Thoroughbred racing expert
Molly Jo Rosen (
Fillyosophy.com and thegirlhasahorse.com) gives fans the inside scoop on all 13 horses running in Sunday’s Queen’s Plate, and picks the top four finishers. You can follow Molly Jo on Twitter
@MollyJoRosen
My take on the field…
1-Mike ~ 3rd-itis steps up & has speed which the rail draw should help ~ not sure I like that Moran/LeBlanc are 0-for-10
2-Narrow Escape ~ looking for his 3rd straight win in 2nd race back off the winter break ~ asking him to step up in only 2nd time v. winners is a tall order but Nixon’s winning at a 32% clip for a reason ~ Campbell opted to ride elsewhere, so Sheena Ryan takes the call & she’s 1-for-1 on Nixon runners
3-All On Red ~ that the speedster is lightly raced (& hasn’t beaten winners yet) doesn’t concern me as much as I find it interesting he only debuted in March: it says his lightbulb went on quick ~ it says a lot that Eurico opts to ride him when he probably had his pick of the field
4-Leavem in Malibu ~ another lightly raced one in the bunch, this time from the mighty Casse barn ~ he’s looking for his 3rd straight victory, loves the distance & proved last out that he doesn’t need a clean trip to win convincingly
5-Sir Dudley Digges ~ ties for most races under his girth in the field with 8 & it took him 7 to break his maiden though he’d come so close so often, then stepped up against winners for the first time in the Plate Trial & ran on strong for a horse who clearly prefers to be on the lead ~ Leparoux ships north this time (he was in the UK with Tepin when the Plate Trial ran), which signals just how much he believes in this guy
6-Shakhimat ~ Emma-Jayne sticks with her man, the talented son of Lonhro hasn’t quite matched the prowess he showed as a precocious 2yo but his Plate Trial run was game & he’s deadly if he gets the lead free & clear
7-My Name Is Jim ~ another lightly raced runner, this one is speed facing winners for the first time after breaking his maiden gamely wire-to-wire last out ~ find it interesting that Campbell takes the call for Baker since that’s not a super common angle
8-Rocket Plan ~ stretches out past a sprint for just the 3rd time in his 7 race career & is facing winners for just the second time after missing by only a neck last out ~ he can be his own worst enemy at times finding trouble
9-Cheburashka ~ speed ran a forgettable effort against open company last out & the 3 guys who’ve ridden him have all opted elsewhere
10-Amis Gizmo ~ tough to knock a horse who’s won 5 of his 6 career starts, with the lone line-through effort coming against open company off the layoff to start the season ~ the Plate Trial win was a nice reminder that he’s got speed but doesn’t need to flash it to win
11-Esposito ~ nice to see Proctor ship north & that they got this son of Ghostzapper a win over the track as a prep off the layoff ~ he’ll have to stretch past 1mi for the first time but he really hasn’t run a bad effort in his 4 career starts so far & Alan Garcia clearly gets him
12-Scholar Athlete ~ the other runner with the most starts (8), distance is clearly not an issue for this guy but he hasn’t been the most consistent; that said, give him a clear lead & he’s been known to run ‘em off their feet ~ nice to see Ortiz make the trip (both brothers are great jocks who should absolutely be getting more big mounts on the national scene)
13-Gamble’s Ghost ~ lone filly in the field lost the Woodbine Oaks by a short nose as the deserving favorite after not quite getting outta the gate clean ~ she’s been absolutely brilliant more often than not in her 7 starts & now gets a new pilot as Patrick Husbands takes over ~ in a race filled with speed & with that outside draw, she could get the absolute perfect setup with her preferred style being to sit off the pace
Picks: 13 - 10 - 6 - 2
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