The Kevin Attard-trained daughter of Ghostzapper came from third-place heading around the final turn in the 1 1/4 mile classic and exploded down the stretch with Rafael Hernandez in the saddle, winning the 163rd running of the $1-million Queen’s Plate by seven lengths in a synthetic track-record time of 2:01.48 — becoming the first filly to win the Plate since Wonder Gadot in 2018. Heading into this year’s race, Attard had won pretty well every major race in Canada, but the Plate had long eluded him. This year was the sixth time he had horses in the race and Moira was his 11th entry in the Plate. The personable trainer said last week that winning Canada’s most prestigious race was his “Stanley Cup” and felt that he couldn’t be considered a top trainer until he finally won it.
Donato Lanni, a native of Montreal and one of the top bloodstock agents in North America, put together the X-Men Racing syndicate, co-owners with Madaket Stables and SF Racing. “My wife likes the character on Schitt’s Creek, Moira Rose, but we never thought when we named the filly Moira that she was going to be a bitch, like the (Catherine O’Hara) character. And she is. She fits the character,” Lanni said with a laugh. “We put a fund together, we bought of about a dozen horses and she was one of 12,” said Lanni of Moira, who was purchased for $150,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale. “When you buy them, that’s what you dream about. She’s just a cool filly, an unassuming filly. When you look at her you would never say, ‘Wow, she’s a freak’, but she’s got gears.”