Kevin Attard a 2022 sovereign award finalist

 Most consistent race track goers see Kevin Attard as the kid who grew up in front of their eyes at the Woodbine racetrack.

Over the years Kevin Attard is determined to show his range as a horse trainer and a man amongst the people while training horses at Woodbine racetrack.  During 2022 I got familiar with Kevin Attard and I got used to seeing him walk out into the winner's circle to take his picture.

I caught up with him a couple times during the year 2022 season at Woodbine and quite often he had a tight schedule to balance but he always made the time.  I think his most famous words are usually "hey I know you" and then he flashes a smile.

I remember watching him give the apprentice Micah Husbands his first mount on July 03, 2022, and the kid nailed it and rode Rosebud's hope to victory which immediately elevated Husbands into the star category.  Was the race well calculated or was the jock just ready for the moment?  It is hard to judge but in the end, the entire opportunity and timing worked majestically with a body of people blanketing Kevin after the race.

During 2022, Kevin had his best year while training with purse earnings of over five million dollars.  He finished second on top of the trainer's standings with ninety-five wins and a 21% win average. Will he get that Sovereign award prize for the outstanding trainer in 2022 is still yet to come but as a horseracing fan, you have to somewhat feel excited for him.

His only graded stakes victory in 2022 came with the now three-year-old filly Last call who won the grade one Natalma stakes and was ridden to victory by the famous jockey Frankie Dettori back on September 17, 2022.

Kevin Attard guided Moira to a Queen's Plate victory

The horse which took woodbine by storm was Moira in 2022.  Even though she had some disappointments including the E.P. Taylor stakes in which she was DQ'ed and wasn't placed she stood out by far as a horse that captivated people at the track.  

Moira probably should have won the E.P. Taylor stakes some would say.  

Moira at one point had won three stakes in a row including the Woodbine Oaks and the Queen's plate stakes which gave Kevin Attard his first and probably the very last Queen's Plate stake during this era.

Could he win the first King's Plate in our time or could he become the next sovereign award winner for the outstanding trainer in 2022?

I guess, like most things time will let us know.

derek.barntrack@gmail.com