Caitlinhergrtness Upsets Males in King's Plate

As a precursor to Thorpedo Anna 's participation against males in the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, another 3-year-old filly, Caitlinhergrtness , upset males in the CA$1 million King's Plate at Woodbine Aug. 23. The lone female against 11 males, the Siena Farm and WinStar Farm-owned filly ran down the Sovereign Award-winning juvenile male of 2023, My Boy Prince , to become the 39th filly to win the historic race.

Her victory gave her trainer, Kevin Attard, who ran three horses in the Plate, a second win in the race and provided a third for jockey Rafael Hernandez. Attard and Hernandez teamed to win the 2022 running with the classy filly Moira , the Canadian Horse of the Year that season. Hernandez first won the Plate in 2015 aboard Shaman Ghost   for trainer Brian Lynch.

The Canadian equivalent of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown for 3-year-olds bred in that country, Friday's race was postponed from Aug. 17 after heavy rain canceled racing at Woodbine that afternoon. This marked the 165th running of the race, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America.

Supplemented to the King's Plate after a runner-up finish in the Woodbine Oaks, Caitlinhergrtness was well positioned throughout in the 1 1/4-mile King's Plate, stalking Mark Casse trainees Essex Serpent  and 3-5 favorite My Boy Prince as the former set fractions of :23.74, :47.23, and 1:11.60 over Tapeta.

Entering the turn, My Boy Prince spurted ahead under an early move from Sahin Civaci, and he approached the stretch with the lead after a mile in 1:36.14. But a stalking Caitlinhergrtness was in hot pursuit. She caught him midstretch and inched away in the final sixteenth to win by three-quarters of a length.

"When I pulled the trigger, she just gave me everything," Hernandez said.

Caitlinhergrtness covered the classic distance in 2:03.45, and Hernandez celebrated crossing the wire by pumping his arms a couple of times in excitement. She carried 121 pounds, 5 pounds less than her male counterparts. She returned $20.70 to win.

"She's obviously all class and all racehorse," Attard said.

Midnight Mascot , another Mark Casse trainee, rallied to show.

Bred in Ontario by Jesse Korona, Caitlinhergrtness went through three public auctions before beginning her racing career. Her current owners bought her for $375,000 from the Off the Hook consignment at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

She initially raced with Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, winning one of four starts in the United States in dirt races, before joining Attard's Canadian barn. She won her first race for him on turf in an allowance optional claimer July 6 at Woodbine before running second in the 1 1/8-mile Woodbine Oaks on a two-week turnaround. She grew a bit tired late in that race. 

The Canadian Triple Crown continues with the Sept. 10 Prince of Wales Stakes at 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Fort Erie it concludes with the Sept. 29 Breeders' Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Woodbine. 

Caitlinhergrtness is a daughter of Omaha Beach   out of the placed Giant's Causeway mare Belatrix. A leading second-crop sire, Omaha Beach stood the 2024 season for a $40,000 fee at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.