The 167th King’s Plate Stakes
Woodbine - 15th August 2026
“Having taken the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown Series, it would take a very brave punter to want to take on this filly in the next leg if she lines up in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie in September”
I spent quite a lot of time looking at this year’s renewal of the King’s Plate. My parting words on the excellent In The Money Media show with Peter Fornatale were that “you should tune in to watch the King’s Plate because there was just the chance that you would get to see a 3-year-old superstar”. At the time we were only able to discuss a hypothetical morning line price about LUSTER and we both came to a similar conclusion that the Evens price was very fair. Given that she returned at a price of 2/9 in the International markets and 1.20 in the local pools, that morning line price now looks wildly optimistic. However, Luster didn’t know what price she was being supported in to and in reality, even at those cramped odds, her supporters had very few moments of doubt as she cleared away to win by 7 lengths and it could probably have been by further had it been required. She is truly exceptional and having won the Woodbine Oaks in an authoritative manner, she has now added the King’s Plate to her impressive CV and at present, I find it hard to think of a better 3-year-old filly on the dirt amongst this year’s crop.
John Velazquez was shipped in for the ride and it made the long drive from Saratoga more than worthwhile. Drawn low in gate 1, Luster was initially slightly short of room as despite running the fastest opening split in 12.11s, several of her rivals attempted to come across to the rail. Taken back by Velazquez, she settled in behind the leaders and traveled in that position down to the far turn. For the briefest of moments, she had to be woken up by Velazquez, who switched wide to come with his challenge around the bend, but the filly responded almost instantly. Latching back on to the bit, she finished with the fastest late speed figure over the final quarter of a mile as she accelerated in the straight to record a time of 12.27s for the final furlong. Her overall time was 0.53s outside of Moira’s track record time, but her top speed figure of 67.8 km/h is the fastest top speed of a winner that TPD have recorded in the last 5 years over the course and distance. This may not have been the deepest renewal of the King’s Plate that there has ever been and it is perhaps worth noting that only Luster and Military Time were able to record time figures that were faster than the expected time for a course and distance winner, but when a horse wins by 7 lengths without really looking like she is being fully extended, does that even matter? Inside the final furlong of a competitive race like the King’s Plate, Luster was able to increase her speed, raise her average stride frequency and extend her average stride length, all whilst pulling away from the field under a relatively motionless John Velazquez. Wow!
Josie Carroll has done a brilliant job with this daughter of Knicks Go and was full of praise for both horse and rider in her post-race comments. “Every moment’s anxious until they cross the wire,” admitted Carroll. “That’s horse racing. But you know, [Luster] was in masterful hands. It’s a game of patience. You watch Johnny take her through the trip. He sat. You could see he was confident at any point in the race and just waiting to find the right spot to move her. That, in turn, gave me a lot of confidence, just watching the way he was sitting on her”. (Source: Woodbine.com) An $80,000 purchase at Keeneland in 2024, that price tag now looks like a bit of a gift for her connections and having taken the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown Series, it would take a very brave punter to want to take on this filly in the next leg if she lines up in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie in September.
There was a slight sense that her victory in the Woodbine Oaks was too good to be true. Given the easy manner of her victory, there was a small doubt about whether it could be repeated. However, the underlying numbers were very good in the Oaks and for the 2nd race in a row, Luster has delivered a fantastic set of data, far above the expected averages and any doubts could quickly be dispelled on Saturday afternoon. She is exceptional and there is not a single point of doubt from the data that could deny that now.