settle. We set some really nice fractions. I was just worried about the distance. [Avie’s Flatter] was up on him, and wow, he just kept going. He had been training good there. He had a nice breeze over the track.”

Baltas said a decision would be made in the next day or two regarding whether or not One Bad Boy would remain in Canada for the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes on the dirt at Fort Erie on July 23.

A ridgling by Twirling Candy, One Bad Boy earned $600,000 in his first stakes score for the partnership of Sayjay Racing, Greg Hall, and Brooke Hubbard. He was bred in Ontario by Ron Clarkson.