We Miss Artie favored for 155th Queen's Plate

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Spiral Stakes and Plate Trial winner We Miss Artie and Woodbine Oaks champ Lexi Lou top a field of 15 3-year-olds for Sunday's $1 million, 155th Queen's Plate at Woodbine.

The 1 1/4-mile Queen's Plate is Canada's most significant thoroughbred race and begins the Canadian Triple Crown, which also includes the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie and Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine.

We Miss Artie, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the 8-5 morning line favorite and will start from post 6 with Javier Castellano again riding. He was bred in Ontario by Richard Lister and is owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

We Miss Artie, with Castellano in the saddle, posted a half-length victory in the Plate Trial at Woodbine on June 15 for his third win on a synthetic track and fourth overall in 10 career starts. Twenty-five Plate Trial winners have gone on to win the Queen's Plate since 1944. The latest being Big Red Mike in 2010.

The colt won the Breeders' Futurity on Keeneland's synthetic track last Oct. 5 and won the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park on March 22. He broke his maiden last Aug. 11 on the turf at Saratoga.

We Miss Artie will be coming into the Queen's Plate with earnings of $699,000.

Lexie Lou, trained by Mark Casse for Gary Barber, won the Oaks on June 15 by 4 1/2 lengths with Patrick Husbands riding and is the only filly among the starters Sunday. Husbands will again have the mount on the 4-1 second choice and leave from post 14.

The filly, previously owned and trained by John Ross, has four wins, two seconds and two thirds in 11 career starts for $649,250.

Here is the full field for the Queen's Plate in post position order: Cap in Hand, Steven Bahen, 50-1; Coltimus Prime, Jesse Campbell, 20-1; Athenian Guard, Omar Moreno, 50-1; Asserting Bear, Chantal Sutherland-Kruse, 10-1; Man o' Bear, Emma-Jayne Wilson, 30-1; We Miss Artie, Javier Castellano, 8-5; Majestic Sunset, Gary Boulanger, 15-1; Lions Bay, David Moran, 30-1; Heart to Heart, Eurico Rosa da Silva, 30-1; Matador, Julien Leparoux, 8-1; One Destiny, Justin Stein, 30-1; Tower of Texas, John Velazquez, 20-1; Niigon Express, Gerry Olguin, 30-1; Lexie Lou, Patrick Husbands, 4-1 and Ami's Holiday, Luis Contreras, 10-1.

Post time will be approximately 5:38 p.m. ET.