Article published on 7 July 2010
Big Red Mike Conquers Queens Plate Stakes
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On an official visit to Canada from her native England, racing fans at Woodbine got to be in the presence of royalty for a day that was crammed with racing action. But it was the Queen's Plate Stakes that fans came in their thousands to see.
With a field of thirteen 3-year-old Canada-breds, the Queen's Plate Stakes promised to be an exciting race, with Big Red Mike set to start as the 6/1 fourth favourite with Eurico Da Silva aboard, who is no stranger to Woodbine's Polytrack.
When the race got underway, Big Red Mike leapt into the lead and did not relinquish it for the next 1 1/4 quarter miles until he crossed the line first, 1 1/2 lengths clear of Hotep (3/1 favourite) in second, who led i Roan Inish (7/2) in third.
From the outset Da Silva guided Big Red Mike comfortably around the track, which meant his fractions were a little on the slow side, but he maintained his lead, and crucially his energy, so that by the top of the stretch he was unstoppable.
Big Red Mike covered the course in a time of 2:04.89 and returned $12 to punters smart enough to back him. Ecstatic at the win was Big Red's respected trainer, Nick Gonzalez, who chalked up his 1,000th career win not that long ago.
'He's a fighter,' explained Gonzalez. 'He looked like he was going pretty comfortable all the way round. He didn't get a real lot of pressure. When they came to him, I knew he'd dig in and fight them off, and that's exactly what he did.'
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