ETOBICOKE, Ontario – If Keep Grinding were to win the $1 million Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on Aug. 22, it would be a nice early birthday present for his owner, Joshua Attard. Attard will turn 18 next month, but already has plenty of experience as an owner. The son of trainer Kevin Attard and the grandson of trainer Tino Attard, Joshua has owned horses from a very young age. One of his favorite horses is Bear At Last, who was claimed for $10,000 with Tino in 2015. In 34 starts for Joshua and Tino Attard from 2015 to 2019, Bear At Last recorded six wins, including a pair of allowance victories. “Once we claimed him, he was an improving horse,” Joshua Attard said. “He won for $20,000 with me and he won an allowance race with me. He’s probably the best horse that I’ve had before Keep Grinding, that’s for sure.” Despite growing up in a racing family, Attard said he wasn’t interested in the horses right away. :: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more. “When I was younger, I never really used to go to the track,” he said. “Now, I go to the track with my dad on the weekends to watch the horses run. It’s a lot of fun. I love the horses so I wanted to get into it and have my own horse, see my name on the program and have my own silks.” One of Attard’s goals was to pick out his own horse at the Canadian premier yearling sale. He bought his first horse out of the sale in 2018 when he he paid $15,000 for Our Eyes Touched, a daughter of Wilko out of the Kissin Kris mare Simon Sez Run Fast. In 10 starts, Our Eyes Touched won twice and earned just over $58,000. The next year at the sale, Attard liked what he saw in Keep Grinding. Attard said he bought the horse for $13,000, but privately, not from the sale. “My grandfather and I made the deal, and I got him,” he said. Trained by his grandfather Tino, Keep Grinding debuted as a 2-year-old last September, finishing fourth in a six-furlong sprint on turf. He also crossed the line fourth in his second start, which came over one mile and 70 yards on Tapeta, but was disqualified and placed eighth. He bounced back nicely in his final start as a 2-year-old last November, winning a maiden special weight event over 1 1/16-miles on Tapeta. After getting the winter off, Keep Grinding has shown improvement in his 3-year-old season, and will enter the Queen’s Plate with two prep races under his belt. He finished third in an allowance race in his seasonal debut on June 19, and followed that up with a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on July 11. He earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure in the Marine, his stakes debut. “He’s shown that he’s got a lot of talent,” Attard said. “His last race in the Marine was very impressive. . . . I always knew he had that kind of potential.” The Queen’s Plate is shaping up to be a family affair for the Attards. Along with Josh and Tino sending Keep Grinding to the Queen’s Plate, Josh’s father, Kevin, could have as many as four Queen’s Plate starters. Kevin Attard’s contingent will include recent allowance winner Harlan Estate and Marine Stakes third-place finisher Haddassah. He also has Woodbine Oaks winner Munnyfor Ro and recent maiden winner Nonno’s Little Boy under consideration for the Plate. Josh and and his father acknowledged that the build-up to the Queen’s Plate has led to plenty of friendly banter between them, especially when Keep Grinding finished ahead of Haddassah in the Marine. “We’re just joking around with each other,” Joshua Attard said. “It makes us laugh together. My dad has a lot of good potential horses in the Queen’s Plate, and it’s good that my grandfather and I can be in the same boat.” Kevin Attard said that the Queen’s Plate would be a very special race for the family. “Everybody’s obviously excited,” he said. “We’re a tight-bonded family. We’ll be rooting for each other, but at the same token, everybody wants to win. At this point right now, if I can’t win, I hope that they can win and vice versa.” Joshua said he will be rooting on all of the Attard horses in the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown in two weeks. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures “I’ll be cheering no matter what,” he said. “I’ll be on Keep Grinding’s side, that’s for sure, but if one of my dad’s horses wins the Queen’s Plate, I won’t be upset, either.”