Rose's Vision, Neepawa lead Chiefswood Stable on Queen's Plate trail

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Chiefswood Stable earned its first Sovereign Award for outstanding owner in Canada in 2017 after a campaign that saw its horses record 28 wins from 170 starts, including eight stakes triumphs and one graded stakes victory.

The stable also had a unique achievement in 2017: notching runner-up finishes in each leg of the Canadian Triple Crown with three different horses. Tiz a Slam was the runner-up to Holy Helena in the Queen’s Plate, Aurora Way finished second to Cool Catomine in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, and Final Copy was beaten a nose by Channel Maker in the Breeders’ Stakes.

While any owner would want to win each of these classic races, Chiefswood Stable racing manager Robert Landry said he was encouraged by last season’s Triple Crown results.

“It just shows the strength of our breeding program,” he said. “Every single horse we won with last year was bred by Chiefswood. I know we finished second [in the Triple Crown], but the Breeders’ Stakes was a nose. That shows that we’re going in the right direction. We’re breeding a good horse and they’re able to compete on the bigger stage.”

Chiefswood Stable is back with multiple horses on the Canadian Triple Crown trail this season, including Rose’s Vision and Neepawa, who are likely to run in the 159th $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30.

Rose’s Vision, trained by Stuart Simon, was a game second to Telekinesis in the Plate Trial Stakes on June 9, his final prep for the Queen’s Plate. After a sixth-place finish by Rose’s Vision in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on May 13, the connections decided he needed another prep race before heading into the Queen’s Plate.

“He didn’t run the way we wanted him to in the Marine Stakes,” Landry said. “Stuart wanted the horse up on the pace and it didn’t happen. Our plan was to run in the Marine and then run right into the Plate, but obviously that didn’t work out. You don’t want to go into the Plate off of a bad race.”

Rose’s Vision made four starts as a 2-year-old, all on the turf, recording two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish in the Cup and Saucer Stakes here. Following the Woodbine season, he traveled south for the winter with Simon, and in his first start at Gulfstream Park he finished eighth in an allowance race on the dirt.

“We want to try the 3-year-olds on the dirt just to see where it can take you,” Simon said. “He trained okay, but when we ran him he didn’t relish it. He just started scrambling and couldn’t catch that gear he needed to compete.”

Rose’s Vision went back to the turf at Gulfstream for his next start and immediately got his maiden win. He followed that with another win in allowance company at Keeneland, putting him firmly on the Queen’s Plate trail.

“He ran well to break his maiden from an outside hole at Gulfstream, and then he ran an even better race at Keeneland,” Simon said. “He’s really maturing and coming around at the right time.”

Like his stablemate, Neepawa also finished his 2-year-old campaign at Woodbine as a maiden before recording his first win on the turf at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Mark Casse, Neepawa debuted in two turf maiden events at Saratoga before making his way to Woodbine for the Cup and Saucer Stakes and Coronation Futurity.

Following his runner-up finish to Aheadbyacentury in the Coronation Futurity, Neepawa was freshened ahead of his winter campaign. He came back to record his maiden win on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream, and finished fifth in two stakes before returning to Woodbine. He was third after some early trouble in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Woodbine on May 20, and Landry said he has no concerns about the added distance in the Queen’s Plate.

“His last three trips haven’t been the greatest,” he said. “I’m not worried about him getting the distance.”

Neepawa will enter the Queen’s Plate with six weeks between starts, but both Casse and Landry were impressed with his workout on June 9, five furlongs in 59 seconds.

“Neepawa worked exceptionally well,” Casse said.

With the Queen’s Plate now two weeks away, Chiefswood Stable appears well positioned with Rose’s Vision and Neepawa in an attempt to win its first Queen’s Plate since 2004, when Landry rode Niigon to victory.