Favorites Dominate The Queen’s Plate
Posted on 6/23/2008 1:18:52 AM
By Pete Mitchell
There were no major surprises in Sunday’s $1,000,000 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine, with the top three betting choices taking down the top three slots. Perhaps the only mild shock was that morning-line chalk and eventual winner Not Bourbon was sent off at a rather generous 4.65-1. He prevailed by a diminishing head over the outstanding filly Ginger Brew, who earned the crowd’s favoritism at 1.90-1. Second-favorite Solitaire, at 3.20-1, checked in a non-threatening third.
Perhaps bettors had reservations about Not Bourbon’s ability to stay the testing 1 ¼-mile distance, but he erased all doubts with a determined effort from just off the pace. The win gave trainer Roger Attfield his record-tying eighth “Plate” victory, tying him with the legendary Harry Giddings Jr. The exactor and triactor payoffs were quite modest, but if you fancied Deputiformer to round out the superfecta, you received a healthy payoff of $1,914.60 for a $2.00 wager.
In my preview of the race, I noted the presence of five maidens (Harvest Home was scratched, leaving us with four) and six others with just one win on their resume. This is highly unusual for such a prestigious event, and it came as no surprise that this group of ten didn’t fare that well. Solitaire turned in the best effort among the maidens with his 3rd-place finish, and Deputiformer (whose lone win came in a stakes race last year as a two-year-old) headed up the one-win crew with his fourth-place effort.
It will be interesting to see which of Sunday’s participants show up for the next leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Ft. Erie racetrack on July 13th.
We’ll be here to take your action on the Canadian Triple Crown, and be sure to look for individual horse matchups on Prince of Wales Stakes, as well as many other top races from across North America, at BetOnline.com.
Pete Mitchell has been handicapping
horses since his teenage years. He has been a professional horse player for
many years, and came to BetOnline.com’s attention through multiple referrals
from industry insiders/sportsbook owners. Pete is revered for
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