No one expected an American triple crown winner this year since Mage lost in the 2nd leg of the trio of races and decide to skip the Belmont. Most people anticipated the return of Forte to see how well he would do after scratching from the Kentucky Derby and he didn't disappoint even though running 2nd last Saturday. One of the stories which were brewing just before the race was the chance of Jena Antonucci becoming the first female trainer to win the Belmont stakes. Well, we all know now what happened and Jena Antonucci did become the first female trainer to be successful in accomplishing the title of winner. She did it with a lightly raced horse by the name of Arcangelo who now has three wins from five career starts and he has carved out a spot in history for Jena Antonucci.
One of the other bright moments for me was watching Cody's Wish win his sixth race in a row. It was special watching him come from way behind to win by about three and a half lengths in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont and ridden to victory by Junior Alvarado.
On Sunday Afternoon at Woodbine racetrack, we got to see kaukokaipuu the three-year-old son of Mr. Speaker win the Queenston stakes which put him in a very good spot now, especially with his king's plate nomination and a chance to be the first to win the King's plate in modern times. What Kaukokaipuu does next will be interesting to watch as we have seen this grey son of Mr. Speaker come into his more mature side. Speaking with the Trainer Tedston Holder earlier in the year he assured me that kaukokaipuu had developed some new adopted ways over last winter with one of them being cheeky and hopefully winning will be one of them also.
I also spoke with trainer Tedston Holder after the race to find out what his plans are for this new winner of the Queenston Stakes and how he was doing. kaukokaipuu is fine Tedston Holder uttered, he came back good and is in good shape. All the gears weren't cranked up as yet and a decision hasn't been made on his next race. I asked him about the company he beat and his legitimacy of contending for the king's plate in August. Holder replied Kaukokaipuu had solid excuses for running second in his previous starts dating back to 2022. There was a time also when the horse was hit in the eye and that bothered him in the race, causing a setback. All those horses are pretty good horses and Kaukokaipuu is just one also.
I asked Tedston Holder about his decision to dedicate the win to Ricky Griffith and without hesitation he said to me it was a no-brainer, especially with all the work Ricky had done with getting Barbadian horseman to this type of stage in Canada.
derek.barntrack@gmail.com
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