Two-Time Queen's Plate-Winning Jockey Kabel Dies
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Photo: Michael Burns
Todd Kabel
Two-time Queen's Plate-winning jockey Todd Kabel has died. He was 55.
Kabel rode his first Queen's Plate winner, the Roger Attfield-trained Regal Discovery , in 1995 and in 2000 scored his second Queen's Plate aboard Sam-Son Farm homebred Scatter the Gold.
"He was just a phenomenal talent," Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson told the Toronto Sun. "He had such a great sense of pace, he could time it. He was light on a horse. He had light hands, he moved in unison with the horse, he was just a real talent as a jockey and that's a special thing."
From 1984-2013, Kabel won 3,306 races and his mounts earned $105,831,055, according to Equibase statistics. He earned the Sovereign Award for outstanding apprentice jockey in 1986, which was followed by six Sovereign Awards for outstanding jockey in 1992, 1995, and 2003-06.
Kabel piloted 78-1 shot Dawson's Legacy to a runner-up finish in the 1997 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) behind Favorite Trick , later named that season's Horse of the Year, at Hollywood Park. He won a slew of important graded stakes wins at Woodbine, including the Atto Mile (G1T) with Soaring Free, Dominion Day Handicap (G3) with Mobil , Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup Turf (G2T) with Sky Conqueror , Nassau (G2T) with Strike Softly , and Selene Stakes (G2) with Eye of the Sphynx , among others.