ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Woodbine meet is now just over a month old, and the road to the 162nd running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate on Aug. 22 is heating up. Second nomination payments for the Queen’s Plate were due June 30, and 45 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds remain eligible for the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown over 1 1/4 miles on Tapeta. Topping the first Daily Racing Form Queen’s Plate Watch top 10 list of the year is Queen’s Plate Winterbook favorite Weyburn. The Chiefswood Stables homebred, trained by 2017 Queen’s Plate winner Jimmy Jerkens, has been based in the United States throughout his career and will make his next start in the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 31 at Saratoga. Robert Landry, general manager of Chiefswood Stables, said that if Weyburn turns in a good performance in the Jim Dandy he could skip the Queen’s Plate and run in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 28 at Saratoga. “Obviously, we’re hoping he’s good enough to head to the Travers,” Landry said. “He’s run some really good races. He’s shown that he fits with those horses. He’ll have a pretty solid breeze before he heads to Saratoga, and we’ll go from there. “The Queen’s Plate, being Canadian, is something you’d love to do, but the higher profile races like the Jim Dandy and Travers are going to help his stud value in the U.S.” If Weyburn skips the Queen’s Plate, a pair of local contenders could be poised for top billing following a pair of key prep races last weekend. Keep Grinding, ranked second on the Queen’s Plate Watch top 10, finished second behind Kentucky-bred Easy Time in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes over 1 1/16 miles. Tio Magico, ranked third, crossed the line first in the Queenston Stakes over seven furlongs, a race restricted to Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Keep Grinding earned a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure in his stakes debut in the Marine for 17-year-old owner Joshua Attard. The son of Tizway is trained by Attard’s grandfather, Tino. Joshua’s father, trainer Kevin Attard, also has a pair of horses in the Queen’s Plate top 10 – Haddassah and Stephen for owners Al and Bill Ulwelling. Haddassah, a homebred, is ranked sixth and was third behind Easy Time and Keep Grinding in the Marine Stakes, while Stephen, who won the Coronation Futurity last season, is ranked seventh and finished sixth in his first start of the season in an allowance race against older horses on July 3. Tio Magico is one of two horses in the Queen’s Plate Watch top 10 for owner-breeder Sam-Son Farm and trainer Gail Cox. The Queenston Stakes winner was second behind Stephen in last season’s Coronation Futurity. His stablemate, Tidal Forces, is ranked eighth on the list and suffered his first defeat when finishing fifth in the Marine. In addition to Weyburn, three other U.S.-based horses are included in the initial Queen’s Plate Watch top 10, Hombre (ranked fourth), Safe Conduct (fifth), and Palio (10th). Hombre was a $120,000 purchase at the 2019 Canadian Premier yearling sale by trainer Elizabeth Elder for owner Robert Cudney. After training at Woodbine last season, Hombre was transferred to trainer Barclay Tagg after the Woodbine meet was cut short due to a COVID-19 lockdown. He won his maiden with an 83 Beyer over yielding turf at Belmont Park in his most recent start on July 4. :: Visit DRF's Saratoga shop for all your handicapping needs: Past performances, picks, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more Safe Conduct, owned by WellSpring Stables and trained by Philip Serpe, was eighth in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational on July 10 over 1 1/4 miles. Three starts back, he earned an 87 Beyer in an allowance victory over 1 1/16 miles on turf. Palio earned an 80 Beyer in his most recent start over one mile on turf on June 10 at Arlington Park when he was beaten a half-length by Fort Moultrie. Owned by DARRS Inc., Palio is trained by Mike Stidham, who has won 9 of 23 starts at Woodbine since 2019, including two stakes. Rounding out the top 10 is ninth-ranked Avoman, who earned an 83 Beyer in his third-place finish in an allowance event on July 3 over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta for trainer Donald MacRae and owners D-Mac Racing Stable Inc. and La Huerta Inc. While other contenders could emerge in allowance events over the coming weeks, the Queen’s Plate picture should become a lot clearer two weeks from now when the final major stakes preps will be run. A number of Queen’s Plate contenders are expected to put in their final preps locally in the $125,000 Plate Trial Stakes and the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks on Aug. 1.