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Queen's Plate winner Wonder Gadot to run in $400,000 Prince of Wales race

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There won't be a Wonder Gadot-Flameaway showdown at the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes.

The prospect of the two Mark Casse-trained horses squaring off in the second jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown took a big step towards becoming a reality following filly Wonder Gadot's impressive 4 3/4-length victory in the $1-million Queen's Plate on June 30. Flameaway didn't run in the race despite being pointed to the Plate following his 13th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and instead was sixth in the US$500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 23 at Thistledown.

Casse said Monday that Wonder Gadot will run in the Prince of Wales, but Flameaway is heading to the Grade 2 US$600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 28 at Saratoga.

Last week, trainer Bob Baffert pulled American Triple Crown winner Justify from training due to swelling in his left front ankle. Justify won't run in the Grade 1 US$1-million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 29 so handlers that originally skipped the race to avoid facing Justify could alter their plans in his absence, presenting an opportunity for Flameaway in the Jim Dandy.

"As soon as you saw that (Justify being pulled) you knew there was going to be a lot of movement," Casse said.

Wonder Gadot's presence at the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales on July 24 will certainly give the dirt race its star appeal. But even if the filly named after Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot emerges victorious at Fort Erie, she won't chase a Triple Crown in the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile turf event at Woodbine on Aug. 18.

Instead, the plan would be to run in the Grade 1 US$600,000 Alabama Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile dirt race for three-year-old fillies at Saratoga on the same day.

"Honestly right now our long-term goal is the Breeders' Cup," Casse said. "I don't think going back to the turf would make sense."

That leaves the late Wando as Canada's last Triple Crown winner in 2003.

Roughly 30 years ago, Woodbine and the Bank of Montreal offered a $1-million bonus to the connections of a horse winning the Triple Crown. But after being awarded three straight years — With Approval ('89), Izvestia ('90) and Dance Smartly ('91) — the seven-figure bonus ceased although the handlers for Peteski (1993) and Wando earned an additional $500,000 stipend for their championship runs.

Last month, Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson said there's been talk about resurrecting a Triple Crown bonus. But Casse doubts even a potential seven-figure prize would entice Wonder Gadot's handlers to change their minds.

"Well, that would possibly get our attention," he said with a chuckle, "But as I said, our long-term goal is the Breeders' Cup so, you know, more than likely not."

However, there was the temptation to skip the Prince of Wales and have Wonder Gadot enter the Grade 1 US$300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on July 22. That would've set up an interesting rematch with Monomoy Girl, who nipped Wonder Gadot by a neck in the $1-million Kentucky Oaks on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Wonder Gadot came into the Plate following three straight second-place finishes so Casse put blinkers on her to help the horse focus more. The result was an emphatic victory.

"I have the utmost respect for Monomoy Girl, she's one heck of a horse . . . but we want another shot at her," he said. "At the beginning of the year, your No. 1 goal with any horse is to make them a champion.

"Yeah, Monomoy Girl has beaten us pretty solidly and she is right now the leader but we feel, and many have written it, the championship is far from over."

Even without blinkers, Casse feels Wonder Gadot's Kentucky Oaks effort was more than worthy of the win if not for some bad racing luck.

"Late in the race they (Monomoy Girl and Wonder Gadot) bumped but that's not where things went wrong," Casse said. "At about the 5/16th pole, a horse clipped heels in front of her and (jockey Johnny Velazquez) had to put on the brakes for a second and it cost her a lot of momentum.

"She doesn't have a quick burst of speed, she just goes and goes and goes so if you stop her momentum a little bit, it takes her a while to get going. I think had that not happened we might've went by Monomoy Girl a little quicker and then it would've been tougher for her to come back."

Casse believes the change from synthetic to dirt will favour Wonder Gadot at Fort Erie.

"I think it's actually an advantage because we're pretty well the only one that has dirt form," he said. "She has already run in probably the best and biggest three-year-old filly race in the North America (Kentucky Oaks) and got beat by a neck by the best filly in the country on the dirt going 1 1/8 miles.

"If you can go 1 1/8 miles you can go 1 3/16 miles and our filly has already won going 1 1/4 miles. She's also very professional and has shipped all over North America so moving around doesn't bother her."

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press


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