Avie's Flatter Back at Woodbine for Queen's Plate

When Ivan Dalos' homebred Avie's Flatter returns to Woodbine's Tapeta surface June 29, he will attempt to be the first horse since Norcliffe in 1976 to capture the Queen's Plate-Coronation Futurity double.

The 3-year-old Flatter  colt is favored to do so at 5-2 on the morning line and will break from the outside post in a field of 14.

The $1 million Queen's Plate, for Canadian-bred sophomores, will be Avie's Flatter's first race at Woodbine this year after capturing the Sovereign Award for champion 2-year-old colt under trainer Josie Carroll's care.

"The outside post is probably not ideal, but it's a long way to the first turn and it's a mile-and-a-quarter race," Carroll said. "So I'm not going to have too many concerns about being outside."

The feature marks the first leg of Canada's Triple Crown, which is completed by the July 23 Prince of Wales Stakes going 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Fort Erie and Aug. 17 Breeders' Stakes going 1 1/2 miles on turf back at Woodbine. Wando was the last horse to win all three races in 2003. A new $500,000 bonus will be awarded if a horse completes the sweep this year.

Avie's Flatter's four juvenile starts all came at Woodbine. He won on debut sprinting on the Tapeta, ran on turf when fourth in the Summer Stakes (G1T) and first in the Cup and Saucer Stakes, then won the Coronation Futurity back on Tapeta.

This year, Avie's Flatter won the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania Stakes (G3T) April 5 at Keeneland and finished sixth in the American Turf Stakes Presented by Ram Trucks (G2T) May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Carroll has twice won the Queen's Plate, and Dalos has bred and raced two runners-up.

Trainer Mark Casse and owner Gary Barber won last year's Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales with champion filly Wonder Gadot and will try to repeat their success this year with Skywire, who is co-owned by Lucio Tucci. The Afleet Alex  colt has won three of five starts, including the April 28 Wando Stakes. He last rallied to finish second—beaten a length by Global Access—in the May 25 Marine Stakes (G3).

"I thought Skywire's last race was really good. He got beat by a nice horse, who probably had a little better trip than us," said Casse, who's been named Canada's outstanding trainer the past eight years. "I think his demeanor is going to help him go a mile and a quarter. He's the type of horse that doesn't go until you ask him to go. I think Eurico (Rosa da Silva) will be able to conserve his energy until he needs it."

The lone filly in this year's field is Sam-Son Farm homebred Desert Ride. Neil Howard has trained the daughter of Candy Ride  to three wins in four starts. She won her stakes debut last out in the June 8 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser, a race her second dam, Canadian champion Eye of the Sphynx, also won.

"I was so happy to have that mile and an eighth for her," Howard said of the Woodbine Oaks. "I didn't think she was going to get there, but going past the three-sixteenths pole, you had that relieved feeling that she was running well and going to finish well. As tough as these races are—you always want to win—as long as they run well and come back good, you have to be satisfied with that. Winning is a bonus."

Three fillies have accomplished the Oaks-Plate double in the past decade—Holy Helena (2017), Lexie Lou (2014), and Inglorious (2011).

Entries: Queen's Plate S.

Woodbine, Saturday, June 29, 2019, Race 10

• STK
• 1 1/4m
• All Weather Track
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 5:36 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Desert Ride (ON)	Steven Ronald Bahen	121	Neil J. Howard	8/1
2	2Moon Swings (ON)	Jesse M. Campbell	126	Michael P. De Paulo	30/1
3	3Krachenwagen (ON)	Jeffrey Ian Alderson	126	Angus Buntain	50/1
4	4Pay for Peace (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	126	Rachel Halden	15/1
5	5One Bad Boy (ON)	Flavien Prat	126	Richard Baltas	7/2
6	6Lucas n' Lori (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	126	Kevin Attard	50/1
7	7Federal Law (ON)	Jamie P. Spencer	126	Mark E. Casse	15/1
8	8He's a Macho Man (ON)	Patrick Husbands	126	Josie Carroll	15/1
9	9Suitedconnected (ON)	Gary Boulanger	126	Robert Earl Barnett	50/1
10	10Skywire (ON)	Eurico Rosa Da Silva	126	Mark E. Casse	4/1
11	11Tone Broke (ON)	Luis Contreras	126	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
12	12Jammin Still (ON)	Alan Garcia	126	Kevin Attard	30/1
13	13Rising Star (ON)	Justin Stein	126	Michael P. De Paulo	30/1
14	14Avie's Flatter (ON)	Javier Castellano	126	Josie Carroll	5/2