Carroll In Pursuit of Third Queen's Plate Win
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Trainer Josie Carroll will seek a third victory in Canada's most famous race when saddling Ivan Dalos' homebred Ami's Flatter in the $1 million Queen's Plate July 5 at Woodbine.
Carroll won the 2006 edition of the "Gallop for the Guineas" with longshot Edenwold, then returned to the winner's circle in 2011 with filly Inglorious, who also had taken the Woodbine Oaks several weeks earlier.
Last year, Dalos, Carroll, and jockey Luis Contreras teamed to finish second in the Plate with Ami's Holiday, behind winner Lexie Lou, while Contreras was also aboard Inglorious in 2011.
Ami's Flatter, by Flatter , out of Galloping Ami, disappointed in his last outing as the 3-5 favorite in the Marine Stakes (Can-III) May 16, finishing seventh, five lengths behind Plate rival Shaman Ghost.
The bay colt started out on the trail to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) earlier this year and ran creditably, highlighted by a third-place finish to Materiality in the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) March 28 at Gulfstream Park and runner-up to Carpe Diem in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) March 7.
"He was a little flat off a tough winter campaign," Carroll said about the uncharacteristically-poor performance in the Marine. "As (the road to the Derby) went on, the Derby shaped up to be a very difficult race this year, so we decided to shift our focus to the Queen's Plate. He ran well against some of the best 3-year-olds in the country.
"He's had two very solid works (since the Marine)," continued Carroll, who also plans a final half-mile breeze for Ami's Flatter June 29. "(The Plate is) always a tough race to win. A mile and a quarter is always a question, because none of the horses has traversed that distance. But I have a very nice horse going in. I'm also going to take the blinkers back off."
In his first three starts, including his maiden-breaking debut at Woodbine last November, Ami's Flatter raced without blinkers, before having them put on for his last three outings.