Entries were taken and post positions drawn on Wednesday afternoon for the 75th renewal of the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown for 3-year-olds foaled in Canada. A field of only 8 were entered, headed by Plate Trial and Queen's Plate winner Big Red Mike, who drew post 4 and is 6-5 on the morning line. Regular rider Eurico Rosa da Silva will be in the irons again for locally based trainer Nick Gonzalez. Sam-Son Farm homebred Hotep, second in both the Marine and the Queen's Plate, drew post 3 as the 5-2 second choice over 6-1 third choice Mobthewarrior who drew the rail, 5th in the Plate after finishing 3rd in the Plate Trial for trainer Greg DeGannes. By far the most interesting entrant in the race is 15-1 shot Golden Moka out of post 5 who will be racing for new trainer Bryan Lynch in his first start in Canada after winning all three of his starts in Panama, and will have new jockey Anthony Stephen in the irons.
The honorary drawmaster was retired NHL player Paul Henderson, who joked "I played 18 years of professional hockey and scored one goal." He did score 236 goals in the NHL and also played for rival leagues, but it was the winning goal in the final game of the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series, with just 34 seconds left, that has made him famous. In fact he scored the winning goal in the last three games of the series, allowing Canada to win the series 4 games to 3 with one tie. The sweater he wore during that game recently sold at auction for over $1 million, to which he said "That sweater is worth more than my house!". Since his retirement from pro hockey he has involved himself in Christian ministries and charities, motivational speaking, and golf. At the draw he drew the entry forms from the box while racing secretary John Whitson drew the numbered pills in the traditional "double blind" format.
If Big Red Mike can win on Sunday, he will look for the Triple Crown sweep in three weeks time in the Breeders' Stakes back at Woodbine. The Canadian Triple Crown is unique in that it shares the same distances as its American counterpart, but uses three different surfaces. The Queen's Plate was contested at 1 1/4 miles on Polytrack at Woodbine, Sunday's Prince of Wales Stakes is a 1 3/16 mile dirt race at Fort Erie, and the final leg is the 1 1/2 mile Breeders' Stakes, one complete lap of Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course on August 15.
Many excellent horses have won the race including Triple Crown winners Canebora, With Approval, Izvestia, Dance Smartly, Peteski, and Wando. 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. In 2003, Wando won easily en route to his Triple Crown triumph while A Bit O'Gold won as part of his campaign that won him the 3-year-old championship for 2004. 2006 winner Shillelagh Slew and 2007 winner Alezzandro both went on to be named champion 3-year-old male in Canada.
The Prince of Wales is scheduled to go at 5:00pm ET on Sunday as the eighth race on the card. The race will be broadcast live on The Score Sports Network as well as at selected simulcast locations. Free past performances for the Prince of Wales Stakes are available from Thoroughbred Daily News.
Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | M/L Odds |
| 1 | Mobthewarrior | Emile Ramsammy | Greg DeGannes | 6-1 |
| 2 | Captain Canuck | Eibar Coa | Josie Carroll | 20-1 |
| 3 | Hotep | Patrick Husbands | Mark Frostad | 5/2 |
| 4 | Big Red Mike | Eurico Rosa da Silva | Nick Gonzalez | 6/5 |
| 5 | Golden Moka | Anthony Stephen | Brian Lynch | 15-1 |
| 6 | Mobil Unit | David Clark | Mike Keogh | 8-1 |
| 7 | Dark Cloud Dancer | Justin Stein | Mark Frostad | 10-1 |
| 8 | Who We Gunna Call | Gerry Olguin | Tino Attard | 20-1 |
