Legendary trainer Roger Attfield holds up eight fingers after tying Harry Giddings Jr.’s record of eight plate victories after Not Bourbon captured the 149th running of the Queen's Plate stakes in 2008.Michael Burns
Roger Attfield will chase Queen's Plate history Sunday with the race favourite.
Danish Dynaformer, the 3-to-1 morning-line choice, is one of two horses Attfield will send postward for the 156th running of the $1-million race. Danish Dynaformer will break from the No. 7 post, two spots outside of Billy's Star, a 15-to-1 long shot, in the 14-horse field at Woodbine Racetrack.
Attfield, 75, a native of Newbury, England, is an eight-time Queen's Plate victor, tying him with Harry Giddings, Jr. for most titles by a trainer. Attfield's last appearance in the Plate winner's circle came in 2008 with Not Bourbon, and the resident of Nobleton, Ont., says he doesn't lose sleep at night dreaming about a record-setting ninth victory.
"It's just been an amazing run over the years, to win eight is just a dream," Attfield said from the race draw Thursday. "And then this pesky guy in the 1900s won eight and now I've got to try to beat him.
"I don't really think too much about it, if it happens it happens. As long as my horses just get to run their races and come back sound and healthy that's fine with me.
"If we win it, that's even better."
Three of Attfield's Plate winners (Peteski in '93, Izvestia in '90 and With Approval in '89) went on to capture the Canadian Triple Crown.
Danish Dynaformer has won three of five starts this season, including last month's $150,000 Plate Trial, a race marred by the death of favourite Danzig Moon. The prized three-year-old, which was fifth in the Kentucky Derby and sixth in the Preakness, broke his hind leg and had to be euthanized.
Luis Contreras rode Danish Dynaformer to victory in the Plate Trial but will be aboard Ami's Flatter on Sunday. That will allow Patrick Husbands, eight times Canada's top jockey, to ride Danish Dynaformer for the first time and try to win consecutive Queen's Plates and a third overall.
Husbands rode filly Lexie Lou to victory in the 2014 Plate, 11 years after winning North America's oldest continuously run stakes race for the first time aboard Wando. Husbands went on to guide Wando to a Canadian Triple Crown in '03, the seventh and last horse to accomplish the feat.
But up to about two weeks ago, Husbands didn't have a Plate mount, that is, until Contreras honoured a commitment to the handlers of Ami's Flatter. Attfield said he was very fortunate a jockey of Husbands' ability was able to fill the vacancy.
"It's very rare for that to happen to Patrick and it's very rare what happened to me," Attfield said, adding he understood Contreras's decision.
"They [Ami's Flatter's connections] stayed loyal to him all winter and had ridden him in all the big races when they had the choice of some designer jockeys, as I call them, and so it was only right he stayed with that horse.
"I was very lucky Patrick was available."
Twelve of this year's 14 starters have connections (owner, trainer or jockey) who've previously won the iconic 1 1/4-mile race, which carries a $600,000 winner's share.
Trainer Reade Baker has the most horses in the field with three, including Oaks winner Academic.
Academic won the 1 1/8-mile Oaks in a track-record effort of 1:48.86, almost a full second faster than Danish Dynaformer's time in the Trial.
Mark Casse, who captured his first Plate last year with Lexie Lou, sends Conquest Boogaloo and Oakton postward Sunday. Casse had planned to enter a third, Conquest Curlinate, but decided against it after the horse was hurt avoiding a collision during training Thursday morning.
"He's fine," Casse said. "He was galloping along right in front of us … and a horse was backing up jogging and veered into him towards the rail.
"They missed by inches, we're very fortunate. He's better now but you can't take any chances."
The field, with post, horse, jockey and odds, includes: 1) Shaman Ghost, Rafael Hernandez, 7 to 2; 2) Oakton, Tyler Pizzaro, 20 to 1; 3) Ault, David Moran, 30 to 1; 4) Academic, Justin Stein, 5 to 1; 5) Billy's Star, Eurico Rosa da Silva, 15 to 1; 6) Sweet Grass Creek, Jesse Campbell. 20 to 1; 7) Danish Dynaformer, Husbands, 3 to 1; 8) Conquest Boogaloo, Alan Garcia, 8 to 1; 9) Breaking Lucky, Jim McAleney, 20 to 1; 10) Easy Indygo, Emma-Jayne Wilson, 30 to 1; 11) Portree, Gerry Olguin, 12 to 1; 12) Milwaukee Mist, Gary Boulanger, 30 to 1; 13) Bear At Last, Rico Walcott, 30 to 1; and 14) Ami's Flatter, Contreras, 6 to 1.