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Leopard pounces in Queen's Plate Living up to his royal pedigree, Sam-Son Farms' homebred EYE OF THE LEOPARD (A.P. Indy) stayed on strongly in deep stretch to capture Sunday's 150th Queen's Plate S. in a three-way finish at Woodbine. The son of Canadian champion Eye of the Sphynx (Smart Strike) did not make his debut until April, and was making just his fourth career start in the $883,819 classic, but what the Mark Frostad pupil lacked in experience, he more than made up for in natural talent. Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Eye of the Leopard found his best stride in the final yards to reel in longtime leader Mr. Foricos Two U (Porto Foricos) by a neck, with Woodbine Oaks heroine Milwaukee Appeal (Milwaukee Brew) another head away in third. When the field was sent on its way in the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, Reservoir (Sky Classic) held a narrow early lead, relentlessly pressed by Mr. Foricos Two U through steady fractions of :24 and :48. Eye of the Leopard was well placed in an outside stalking spot by Eurico Da Silva, who was riding in his first Queen's Plate, and enjoyed a textbook trip. Mr. Foricos Two U then put his head in front of Reservoir on the backstretch, and after getting six furlongs in 1:12 4/5, he gradually mastered the retreating Reservoir on the far turn. By this time, Eye of the Leopard began to advance, drawing to within a half-length through a mile in 1:37 2/5. The tenacious Mr. Foricos Two U, all heart in his stakes debut, dug down along the rail as they turned for home. Inching away from Eye of the Leopard, he maintained the advantage for most of the stretch, until Eye of the Leopard's abundant stamina came into play. Meanwhile, Milwaukee Appeal likewise began to close between rivals inside the final furlong. She was not surging as fast as Eye of the Leopard, however. In the shadow of the wire, the Ontario-bred bay got up in the nick of time to finish 1 1/4 Polytrack miles in 2:03 4/5. "I want to thank all the people that supported me, and I want to thank this horse," da Silva said. "I have the greatest team in the world behind this horse. Mark (Frostad) was so nice, he never pressured me. He (Eye of the Leopard) was traveling very comfortably, he just kept going at that pace, he got the job done, that is the most important thing. I am the happiest man in the world." Sam-Son was winning the Queen's Plate for the fifth time, having scored with Regal Intention (1988), Dance Smartly (1991), Scatter the Gold (2000) and Dancethruthedawn (2001). A perennial force in Canadian breeding, the farm suffered from the deaths of Liza Samuel, wife of founder Ernie Samuel, and their daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz, over the past year. "We have been waiting for this day for a long time," Sam-Son owner Mark Samuel said. "We have had some tragic things happen to our family over the last year, and we had some spirits up above cheering that horse (Eye of the Leopard) home today. It is a special day for the family and we are going to savor this for a long time." Frostad is now a four-time Plate winner, with his previous successes coming courtesy of Victor Cooley (1996), Scatter the Gold and Dancethruthedawn. "Well, it wasn't nearly as exciting as I had hoped," Frostad joked. "But we managed to win the race. It was very nice. The horse ran a super race. Mr. Foricos Two U ran a super race. Mike Smith (the jockey aboard the runner-up) was trying to steal it from us, but we got there." "I didn't expect to make the lead," Smith said of his ride aboard Mr. Foricos Two U. "But warming up, I kind of thought that was going to happen. He was very much on his toes. When he got his head in front, he really relaxed. That was a big key. Before that, he was taking a pretty big pull. Finally, I had to let him out a little bit. It was a gallant effort in defeat. I thought if Eye of the Leopard had been on my hip instead of Milwaukee Appeal, maybe I would have held him off. He didn't see him out there." "She ran a great race," jockey Stewart Elliott said of Milwaukee Appeal. "She gave everything she had out there. Around the turn, I thought we had a chance to win it, but they weren't coming back. They were running, too. She was still trying and she never gave up." Eye of the Leopard returned $6.70, $4.10 and $2.90 while spearheading the $56.10 exactor, $183 triactor and $688.40 superfecta (7-5-4-11). Mr. Foricos Two U yielded $7.20 and $4.60 at 7-1. Milwaukee Appeal, the 4-1 second choice, paid $3.70 for her strong third-place effort. The top three drew 2 3/4 lengths clear of Tasty Temptation (Medaglia d'Oro), the other filly in the field who had most recently finished second to Milwaukee Appeal in the Woodbine Oaks. Flip for the Coin (Compadre) checked in another 2 3/4 lengths adrift in fifth, followed by Keino West (Kissin Kris), Shut It Down (Porto Foricos), Rapid Release (Action This Day), Stardust Ziggy (Holy Bull), Bucephalus (Cape Canaveral), Reservoir, Active Duty (Deputy Commander) and El Brujo (Candy Ride [Arg]). Now three-for-three going a route of ground, and three-for-four overall, Eye of the Leopard boosted his bankroll to $650,678. In his career bow at Keeneland on April 15, he was a non-threatening eighth in a seven-furlong maiden. Eye of the Leopard broke his maiden next time out in a 1 1/16-mile contest at Woodbine, scoring impressively by 2 3/4 lengths after dismissing a squadron of challengers. Stepping up into stakes company in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial S. on May 31, he overcame a wide trip to get up by a neck on the wire. Eye of the Leopard is the first foal from Eye of the Sphynx, who won the Sovereign Award as champion three-year-old filly of 2004 after capturing the Woodbine Oaks, Selene S. (Can-G2) and Fury S. Narrowly beaten in the Bison City S. and Wonder Where S., she retired with a 7-4-2-0, $688,340 mark. Eye of the Sphynx has since produced the unraced juvenile colt Hotep, a full brother to the Queen's Plate winner, and an unnamed yearling colt by Stormy Atlantic. Eye of the Sphynx is herself a half-sister to Wonder Where heroine Quiet Cleo (No Louder), the dam of Canadian Horse of the Year Quiet Resolve (Affirmed). Eye of the Leopard will now likely head to the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the July 12 Prince of Wales S. at 1 3/16 miles on Fort Erie's dirt track. The third leg is the August 2 Breeders' S. at 1 1/2 miles over Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
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