Speed-favoring track yields Queen's Plate, Bison City upsets

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – It looked like a speed-friendly Tapeta surface last Saturday at Woodbine after 8-1 shot Mizzen Beau led all the way in the $250,000 Bison City Stakes. Two races later in the 10th, the $1 million Queen’s Plate, 13-1 shot Mighty Heart broke alertly from post 13 and proceeded to set a lively pace in a 7 1/2-length score under an opportunistic ride from Daisuke Fukumoto in his first Plate mount.

There was one other Tapeta route on Saturday, and Guestimation won the nightcap after prevailing in a hotly contested speed duel. A front-runner and a stalker won the two Tapeta sprints on the 13-race card. That was enough evidence to label it a legitimate speed bias.

Mighty Heart earned a big 99 Beyer Speed Figure for winning the fastest Queen’s Plate in the synthetic-track era (1 1/4 miles in 2:01.98) at Woodbine, which goes back to 2007. It was a breakout performance for the obscurely bred son of the Dramedy, a Grade 2-winning turf router who is reportedly standing at stud in Saudi Arabia. Owner-breeder Larry Cordes also campaigned Mighty Heart’s dam, Emma’s Bullseye, who won her only start in a five-furlong dash for $50,000 maidens by five lengths as a 2-year-old in 2011.

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

At 22-1, Rideforthecause was the other longshot stakes winner Saturday. She outran the favored Chad Brown-trained Grade 1 winner Cambier Parc in an emphatic four-length tally in the Grade 2 Canadian, earning a 94 Beyer in her first stakes success.

Mizzen Beau got an 87 Beyer in the Bison City.

The two overnight stakes on the card yielded chalky results. The rapid Francatelli received a 94 Beyer in the King Corrie, and Artie’s Princess got a 90 Beyer in the Ruling Angel.

Strong handle on Plate Day

Saturday’s handle of $14.53 million was very respectable when you consider that there were no fans in the stands and that Queen’s Plate Day was postponed from June 27 due to the pandemic. It was the third-highest handle for a Plate Day in the race’s storied history. Last year, a record $18 million was wagered on a 13-race card.

With no racing in New York and Southern California last weekend, Woodbine found a cozy spot on the calendar, and perhaps the powers that be should consider leaving the Plate on the second Saturday in September to help maximize handle. The weather for the traditional late June date can be quite hot and hard on the horses, which was the case in 2018. A September date gives the local horsemen who can not afford to winter horses in the southern United Stakes a better chance to make the Plate with a late-developing 3-year-old.

◗ Post time for Thursday racing has been pushed back to 2:15 p.m. The new post time for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays is 1:10 p.m.