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 Jockey Francine Villeneuve wearing the silks of last year's winner Le Cinquieme Essai adds the final runner to the board at the draw. |
Dateline: 07/16/03
Today the entries were taken and post positions drawn for the 68th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of Canada's Triple Crown. A field of only seven three-year-olds were entered headed up by Wando, an easy winner in the Queen's Plate four weeks ago. Also back from the Queen's Plate are Shoal Water (4th), Solihul (6th), Peef (7th), and Arco's Gold (8th). Two new horses joined in this time: Sonofawac, 4th in the Plate Trial, and Gavro, a maiden who was 2nd in an allowance last out. If Wando can win ths year, he will go into the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine, with a chance to win the $500,000 bonus for sweeping all three races.
Post time for the Prince of Wales Stakes is Sunday at 4:48pm ET at Fort Erie Race Track and the race will be shown live on SportsNet in Canada.
Below are the entries for the Prince of Wales Stakes. All horses carry 126 pounds. Interestingly, jockey David Clark and his daughter Cory Clark both have mounts in the race, the first time a father and daughter jockey duo have ridden in a Triple Crown race.
The Prince of Wales Stakes, the premier race at Fort Erie, is run at a distance of one mile and three sixteenths with a purse of $500,000. Many excellent horses have won the race including Triple Crown winners Canebora, With Approval, Izvestia, Dance Smartly, and Peteski. Dance Smartly is also the dam of Scatter the Gold who won the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales then just missed in the Breeders' Stakes in 2000. Her daughter Dancethruthedawn also won the Plate in 2001 but finished second in the Prince of Wales to Win City. Last year, local hero Le Cinquieme Essai won in front of a crowd of jubilant home town fans.
Hockey Hall of Famer and former head of security at Fort Erie Race Track Ted "Teeder" Kennedy assists track announcer Daryl Wells with the post position draw.
This year's Queen's Plate winner Wando looks very strong coming into the Prince of Wales. Not only did he win the Plate by nine lengths, he followed up that win with two excellent works: six furlongs in 1:11 2/5 on July 13 handily and five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 on July 6 breezing. It is no surprise he was made the 3/5 morning line favorite and his post time odds will likely be even lower.
Wando winning the Queen's Plate
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | M/L Odds |
| 1 | Peef | Rita Schnitzler | Ray Sabourin | 10-1 |
| 2 | Arco's Gold | John Ross | Constant Montpellier | 6-1 |
| 3 | Gavro | John Fehr | Steven Bahen | 20-1 |
| 4 | Wando | Mike Keogh | Patrick Husbands | 3-5 |
| 5 | Sonofawac | Layne Giliforte | Cory Clark | 12-1 |
| 6 | Solihull | David Bell | Dino Luciani | 12-1 |
| 7 | Shoal Water | Mark Frostad | David Clark | 9-2 |
Prince of Wales info online:
- Fort Erie Race Track
- History of the Prince of Wales Stakes from Fort Erie
- 2001 Prince of Wales results and photos
- 2002 Prince of Wales results and photos
- Fort Erie Press Releases
- Woodbine Stable Notes - some info is here
- SLAM! Horse Racing - Canadian horse racing news
- WayMoreSports.com Horse Racing - more Canadian racing news
- TSN Horse Racing - more Canadian racing news
- News Index Search - articles from the various online news sources
Photo ©2003 Cindy Pierson Dulay, licensed to About.
