Confidence in Motion: Boulanger and Dancethruthedawn’s Perfect Partnership

TORONTO, July 17, 2026 – When the blueblood filly got off a step slowly at the start of the Woodbine Oaks, jockey Gary Boulanger didn’t flinch.

It was not an ideal beginning for Dancethruthedawn in the pre-eminent race for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies on June 9, 2001, but for the man wearing the famous red and gold silks of Sam-Son Farm, there was no need to panic or push forward.

Knowing exactly what he had beneath him, Boulanger allowed the daughter of Mr. Prospector out to find her footing and settled her mid-pack as the field of 12 made its way into the first turn of the 1 1/8-mile fixture.

“She flipped on me in the gate and I flew out the back,” recalled Boulanger. “She was very restless in there. We got away so poorly, but her big thing was always about being as relaxed as she could be, whether it was in the mornings or in a race.

“I felt like I was on the best horse and I was. I didn’t hurry her at the start and I didn’t worry. We saved ground and she felt great, running comfortably and confidently. I hadn’t called on her for anything at that point.”

From there, rider and filly meticulously made their way through the pack. Edged off the rail with four furlongs to go, the pair rallied four wide into the turn for home.

“My objective was to keep her out of trouble, to not get caught behind a wall of horses, and to keep that fluid stride going,” said Boulanger.

Just over a length back of the leader at the stretch call, Dancethruthedawn, trained by Mark Frostad, assumed command in the final sixteenth and powered home to a 1 ¼-length win as the 3-5 choice.

“My first thought when we hit the wire was, ‘Wow.’ Mark and everyone in the barn were very impressed by what she did and how she did it. Every time I needed something from her, she responded.

“I was never concerned about that bad start. I just needed to ride the race the way it played out at that point. There was no sense of me trying to make up lengths early in the race and then flattening out. I was pretty confident in her throughout the whole race and when she turned for home, that confidence grew even more. She gave me every reason to feel that way.”

The win served as a form of redemption.

One month earlier, Dancethruthedawn finished 12th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, where she was steadied early and then faded in the 1 1/8-mile dirt test, which left her with a cut on her leg.

Boulanger had no doubt she would rebound in the Woodbine Oaks.

“Absolutely. That was a rough go for her in the Kentucky Oaks, but she was so talented that you knew she would rebound from it. What she showed in the [Woodbine] Oaks was exactly what she was all about.”

He was equally confident she could replicate that performance in the Queen’s Plate, three weeks later.

Boulanger understood the magnitude of the challenge, but he believed in his filly.

“Right away,” he said, of when his thoughts turned from the Oaks to the Plate. “That night, after the Oaks, seeing Mark and seeing her, I said, ‘What do you think?’ To see how badly she got away in the Oaks and then made her way through the field so easily, she showed a whole new dimension. She proved that she could handle traffic no problem. So, the idea of going into the Plate came right away.”

Dancethruthedawn would have to beat nine rivals in the $1 million classic, including Win City.

A son of Slew City Slew, Win City, who would go off as the 4-5 choice in the Plate, had also crafted a formidable résumé, which included stakes victories in the Queenston, Marine (G2) and Plate Trial.

When the draw was held for the 142nd running of the Plate, post positions for the field would be determined with the connections of the contenders first drawing their post selection order then choosing their post positions in the order determined by the draw.

Boulanger had a plan.

“Mark asked me what post I wanted. I told him I wanted the far outside because I could control the race from there. I wanted to be in the gate with her for the least amount of time possible. With that post, we wouldn’t have to wait much time before they popped the gates. I didn’t want anyone on either side of me in case we wound up getting pinched back. If she could get away well, then I felt everything would go smoothly from there.

“They picked her name fourth at the draw and Mark said the post number. There was an audible gasp in the room.”

When the field of 10 made its way to the starting gate, Dancethruthedawn was not the fractious filly she was in the Oaks.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

With everything falling into place, Boulanger focused on one final detail.

‘Let’s get a good start,’ he told himself. “And she was perfect. She stood square and broke perfectly.”

Dancethruthedawn, second choice on the tote board at 9-5, got away unfettered in third and tracked the early leader Sik – whom Boulanger had also ridden – through opening fractions of :23.45 and :47.32.

“I knew that if we got away well, that could be the difference. Win City was a closer and there were a few speed horses in there, but the way she relaxed and was running gave me a lot of confidence we could get it done.”

Boulanger roused his filly on the turn, and the duo took command at the quarter pole. Ahead by a half-length at the stretch call, Dancethruthedawn held the late-charging Win City at bay to win by that same margin in a time of 2:03.78.

“I knew as soon as we got out of the gate cleanly that it would be tough to beat her,” said Boulanger.

There was much more to the story than Dancethruthedawn becoming the 33rd filly to win the Plate.

Dancethruthedawn had taken the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown one year after her full brother, Scatter The Gold, and 10 years after her dam, the great Dance Smartly, had done the same.

It was also the first time in the history of the Plate that a brother-sister combination won the race in consecutive years.

For Boulanger, it would be his only triumph in the “Gallop for the Guineas.”

“Everything you had been hoping for as a young rider. I was so proud of her and the team effort. You cry, you laugh and you scream – everything hits you.”

Unsurprisingly, Dancethruthedawn won the Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion 3-year-old filly in 2001.

At 4, she raced in the U.S., winning the Go for Wand Stakes at Saratoga and the Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland. She was beaten by a head in the Pimlico B.C. Distaff Handicap, finished third in the Fleur de Lys Stakes, and also placed third in the Personal Ensign Handicap (G1).

Considered a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, she suffered a leg injury in the Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and was retired to broodmare duties.

Over a 16-race career, she recorded seven wins, along with two seconds and three thirds, earning $1.6 million.

“I got along with her from day one,” said Boulanger, a winner of 3,685 career races and member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, who hung up his tack in 2023. “I rode her as a 2-year-old and she was very precocious, kind of strong. It was more about getting to know what her likes and dislikes were, what would make her settle and what would get her geared up. We clicked right away.”

Boulanger has revisited her Oaks and Plate performances many times over the years.

“What a great filly. To win both big races is amazing. To have done it with her makes it even more special.”

Chris Lomon, Woodbine