Wonder Gadot splashes to victory in Prince of Wales

Under trying conditions, Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot led all the way in Tuesday’s $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, giving trainer Mark Casse his fourth win in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

While Wonder Gadot is normally a stalker, jockey John Velazquez called an audible over the very sloppy track and sent her right to the front in the 1 3/16-mile test for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds. Cooler Mike took up the chase by pressing the pace in second, before Wonder Gadot opened up a clear lead on the far turn.

Aheadbyacentury mounted an eye-catching rally on the far turn and looked poised to give Wonder Gadot a run for her money, but Wonder Gadot drew off in the final furlong to prevail by 5 3/4 lengths, in a final time of 1:58.71. Cooler Mike faded but held onto third to create a duplication of the top three finishers in the June 30 Queen’s Plate. Eskiminzin, Absolution, and Home Base completed the order of finish. Wonder Gadot paid $2.80 to win as the heavy favorite.

“All I can say is it’s nice to ride horses like this,” Velazquez said. “Wherever you go, she’s going to give you 100 percent. I’m very proud of her. She ran on a different surface today, a different style today. I took my chances, and she responded with anything I wanted to do. The more I warmed up, the more I looked at the track, and I [decided] that I can’t have her behind horses. The track didn’t look right for her. I wanted to keep her face clean, where she’s comfortable, in front. It worked out really well. We learned something about her today.”

Bred by Anderson Farms Ontario, Wonder Gadot earned $240,000 for owner Gary Barber, which boosted her bankroll to $1,640,140.

Casse said he’s definitely leaning toward running the hardy daughter of Medaglia d’Oro back in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga and not the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown on the same day, the Breeders’ Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf Aug. 18 at Woodbine.

“That’s something I’m going to have to discuss with Gary,” Casse said. “I’m not going to say it’s impossible that she shows up [at Woodbine], but we’ve had the Alabama on our radar for a long time. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

The Prince of Wales was the third start in Canada this year for Wonder Gadot, which makes her eligible for Sovereign Award consideration. She was voted Canada’s champion 2-year-old filly in 2017.