Queen’s Plate winner Moira running this Saturday in Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Stakes
-Video Interviews with Trainer Kevin Attard and Jockey Rafael Hernandez Included Below for Media Use as Desired-
TORONTO, October 7th, 2022 – Moira, winner of this year’s $1 million Queen’s Plate, will contest Saturday’s Grade 1 $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. If successful, Moira would be the first-ever Plate winner to also capture the E.P. Taylor.
This announcement comes after trainer Kevin Attard and owners X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and SF Racing LLC made the decision to bypass the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown Series. While there was some talk of Moira heading to Keeneland to run in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, Attard and the filly’s ownership group ultimately chose to keep the bay Ontario-bred at Woodbine, the only racetrack she has ever competed at to date.
Moira’s Queen’s Plate win moved her record to 4-1-0 from five starts. She and Jockey Rafael Hernandez notched a record time of 2:01.48 over the 1 ¼ miles on the Tapeta, crossing the wire seven lengths ahead of runner-up Hall of Dreams.
Hernandez hopes to guide Moira to yet another victory. “It would be unbelievable if she could win the E.P. Taylor and the Queen’s Plate,” he remarked. “It would make history.”
The daughter of Ghostzapper-Devine Aida trained on the turf ahead of this Saturday’s race, which will represent her first grass start.
“I wanted to get a chance to get a feel of the grass for the first time, see how she gets over it, and another opportunity to kind of see the grandstand with it being so close to the course,” said Attard. She looked well. She was very easy in hand, seemed to be covering ground pretty comfortably, so I was pleased.”
The E.P. Taylor, final race of the Ladies of the Lawn Series, received a purse increase, upping the total from $600,000 last year to $750,000. Saturday’s card also includes the Grade 2 Nearctic and Grade 3 Durham Cup, as well as the Ontario Racing, and Woodbine Cares Stakes.
First post on Saturday is 1:20 p.m. Racing fans can watch and wager on the action through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
For video interviews with Trainer Kevin Attard and jockey Rafael Hernandez on Moira’s road to the E.P. Taylor, click here.
