Rail-Drawn Luster Bids for King's Plate Glory

The King's Plate Stakes shares similarities with the Kentucky Derby (G1) as prestigious classics for 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles.

The Plate has a distinctly Canadian identity, however. The first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown is restricted to horses bred in the country and, since 2007, has been contested over an all-weather surface at Woodbine. Additionally, while only three fillies have won the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, 39 females have captured the King's Plate through its 166 runnings.

When the CA$1 million race, the oldest continuously run horse race in North America, is renewed Aug. 15, Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen's Luster  will be heavily favored to become the 40th filly to join that distinguished list despite drawing the rail, the last chosen starting position under a "pick your post" format utilized by the track this year following a blind draw for the selection order.

Luster, a gray or roan daughter of Knicks Go  , has yet to face males while dominating females with a 4-0-1 record from five starts. Along with her flashy Woodbine Oaks victory, she captured the Selene Stakes (G3), an allowance race at Keeneland, and a maiden special weight event at Woodbine in her debut last summer. Her lone defeat came sprinting 7 furlongs in the May 16 Ruling Angel Stakes at Woodbine over its Tapeta surface, a month after her Keeneland victory. 

Her trainer, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Josie Carroll, has won the Plate three times, including with the filly Inglorious  15 years ago. American Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, tasked with working out a favorable trip from the inside post, earlier captured the Plate aboard the filly Wonder Gadot  in 2018.

Velazquez is 2-for-2 aboard Luster, first guiding her to victory in the Keeneland allowance race before reuniting with her in the July 19 Woodbine Oaks. There, he scarcely moved to encourage her through the stretch, as Luster powered to a 5 1/2-length victory. She completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.99—1.18 seconds faster than the Plate Trial Stakes run over the same distance one race earlier.

Carroll downplayed the perceived disadvantage of the rail post during an interview at the televised draw, calling it the shortest way around. She praised her filly's will to win.

"She just throws it on the line every time," she said. "She's tired for three days after she runs. She just gives you everything she has."

Carroll also will saddle Mike Cooke's Don Ique , fifth in the Plate Trial. He starts from post 6.

Dixie Law , a Tiz the Law🔥   filly trained by Dale Desruisseaux for Hillsbrook Farms, will try to narrow the gap with Luster over the longer distance. 

Desruisseaux also sends out Centennial Farms (Niagara)'s Highwaytothemoon  who, after winning three of his first six starts sprinting, stretched out to capture the Plate Trial while saving ground, outfinishing wide-rallying runner-up Imyourmedicineman .

Desruisseaux acknowledged having distance concerns in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial. Now his Ransom the Moon  gelding stretches out another furlong.

Highwaytothemoon "can keep proving me wrong," his trainer said.

His jockey, Rafael Hernandez, can tie retired greats Avelino Gomez, Sandy Hawley, and Robin Platts as a four-time Plate winner with one more Plate victory.

Brachetto  and Magical Factor ,1-2 in the June 27 Marine Stakes (G3), are further contenders.

Saturday's card at Woodbine features five additional stakes, three of them graded.

The King's Plate will be televised nationally in Canada on Citytv. A sell-out on-track crowd is expected.