Fire and Wine Fuels King’s Plate Dreams for Owner Paul Ryder
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You can forgive Paul Ryder for being in a King’s Plate state of mind.
The 167th edition of Canada’s iconic thoroughbred horse race — one that traces its roots back to 1860 — is still roughly six months away from loading into the Woodbine starting gate.
The racetrack's three surfaces – the all-weather main track the Plate is run on, the E.P. Taylor turf course and the inner turf – are currently covered under a blanket of snow, the result of what has been an unusually harsh winter across the Greater Toronto Area.
And while the “Gallop for the Guineas” is still some distance away and the weather hardly conjures warm thoughts – horse racing or otherwise – Ryder, a racehorse owner since 1999, can’t help but imagine what it would be like to have a starter in North America’s oldest continually run stakes race.
It’s easy to understand why that possibility occupies his thoughts.
“He definitely gives you reason to hope and dream,” said Ryder, who resides in Etobicoke, just southeast of Woodbine.
The “he” Ryder speaks of is Fire and Wine, a 3-year-old son of Lexitonian out of The Factor mare Double Latte, whom he purchased for a modest sum two years ago.
Bred in Ontario by James and Janeane Everatt, Arika Meeuse and Robert Marzilli, the colt was originally a $5,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February Mixed Sale.
“Zeljko and his daughter, Mary [Self], just thought this horse was for me. Mary can see something in a horse – she has a knack for it. So, they reached out to me and told them to go for it.
“When they brought him in, I thought he looked okay, but he had a little bit of a swayback. Zeljko told me not to worry about it and that as he got older, we wouldn’t see it. And he was right. He got big and he got strong.”
As for the name, Ryder found inspiration from the small screen.
“My wife, Lynda, and I watch a lot of movies at home. In a lot of them, there is always a big fireplace and always people drinking a glass of wine around the fire. I said to Lynda, ‘What do you think about Fire and Wine for a name?’ A lot of people like it.”
Fire and Wine debuted on June 8 at Woodbine and finished sixth in the five-furlong main track race.
The colt, trained by longtime conditioner Zeljko Krcmar, returned on October 19 to produce a 13-length romp at one mile and 70 yards over the Woodbine main track in his sixth career start.
Ryder knew the waters would be much deeper in his next engagement: the Coronation Futurity Stakes.
The 1 1/8-mile event for 2-year-olds foaled in Canada is a key race on the road to The King’s Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
Sent off at 16-1 in a field of nine, Fire and Wine, with Slade Jones in the irons, crossed over from post seven to seize the early lead, holding a two-length advantage through an opening quarter in :24.08.
The lead expanded to four lengths through a half in :49.59. Still traveling comfortably through three-quarters in 1:13.98, Fire and Wine looked as though he had plenty left in the tank turning for home.
Ahead by five lengths at Robert Geller’s stretch call, Fire and Wine would win by that same margin in 1:51.90.
“I know he was a really good horse,” said Jones, Canada’s champion apprentice of 2022. “I get on him all the time. He just has that big stride and he just keeps running. I told myself I would go to the lead and make them come after me. It played out great that way.
“Once I got to the half-mile pole and I kind of felt him underneath me, I had a lot of confidence right about there. I knew he had a lot to go, so I knew it would be a fight no matter what. I didn’t expect him to kick on like that, but he ran a huge race.”
Ryder was caught off guard by the victory in his first stakes opportunity, despite the confidence shown by others in the barn.
“Honestly, I said to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ Zeljko and his wife Gail were convinced he could do it. I just couldn’t go along with them thinking that way.”
They weren’t the only ones who believed.
“Tafari, his groom, is unbelievable,” praised Ryder. “Every time I go to the barn, he takes such great care of him. He told me before the race, ‘Paul, you are going to win it.’ He just seemed so sure of it.”
Months after the win – and after watching the replay dozens of times – Ryder remains hopeful his sophomore, sporting a 2-0-3 mark from seven starts, is on the path to The King’s Plate.
He knows it will take patience, perseverance and perhaps a little luck from the racing gods to see Fire and Wine contest the 167th running of the race. Norcliffe was the last horse to record the Coronation Futurity-Plate double, in 1975-76.
In some ways, Ryder, who won his first race with Teatoe, a daughter of Survivalist, on November 18, 2016, at Woodbine, can relate to his prized Thoroughbred.
“I used to be a marathon runner,” said Ryder, whose Selfmade won three races in 2022, including a three-quarter length triumph over 1 1/16 miles on the Toronto oval’s inner turf. “Just like Fire and Wine, you have to have a lot of miles in the tank and things have to go perfectly to get to the finish line first.”
For now, he is content to revisit the Coronation Futurity triumph – a chance to reflect on the biggest win of his career and to imagine what might lie ahead.
“I’d say I have watched the race about 50 times or so. I just keep smiling from ear-to-ear. I have friends in my neighbourhood who know I have horses. Once they found out about the win, they came to the door and wanted to see the race. So, I watched the race with them and showed them the trophy. I will show anybody – that’s how happy it makes me.”
During a recent trip to the bank, Ryder pulled up the race on his phone.
“The two women I spoke with are really interested in this horse. I showed them the race and they were excited. They don’t know much about racing, but they want to come to The King’s Plate. I told them it’s not 100 per cent that it will happen, but it sure is nice to hope it does.”
As he has done throughout the years, Ryder has yet to visit the farm where Fire and Wine is currently stationed.
Soon enough, he’ll make the 30-minute drive north to Bolton, Ontario.
“I don’t like to see the horses in the winter. I like to be surprised in the spring – to see how big they have grown and to see how they have matured. Zeljko and Gail see him all the time and they relay everything to me.”
Including one important reminder.
“Zeljko keeps reminding me to make the payments for the Plate. I told him I won’t forget.”
How could he?
“There is a lot of time between now and August,” said Ryder. “But thinking about having a horse in Canada’s biggest race is something that makes me smile. It’s a great feeling.”
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
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