TORONTO –
Coach Kevin Attard has his Stanley Cup.
Moira was strong on the track to claim a record win in the $1 million Queen’s Plate on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack. This secured Attard his first record title of his career on his sixth attempt.
The victory is the culmination of a childhood dream for Attard. And though he’s been a finalist as Canada’s champion coach for the past four years, earning Grade 1 wins at the EP Taylor Stakes, Woodbine Mile and Prince of Wales. Attard likened not winning the record to a hockey player who has lived his entire career and never played for a Stanley Cup champion.
“There were a lot of emotions leading up to this race,” said Attard, his shirt soaked with sweat. “It’s something I’ve obviously had for a long time.
“My goal has always been to try to be the best and I think that puts me in a special realm of coaching. I just feel very privileged to be associated with this horse.”
Moira was revealed last month that she was a definite Plate contender, winning the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks by a whopping 10 3/4 lengths. And she did so despite running barefoot in the paddock after a pre-race incident.
“Obviously in horse racing, you’re hoping for these horses to have a different performance than this,” Attard said. “I think she’s an improving filly, I don’t think we’ve hit her bottom yet.
“She has her quirks, it wasn’t easy for me. She made me sweat. It’s a good thing I sweat more than she does.”
As dominant as Moira was on the track, Attard said his horse had some sort of tremor before the race.
“I could see she was getting a little nervous just because there were so many people around,” Attard said. “She knew today was a different day.
“But the beauty of it is that whatever she’s doing and going through, she’s able to stay mentally focused and know that she still has a job to do. I think that made her a good horse.”
On Sunday, jockey Rafael Hernandez had Moira in eighth place at the half mile and seventh at three quarters of a mile. He put her in third place by a quarter of a mile behind Ironstone and The Minkster before Moira simply rode down the track and claimed a seven-length victory on a synthetic course and a record-breaking time of 2:01.48.
“Raffie said to me afterwards, ‘We had plenty left,'” said Attard, who received a congratulatory phone call from America’s Triple Crown winner Bob Baffert. “I remember Ironstone putting in a bid for The Minkster and I was like, ‘Gosh, we’re still a little way from that.’
“The next thing you know, it’s like she’s just devouring soil.”
Hernandez earned his second Plate win after winning Race 15 aboard Shaman Ghost.
“She gave me another gear,” he said. “When we turned home, she was amazing. She is something else. She is so special.”
Moira became the eighth filly to achieve the Oaks Plate double.
Hall of Dreams finished second ahead of Sir for Sure. The remainder of the 11 horse field included, in order: Ironstone; Dancin in Danile; rondure; hunting master; Duke of Love; the minkster; cause chaos; and chamateur.
Moira paid $5.60, $3.40, and $2.90. Hall of Dreams returned $10.60 and $7.10, while Sir for Sure paid $7.10.
Moira has won all three of her starts in 2022 and has reached the winners circle for the fourth time in five career races. The exception was a second place finish in the $156,400 Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes on November 28, 2021 in Woodbine.
Attard comes from a racing family with his father Tino, uncle Sid and son Joshua all in the business as trainers or owners. Last year all four Attards had horses in the Queen’s Plate and Sid Attard sent Shamateur on Sunday.
Kevin Attard becomes the second family member to win the Queen’s Plate after Hall of Famer jockey Larry Attard guided Bompago to victory in 1983. But being surrounded by a family Sunday meant the world to Kevin Attard.
“In this business and in the barn, my family has to sacrifice a lot,” he said. “It means a lot to her to be there and share this moment.
“When we won the Woodbine Mile (2020 with Starship Jubilee) it was just my dad and son and it was great because my son is such an integral part of my life and so interested in horse racing. But it wasn’t my wife, my daughter, or my mother, who’s probably my biggest supporter.”
But Attard said he wouldn’t be where he is today without his father’s guidance.
“My father put me in this position,” said Kevin Attard. “He taught me everything I know.
“I think he sacrificed part of his career to enable me to be successful when he was training and I was able to start taking his part of the business. I can’t thank him so much, I love him so much. “
The second Triple Crown event is the Prince of Wales Stakes on September 13th at the Fort Erie Racetrack.
“Honestly, we didn’t talk about anything after this race,” said Attard. “At this point, I’m not sure what’s next.
“Of course, as a local trainer, I would love to put my name next to a Triple Crown horse if I could. But again, there’s a lot of people involved…we’ll discuss that when the time comes, but if I could go for a Triple Crown or try to win that would be very special.”
The third and final race is the Breeders’ Stakes scheduled for October 2nd at Woodbine. Wando was the last Canadian Triple Crown winner to accomplish the feat in 2003.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 21, 2022.