Mo Mentum Farm Goes 1-2 In The Kings Plate

By Nynl Stables on August 20, 2023

The Kings Plate ($1,000.000 Purse)
WO- For Three Year Olds Foaled In Canada
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
August 20, 2023

The Queens Plate, and now the Kings Plate, has been a great race for Mo Mentum Farm in the past, as the trainer has picked up two wins in it, with neither going back any further than 2017. That year, it was Laffin Parrot, and then in 2021 Freddo Cappuccino got the win. This year may have been an even better race for him, as not only did Mo Mentum Farm have the winner, he also had the second-place finisher as well. That winner was a filly by the name of Appreciate who came into the race on a three-race win streak, including a monstrous four length win in the $500.000 WO Oaks. This made the trainer feel confident about running her against the boys, and we believed in her as well, making her our pick to win. We also had a chance to read Cozman’s insight, and he also picked Appreciate to win. So, why then, was she a 20/1 longshot? Of course, we all know the odds won’t make sense on many occasions and today was definitely an example for that. I have to also mention, because it very rarely happens, that I was three-for-three this weekend in picking the winners of the races I covered! Appreciate is the second filly to win this race, with the other being Vouvray back in 2012. Congrats to her, and Mo Mentum Farm on this win, as well as jockey J R Velazquez, who becomes a two-time winner. The race was won in a time of 2:00.90, the second fastest in the stake’s history. Freddo Cappuccino holds that record from 2021. Let’s take a look at it now!

(1/2 Mile- :47.77)- Cross Examination breaks well out of the gate for Mo Mentum Farm, but on the far outside, it would be So Call Me Maybe taking the lead down the front stretch for Asgar. That one would continue to hold the top spot around the opening turn and into the backstretch. Our eventual winner, Mo Mentum Farm’s Appreciate, also broke well while closer to the rail, and just as we hit the half mile spot, she would poke a nose in front to take the official credit for leading at this point. Sweet And Innocent, from Mb Stables, was also a part of this lead group. After a length and a half, the siblings from Arindel, Forceamalu and Sinamaulu, run side by side, with Poolside Brave (Nakamura Stables). It’s another length to Mediterranean Sea (Fractious), then it’s Times Ticking (Angelos Stable), Night Raider (Mb Stables), and Ayn Rand (Mo Mentum Farm).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.87)- Appreciate looks really good in the backstretch and opens up a length lead over the likes of So Call Me Maybe and Cross Examination. Those two are side by side for second, and Sweet And Innocent is not able to keep up with them and loses some ground. Forceamalu is fifth on the outside, half a length ahead of Sinamaulu, who’s the same distance ahead of Poolside Brave. Mediterranean Sea leads the rest of the pack, and none of them have shown interest in making a push as of yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Appreciate maintains her advantage throughout the backstretch and continues to look good entering the turn. Her stablemate, Cross Examination is doing the best that he can to stay close, but the same cannot be said for So Call Me Maybe, who has hung up on being a contender. For now, he is still running third, but he has dropped well off the pace, now around three lengths back. The other eight horses in this field were really beginning to form a tight back right now, but there was not that one horse amongst them that looked like they were going to have a strong late bid. There could still be time, perhaps, but they needed to get moving now.

(Finish- 2:00.90)- In the stretch, Appreciate had opened up enough of a lead on the rest of the field, and did not have to worry all that much. Certainly, Mo Mentum Farm didn’t, as they only one within striking range was her stablemate, Cross Examination. That one would not make any progress and would settle for second as Appreciate cruises to a length win. It didn’t need to be four lengths this time, but it may have been just as convincing as she made it look pretty easy. Cross Examination is a clear second, with Mediterranean Sea finding some late kick to get up for third, but he waited way too late to make a push. It’s about two lengths to a tight fourth place battle that sees Night Raider prevail over Ayn Rand, Poolside Brave, and Times Ticking. The rest of the order will read So Call Me Maybe, Forceamalu, Sinamaulu, and Sweet And Innocent.

About The Winner- Appreciate, trained by Mo Mentum Farm, and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old filly by Fairfield Road and is out of Air Shift. She was bred in Ontario as a third quarter two-year-old by Mo Mentum Farm, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in ten starts, and fourth consecutive. Her career earnings are now $1,074.740.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Appreciate

Mo Mentum Farm

Velazquez J R

20.45

1¹