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Woodward Stakes Day Mohawk Million Night Woodbine Mile Summer & Natalma Stakes Prince of Wales Stakes |
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 Trainer Kevin Attard (left) leads Velocitor to the winner's circle after the 2023 Prince of Wales Stakes while jockey Justin Stein celebrates. |
The 88th renewal of the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel in Canada's Triple Crown for 3-year-olds foaled in Canada, was run Tuesday afternoon at Fort Erie Racetrack over a distance of 1 3/16 miles on the main track. Conditions were typical for mid September at the "border oval", with dark overcast skies and a race time temperature of 23 C (74 F) and the main track originally fast, but rain early in the card quickly downgraded the track to sloppy and turf races were taken off.
 Eventual winner Velocitor catches pacesetter Paramount Prince (rail) with eventual runner-up Kaukokaipuu rallying (center) |
Jockey Patrick Husbands sent Paramount Prince to the lead first time by through fractions of 22.80, 45.99, and 1:10.19 while pressed by 14-1 Ottawa and stalked by 15-2 fourth choice Velocitor. Into the stretch, jockey Justin Stein moved Velocitor out 4 wide and he moved up to challenge, taking over the lead through 1 mile in 1:35.36. Kaukokaipuu, 4th early under Rico Walcott, put in a strong 4 wide rally but Velocitor easily held him off to win by a length in 1:55.24. It was a neck back to pacesetter Paramount Prince third, while favorite Stanley House sat 2 3/4 lengths off the early pace but failed to rally, finishing 7th beaten 11 1/2 lengths.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 10 Velocitor Stein 17.70 8.40 5.20 6 Kaukokaipuu Walcott 8.10 5.00 8 Paramount Prince Husbands 3.40 Winning Time: 1:55.24 $1 Exacta 10-6 66.00 $2 Trifecta 10-6-8 134.00 $2 Superfecta 10-6-8-12 4,042.30 |
Left: Velocitor in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Kevin Attard said, “Justin gave the horse a perfect ride. You couldn’t have asked for anything better. The owner told me not long before the race that his dam relished the off track. That was obviously a boost of confidence. He won the Coronation [Futurity] and had a very strong 2-year-old campaign."
Right: The trophy presentation for the Prince of Wales Stakes. Winning jockey Justin Stein, who also won last year said, “It’s like déjà vu. I had a great trip. The plan was to be forwardly positioned, where we were sitting. We kind of let Ottawa do the hard work and put the pressure on Paramount Prince. We sat in behind Paramount Prince. I had a lot of horse and just waited for a chance to pull the trigger when we had some running room.”
Left: Velocitor in the paddock before the race. Attard added, “You gear these horses up to get to the springtime, aiming for the King’s Plate. And especially for a horse like Velocitor, who was so successful at two, there are limited opportunities where to run, especially when you’re training him to go a mile and a quarter. So you try him sprinting and going seven furlongs and the horse is saying to you: ‘Like, what do you want me to do?’ ”
Right: Velocitor parades for the fans with his flowers. Stein added, "He gave me everything he had down the lane. I knew he was going to fire. I was just waiting for the quarter pole to come up and hoping for a clean trip.”
Left: Trainer Kevin Attard and jockey Justin Stein kiss the trophy. Attard added, "His sophomore season started off on the wrong foot. We ended up castrating him. He had a little incident in the gate, bled in that race, and then we put him on Lasix. He just seems to be putting it together at the right time.”
Right: Velocitor heads back to the barn after the race.
Left: Second place finisher Kaukokaipuu in the post parade. The Tedston Holder trainee improved his record to 2 wins, 8 seconds, and 0 thirds in 13 starts, earning $283,713 for owner Culpepper Island Syndicate.
Right: Third place finisher Paramount Prince leads first time by. The Mark Casse trainee improved his record to 3 wins, 2 seconds, and 2 thirds in 7 starts, earning $610,337 for owners Michael Langlois and Gary Barber.
Left: Seventh place place finisher and beaten favorite Stanley House returns after the race. The Mike DePaulo trainee has a record of 2 wins, 3 seconds, and 1 third in 9 starts, earning $204,671 for owners John and Diana Russell.
Right: The horses break from the gate for the Prince of Wales Stakes.
Kicking off the stakes quintet was the $100,000 Lake Erie Stakes featuring a field of six Ontario-sired 3-year-olds sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs. Jockey Luis Contreras sent 3-5 favorite One Bay Hemingway to the lead out of the chute through fractions of 23.31 and 45.60 while pressed by 3-1 second choice One More Brew and stalked by 7-2 third choice Poulin in O T. Turning for home, the threesome held their positions through 3/4 in 1:10.38, with One Bay Hemingway prevailing by a head over One More Brew in 1:16.89 over the fast track. It was a long 5 1/4 lengths back to Poulin in O T third.
The Sid Attard trainee improved his record to 5 wins, 4 seconds, and 1 third in 12 starts, earning $248,757 for owner Norseman Racing Stable.
The $100,000 Rondeau Bay Stakes featured a field of seven Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies also sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track. 11-2 fourth choice Foolish Games set the pace of 23.11 and 46.28 under Omar Moreno while pressed by 9-5 favorite Fashionably Fab and stalked by 19-1 Lantana Lady. In the stretch Fashionably Fab closed the gap and got her nose down first in 1:17.17 over the fast track. It was a long 5 3/4 lengths back to 5-1 third choice Souper Sinclair third.
The Kevin Attard trainee improved her record to 4 wins, 0 seconds, and 2 thirds in 8 starts, earning $189,328 for owner-breeder Terra Racing Stable.
The $30,000 Molson Cup Stakes is restricted to older fillies and mares with at least two Fort Erie starts in 2023, originally scheduled at 1 1/16 miles on the turf but moved to the sloppy main track. 3-1 second choice Glitter Bay was loose on the lead under Kirk Johnson through fractions of 23.17 and 46.12 stalked by 9-2 third choice Pluie d'Avril and 11-2 fourth choice Awildas Treasure. Turning for home, 10-1 Trish the Dish, 6th early under Sunny Singh, came out 7 wide to sweep to the lead, drawing off late to win by 4 1/4 lengths over pacesetter Glitter Bay in 1:46.35. It was another 3/4 length back to 33-1 longest shot Doodle Dandy third, while 3-2 favorite Monastery Lane checked in 6th beaten 6 1/2 lengths.
The Louis Capi trainee improved her record to 5 wins, 5 seconds, and 6 thirds in 34 starts, earning $179,659 for owner Trinity Racing Stables.
An hour before the Prince of Wales Stakes, the $30,000 Le Cinquieme Essai Cup Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs is restricted to older horses who have started at least twice at Fort Erie this year. Jockey Melanie Pinto sent 3-5 favorite Vinnie Van Go to a clear lead out of the chute through fractions of 22.51 and 45.24 while stalked by 26-1 longest shot Mobilizer and 9-2 third choice Alacritous. Into the stretch, Vinnie Van Go opened up a 3 length lead through 3/4 in 1:10.15, and cruised to a 2 length win over late-running 11-1 Mayito in 1:17.07. It was another 4 3/4 lengths back to Alacritous third.
The Julie Mathes trainee improved his record to 13 wins, 15 seconds, and 9 thirds in 63 starts, earning $367,092 for owners Joseph and Charles Loiacano.
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