Page 27 - July 2005 The Game

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, July 2005 27
146th Running of the Queen’s Plate - June 26, 2005
Photo Right - Wild Desert, was cool, calm and collected, while getting saddled in the walking ring before the Plate.
Photo Above: The connections of Wild Desert lead him across the turf course in front of the crowd on their way to the winner’s enclosure after a half-length victory
in the 2005 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on June 26.
Wild Desert is a son of Wild Rush who was bred in Ontario by Windways Farm.
He is owned by a partnership which includes Philadelphia native Dan Borislow, former NHL’er Keith Jones (who grew up in Brantford, ON), New York Yankee general manager Joe Torre and former owner Carl Gessler Jr. Wild Desert was originally trained
by Ken McPeek, however he was shipped to trainer Richard Dutrow’s barn after
a disastrous finish in the Arkansas Derby. He was transferred to the barn of five-time Eclipse Award winner, Bobby Frankel, for the Plate.
According to reports in the Toronto Star,
an estimated 22,000 fans packed the stands and lined the railings for the 146th running of the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on June 26.
2005 Queen’s Plate winning jockey, the US based, Pat Valenzuela, kisses
the Queen’s Plate Trophy in the winner’s enclosure at Woodbine.
Pat, who has won the kentucky Derby and seven Breeders’ Cup races in his career, was quoted as saying,
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd win the Queen's Plate. It's an honour to be here and a privilege."
Michael Burns Photo - Courtesy of WEG
It was nice to see the smartly dressed patrons at this year’s Queen’s Plate. Many of the ladies were spotted wearing hats fashioned by Chelsea’s of Oakville. The Game’s Stacie Roberts (left) is seen here in her hat purchased at Chelsea’s along with Chelsea’s owner Sandra Beckett, at the booth which was set up on Queen’s Plate day just outside the West entrance at Woodbine. You can visit Chelsea’s in Oakville, Ontario, at 137 Lakeshore Road East, or call 905-849-8982 or visit their website at www.chelseahats.com.
Jockey Gerry Olguin’s parents, Norma and Roger Olguin, along with his niece, Andrea Noguez, and his son Kai, were on hand to cheer on Gerry
as he rode the Roger Attfield trained, Ablo, in this year’s Queen’s Plate.
DIDN’T PICK WILD DESERT - CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE The final quarter of Canada’s most important race went
in 27.37 seconds. The night before, Ponder, a harness horse, won Canadian Pacing Derby with a final quarter of 26.6.
I might not have figured on Wild Desert, but his owner Dan Borislow of New Jersey sure did.
“I bought this horse for this race,” said a thrilled Borislow, “We could have raced him in the Preakness. We could have raced him in the Belmont. This is the race we pointed to and this was the race we wanted.”
odds, why it paid just $8.30 to win.
“We probably pulled in $100,000 with our bets,” he
mentioned casually. Doing the math, that would indicate that the Wild Desert group bet about $15,000 win/place on their horse.
Jockey Pat Valenzuela wasn’t concerned about the pedestrian time of 207.37 for the ten furlongs.
“It was relatively slow but that doesn’t take anything away from my horse. The prestige of the Queen’s Plate - it’s amazing. It’s just like I’m in a dream right now.”
Jim McAleney, still, sadly, a journeyman, thought, as I did, that he was riding a winner,
“I honestly said to myself at the half-mile pole, It’s ours. This is our Plate.‚ But once we got inside the five-sixteenth pole, I knew I was in trouble. I felt sorry for the filly. She gave me 100 percent and she wanted to win. My heart was going out to her.”
Now that time - 207.37. Ugh! 2003 winner Wando would have finished 25 lengths ahead of Wild Desert. Dancethruthedawn’s win in 2001 was about 18 lengths faster. Woodcarver, Archers Bay and Victor Cooley would have been close to 20 lengths ahead and even T.J.’s Lucky Moon would have been two lengths in front of this year’s winner.
Borislow also solved the mystery of the horse’s low
Michael Burns Photo - Courtesy of WEG