The Kings Plate ($1,000.000 Purse)
WO- For Three Year Olds Foaled in Canada
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
August 17, 2024

It was an interesting field for the Kings Plate this year as an enormous opportunity was there for the taking for any of our seven runners to score the biggest win of their career and make a name for themselves in the virtual world of racing. There was a threat of rain, and while it may have made the turf course “good”, it did not have any impact on the main track. We’d have an exciting finish at the wire, and in the photo, it would be Duke Of Love scoring the win for Mo Mentum Farm. He was an 11/1 longshot in the race but stepped up in his stake debut! This win allows Mo Mentum Farm to tie Australia Wide in most Queens/Kings Plate wins but given that Australia Wide has two wins when it was not restricted to Canadian Breds, and didn’t win them with Canadian Breds, Mo Mentum Farm can be considered the king of the race. It’s also his third win in four editions of the race. J Talamo was aboard and won for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:01.27, a middle of the road such time in history. Let’s take a look at it:

(½ Mile- :46.50)- Prickly was the fastest out of the gate and seemed like he might pull away a little bit, but the Mb Stables runner did not maintain his push and found himself getting passed by two in the opening turn. Longshot Authentic, from Mo Mentum Farm, was the first one to get by him, but ultimately Asgar’s Parisian Arrow would move to the front of the pack and held a half-length advantage after a half mile. Prickly fell a length a half behind them, but his advantage to fourth place Center Broadway, from Glorify Stables, was of the same margin. Charlie Jace was a length back for Mb Stables, it’s another to TwinTowersRacing’s Plumbus and one more to our eventual winner, Mo Mentum Farm-trained Duke Of Love. It’s much further back to Mountain King (Paradise Stable) and Jerome The Bus (Mo Mentum Farm). Officially, it’s thirteen lengths from first to last.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.74)- We head down the backstretch with Authentic and Parisian Arrow exchanging the lead a couple more before Parisian Arrow begins to emerge as the victor out of the two of them as they get close to the final turn. Prickly sits about two lengths back in third still, with Center Broadway getting a little closer. These two would seem to be in a good spot if the early pace collapsed. It’s about two to Charlie Jace, and a little further back, we see a slight move forward by Duke Of Love, and he moves to the inside of Plumbus and makes that pass. Mountain King and Jerome The Bus continued to trail.

(Top of Stretch, 1.6F To Go)- Authentic would pack it in before reaching the final turn, but Parisian Arrow still was holding his own for now up front. Prickly would move into second and was a little quicker than the frontrunner at this point. However, the most interesting horses at this point were further back in the field. Charlie Jace was full of run about midway into the turn, and while running in the fourth lane or so, she quickly made-up ground. For now, she drew evenly with Center Broadway. Duke Of Love was urged to do the same as J Talamo knew it was time for his horse to make a run of his own. He would come off the rail to do this, possibly to keep from running into this fatigued stablemate, Authentic. Duke Of Love was now directly behind Charlie Jace. Mountain King, after giving up a lot of ground early, was full of run now but would need to make a further outside run to do so. Plumbus showed no response, and Jerome The Bus only made minor progress when much more was needed.

(Finish- 2:01.27)- The field tightened up in the stretch, and this would be bad news for Parisian Arrow as they were coming at him from all angles. Charlie Jace would grab the top spot with a little more than half a furlong to go, but Prickly was also running well. There would be room for Center Broadway and Duke Of Love to come through to the inside of Charlie Jace, and this was great news for Duke Of Love, as he was gaining on the leader. There would be enough time, but it would take everything he had. They would hit the wire together in a photo finish, and no matter who won, it would be an effort that their trainer can be excited about going forward. Duke Of Love got up just in time to get the win by a nose over Charlie Jace. It was a length back to a photo for show as well, seeing late running Mountain King catching Center Broadway just in time, and Prickly could be seen in this photo as well. Parisian Arrow will only be sixth on the day, finishing ahead of Jerome The Bus, Plumbus, and Authentic.

About The Winner- Duke Of Love, trained by Mo Mentum Farm and ridden to victory by J Talamo, is a three-year-old gelding by Fairfield Road and is out of Pivotal Force. He was bred in Ontario by Mo Mentum Farm as a second quarter two-year-old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in ten starts and first stake win. Just like that, his career earnings are now $704.100.

Track: Fast
Time: :46²  1:10³  1:36  2:01¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 6 Paid 64.90
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 6 – 3 Paid 1,156.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded