Plate Winner Caitlinhergrtness Returns in Maple Leaf

After winning his first Breeders' Cup race when Moira  triumphed in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) at Del Mar, trainer Kevin Attard takes multiple shots at three graded stakes Nov. 9 at his customary base at Woodbine.

Seven stakes entrants represent the trainer, who, along with Hall of Famer conditioner Mark Casse, operates one of the deepest and most talent-laden barns in Canada. Fashionably Fab  and Caitlinhergrtness  compete for Attard in the Maple Leaf Stakes (G3); Spansive , Love to Shop , and Tripolina  run in the Bessarabian Stakes (G3); and Never Surprised  and Bail Us Out  start in the Autumn Stakes (G2).

Females in action in Maple Leaf, Bessarabian

The Maple Leaf and the Bessarabian are worth CA$135,000, and the Autumn CA$175,000. All three races are on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta main track.

Proven over that surface is Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's Caitlinhergrtness, a 3-year-old daughter of Omaha Beach   who took the King's Plate Stakes at Woodbine this summer—a race she followed with a third-place finish in the Oct. 12 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland.

"I thought she ran a great race last time out," said Attard. "It was a massive step up and she delivered a big effort. We were very happy with it."

The Maple Leaf is at 1 1//4 miles, the same trip as the King's Plate.

A 5-1 shot on the morning line, Caitlinhergrtness faces older fillies and mares in stakes company for the first time Saturday, among them Terra Racing Stable's Fashionably Fab, a length winner of the Sept. 14 Ontario Matron Stakes (G3). Fashionably Fab is the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Love to Shop, a 5-1 shot, is Attard's top chance in the seven-furlong Bessarabian, a race for fillies and mares in which American invader Gal in a Rush , trained by Christophe Clement, is favored at 3-1.

Repole's Never Surprised, Bail Us Out Race in Autumn

Never Surprised and Bail Us Out, both owned Repole Stable, are 10-1 and 15-1, respectively, in the 1 1/8-mile Autumn, where Live Oak Plantation's Forever Souper , trained by Mike Trombetta is the narrow 3-1 morning-line favorite over Michael Langlois and Gary Barber's Paramount Prince , last year's King's Plate winner for Casse.

Bail Us Out, a son of Lookin At Lucky , was a last-out runner-up to fellow Autumn entrant Dresden Row  in the Oct. 19 Ontario Derby (G3) for 3-year-olds.

"You never like to finish second in any race, but I thought it was an excellent effort in the Ontario Derby," said Attard, who won the 2019 Autumn with Special Forces. "He was up against a very good horse, but he put in a determined rally and was coming like a freight train."

Never Surprised is a 6-year-old and battle-tested. The son of Constitution   made the first 13 starts of his 17-race career for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, for whom he was a three-time stakes winner. He ran second in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) to Colonel Liam  .

He is 1-for-4 at Woodbine for Attard, taking an allowance optional claimer on turf Oct. 6, but is untested in a synthetic surface. Attard calls him a "scrapper," noting "he hates to throw in the towel."

The Autumn, the last of Saturday's three stakes as the ninth race, has a scheduled post time of 5:20 p.m. ET. The Maple Leaf, the seventh race, kicks off the stakes action at 4:20, followed by the Bessarabian, the eighth race, at 4:50.