As a precursor of Anna Thorpedo ‘s participation against males in the August 24 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Trackanother 3 year old mare, Caitlinhergrtness upset the men in the $1 million Canadian King’s Plate at Honeysuckle August 23. The lone mare, competing against 11 stallions, the mare owned by Siena Farm and WinStar Farm took down the 2023 Sovereign Juvenile Stallion, My Prince became the 39th mare to win this historic race.
Her win gave her trainer Kevin Attard, who has ridden three horses in the Plate, his second win in the race and gave rider Rafael Hernandez his third. Attard and Hernandez have teamed up to win the race in 2022 with the classy mare Moira Canadian Horse of the Year that season. Hernandez first won the Plate in 2015 on Magician for coach Brian Lynch.
Canada’s equivalent of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown for 3-year-old horses bred in that country, the race scheduled for Friday was postponed from August 17 after heavy rains canceled the race at Woodbine that afternoon. It was the 165th time the race has been held, making it the oldest continuously held race in North America.
Added to the King’s Plate after finishing second in the Woodbine Oaks, Caitlinhergrtness was well placed throughout the 1 1/4-mile King’s Plate, keeping pace with Mark Casse’s trainees. Essex Snake and My Boy Prince are the 3rd-5th favorites with previous records of :23.74, :47.23 and 1:11.60 over Tapeta.
Entering the turn, My Boy Prince broke away thanks to an early move from Sahin Civaci, and he approached the finish line with the lead after a mile in 1:36.14. But Caitlinhergrtness was lurking in pursuit. She caught him midway through the turn and edged away in the final sixteenth to win by three-quarters of a length.
“When I pulled the trigger, she gave me everything,” Hernandez said.
Caitlinhergrtness completed the classic in 2:03.45, and Hernandez celebrated by waving her arms a few times in excitement as she crossed the finish line. She carried 121 pounds, five pounds less than her male competitors. She paid $20.70 for the win.
“She’s obviously a top-class racehorse,” said Attard.
Midnight mascot Another of Mark Casse’s interns, gathered to perform.
Bred in Ontario by Jesse Korona, Caitlinhergrtness went through three public auctions before beginning her racing career. Her current owners purchased 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 for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, winning one of her four starts in the United States in dirt races, before joining Attard’s Canadian stable. She won her first for him on grass in an allowance optional race on July 6 at Woodbine before finishing second in the 1 1/8-mile Woodbine Oaks during a two-week turnaround. She was a little tired at the end of that race.
The Canadian Triple Crown continues with the Prince of Wales Stakes on September 10 at 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Fort Erie The tournament concludes with the Breeders’ Stakes on September 29 on a 1 1/2-mile track at Woodbine.
Caitlinhergrtness is the daughter of Omaha Beach from Giant’s Causeway’s mare Belatrix. A leading second-season stallion, Omaha Beach is standing for the 2024 season at a $40,000 fee at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.
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