Familiar Foes Meet in Prince of Wales Stakes

Queen's Plate victor Shaman Ghost will bid to add a second Canadian classic victory to his record July 28 in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.

 

The Prince of Wales is the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown for Canadian-foaled 3-year-olds. The 1 3/16-mile race drew seven entrants, with Shaman Ghost tabbed the 7-5 morning line favorite. The Adena Springs homebred trained by Brian Lynch will break from post 4 with Rafael Manuel Hernandez.

 

Carded as the eighth race on Tuesday's program, the Prince of Wales is the only race of Canadian Triple Crown that is run on dirt. The Queen's Plate is a 1 1/4-mile race on Woodbine's synthetic main track. The classic series is completed by the Breeders' Stakes, to be run at 1 1/2 miles turf Aug. 16 at Woodbine.

 

Shaman Ghost will square off against Plate Trial victor Danish Dynaformer in the Prince of Wales after overhauling that rival, the favorite, in the final sixteenth to win the Queen's Plate by 1 1/4 lengths July 5. 

 

"He's come out of the Plate good," Lynch said of Shaman Ghost. "There's not a lot you can do between now and then, just the maintenance work in between and hope you've got him right."

 

Roger Attfield saddles Danish Dynaformer, who meets Shaman Ghost for the third time in as many starts and looks to turn the tables.

 

Danish Dynaformer finished a rallying third to winner Shaman Ghost in the Marine Stakes (Can-III) May 16, prior to winning the Plate Trial June 14

 

"'Danish' went too soon (in the Queen's Plate), but that's race-day luck, and the good horse (Shaman Ghost) closed on them," Attfield said.

 

Mark Casse will send out a pair of Prince of Wales starters: Queen's Plate third-place finisher Conquest Boogaloo and Field of Courage.

 

Conquest Boogaloo, owned by Conquest Stables, has endured troubled trips in each of his last three starts, including the Plate, Plate Trial, and Marine Stakes.

 

Shut off at the start of the Plate, Conquest Boogaloo raced from last in a field of 13 before launching a powerful rally down the lane to finish third, defeated just 1 3/4 lengths.

 

"It's been unbelievable," said Casse of the colt's bad racing luck. "We hope a shorter field will help."

 

Field of Courage has won three of five starts and will make his dirt debut in the Prince of Wales. Last time out, Field of Courage finished an even fifth in the Plate Trial.

 

"We've breezed him a couple times on the dirt and he's worked extremely well," said Casse. "He's been something of an overachiever, as far as the way he trains. I just thought of him as a horse, but he runs much better than you expect him to. Interesting enough, he's training like a good horse now, so we'll see how that plays out." 

 

Also entered is Breaking Lucky, who was a good fifth in the Queen's Plate after being prominently placed, and Scorch, a maiden with three second-place finishes from five starts. Cut to the Chase boasts a 2-1-2 record from 12 starts, including a good third-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming event against older company June 20 at Woodbine.