BloodHorse
August 21, 2022
By: Byron King
Running Aug. 21 in the iconic CA $1 million Queen's Plate Stakes, she put on a display to match her 10 3/4-length victory last month in the Woodbine Oaks, rolling to a seven-length victory over Hall of Dreams in the Canadian classic. Her 1 1/4-mile time of 2:01.38 on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta surface established a track record and was the fastest in the 163-year history of the race, the first leg of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.
Moira, a daughter of Ghostzapper , became the 38th filly to win the Queen's Plate and 10th since 1956. She provided her Canadian trainer, Kevin Attard, with his first Queen's Plate, a race widely and often called Canada's Kentucky Derby. All of the 3-year-olds in the Plate must be born in the country.
Once the race began, she let the boys have their turn for the first three-quarters of a mile, settling toward the rear half of the field as The Minkster set the pace with fractions of :23.76, :47.57, and 1:11.85.
But Rafael Hernandez was simply biding his time on Moira, and when she was given her cue on the outside on the second turn, she quickly displayed her superiority. Seventh after six furlongs, she vaulted into third a mile into the race and was in front soon after. She hit the midstretch marker three lengths in the lead and widened her margin to the finish despite Hernandez not urging her and pumping his fist in celebration over the final 70 yards.
