TORONTO — Bob Baffert provided a storybook ending to trainer Kevin Attard's first $1-million Queen's Plate victory.
Shortly after filly Moira's record-setting win Sunday in the opening leg of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown at Woodbine Racetrack, co-owner Donato Lanni passed his phone to Attard. On the other end was none other than Baffert, the celebrated conditioner of American Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).
"I know Donato has a great relationship with him but I was not expecting that, it was very sudden," Attard said Monday. "I was flabbergasted.
"I felt like a little kid, almost like meeting an idol. Donato just handed me the phone and there on the other end was Bob Baffert. I thought it was pretty cool, pretty special."
Attard said the call marked his first-ever communication with Baffert, who holds the record for most Kentucky Derby (six) and Preakness (seven) wins by a trainer.
"He congratulated me and said I did a great job with (Moira)," Attard said. "It was just a really nice conversation.
"I wouldn't have been able to think you could've put a cherry on the cake or anything like that after winning that race but that actually was it right here. It was something unexpected, obviously, just to hear some kind words from a man who has accomplished so much and is one of the greatest trainers in the game meant a lot to me."
Also offering congratulations was Roger Attfield, an eight-time Queen's Plate winner and member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and United States Racing Hall of Fame.
"That hit me also because Roger has accomplished so much in our industry," Attard said. "I have a lot of respect for him and I was very happy to read his text message and congratulations.
"It's pretty cool all of the people who reached out, to be honest. It just goes to show when you tie everything in, you realize the significance of that race."
Attfield, 82, is tied with the late Harry Giddings Jr. for most career Plate wins by a trainer. But Attfield is the only person to train three Canadian Triple Crown winners (With Approval in 1989, Izvestia in 1990 and Peteski in 1993).
Predictably, Attard's cellphone exploded Sunday after Moira posted an emphatic seven-length victory in a synthetic track and Plate record time of 2:01.48. Attard said he's tried responding individually to every well wisher but offered apologies if somehow some have slipped through the cracks.
"I've had so many text messages and phone calls from people everywhere, Canada and the U.S.," he said. "The Queen's Plate is such a race that's watched all over … and I am really grateful to everybody who has reached out.
"I think it just goes to show why this race is so important and how much it means."
Afterwards, Attard celebrated the Plate win with staff, family and friends but said he was back home by 10 p.m. ET. And he was back at Woodbine on Monday morning when he also checked in on Moira.
"She's good," he said. "She came out of the race well, she looks good and ate up pretty good last night so I was happy.
"You've got to keep going, you can't rest on your laurels. It was just another day at work today. It's not a busy day for us, we try to make Monday's a little bit quieter. That (Woodbine) is home for me, too, my home away from home."
The next Canadian Triple Crown event is the Prince of Wales Stakes on Sept. 13 at Fort Erie Racetrack. On Sunday night, Attard said he and the connections will give Moira time to recover from the Plate before deciding on what's next for her.
Winning the Plate was the culmination of a childhood dream for Attard. But he admits, the victory has only whetted his appetite.
"Now, I'm looking forward to winning the next one," he said. "I'd like to win as many as I can and now I look down the barn and think to myself, 'Is there a Queen's Plate winner here? Who may the next one be?'"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2022.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
