TORONTO, August 9, 2023— Krista Cole’s long-held King’s Plate dream is now a reality.
The thought, fleeting or otherwise, of having a Thoroughbred contest Canada’s iconic horse race, one that traces its roots to 1860, has captivated Cole for as long as she can remember.
Whether it was in the form of fan, groom, exercise rider, or now, in the role of trainer, the horsewoman from Prince Edward Island often wondered what it would feel like to have a horse of her own walk into the Plate starting gate in front of thousands of racing fans.
In just over a week, she will have her answer when Thor’s Cause, a bay son of Brody’s Cause, goes postward in the $1 million classic.
“You always think about what it would be like to say you had a horse in the Plate,” said Cole. “You look back over the years, the ups and downs, the challenges, and everything in between, and it makes it even more special.”
The path that brought Cole to the biggest moment of her career began in Mayfield, a small, tight-knit town, with a longtime association to Standardbred racing.
It also had a main road that seemed to beckon her to one day head west.
“The name of the road was Toronto, and it had a little arrow on the sign. That was it, nothing else on it.”
Cole’s early connection to horses started with pacers and trotters, and later expanded to the show jumping world.
Wherever she found herself, be it the racetrack, arena, dusty trail, Cole always felt contentment.
“I have always loved horses. There is a certain serenity and peace they give you.”
When she wasn’t doting on horses, she was committed to her studies, specifically, the pursuit of a post-secondary education.
In 2000, she earned her science degree from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
Cole, however, knew the field that would give her the most happiness was on the racetrack.
Every time she would take the road in and out of her family’s home, Cole felt more compelled to travel in the direction of the arrow on the sign.
And so, in 2021, she did just that.
The first stop was in Ottawa.
“My friend and I were there showing horses and she wanted to go for a quick visit to Woodbine,” recalled Cole. “I had watched Woodbine races on TV from there but had never actually been to the track.”
It was to be, at least initially, a fact-finding mission of sorts, a chance to gain insight into the equine world at the Toronto oval.
Perhaps it was the science part of Cole’s background, where experiment, curiosity and research are commonplace, that led her to the Woodbine grandstand that day.
“I was hooked from the moment I walked in,” she recalled. “That day, I knew where I wanted to be.
“To me, it was fascinating. There were so many horses, and it was different because I had been around Standardbreds up until that point. I love riding, so when I came here, I started out as a groom, and every day, I would think to myself, ‘I want to ride these beautiful horses and I want to own them.’”
Cole also wanted to see them in action.
She had watched the King’s Plate on television growing up in Mayfield, but she had never seen it in person.
In 2002, she was in a packed Woodbine grandstand to watch the 143rd running of the race.
“I was in the stands when T J’s Lucky Moon won,” Cole recalled of the 82-1 longshot’s historic triumph. “My first year here was 2001, but I do remember that Plate. I remember there were a lot of people, so for someone from Prince Edward Island, everything about that day was much bigger than anything I had ever seen when it came to horses.”
Cole’s skill set was also expanding.
She took out her Quarter Horse jockey license in 2003 and won her first start.
After the arrival of her daughter, Kalista, five years later, Cole stopped riding but worked at various stables on the Woodbine backstretch.
Each experience was invaluable in her career development.
“My daughter’s father is the son of trainer Norm DeSouza, Sr. I started working for them and breaking babies at the farm. I learned a lot from them about Thoroughbreds, as I did from a lot of other horse people.”
A trip to the Sunshine State furthered Cole’s interest in all things racing.
“I groomed at Woodbine, and I would go to a farm and gallop. My first winter here, someone asked me if I wanted to go to Florida. I worked for Adena Springs at that time and when I was in Florida, Mike Cook (the man who runs Classic Mile Park Training Center in Ocala) had a farm right next door. He would let me come gallop on afternoons and my days off.
“When I came back, I worked for Laurie Silvera. People told me to go see the man on the big white pony by the rail and I did. He told me to go over to the barn and he would watch me. I ended up working for him and he was so good to me. He was an excellent trainer and a wonderful person.”
Silvera also inspired Cole to join the conditioning ranks.
“The more I learned, the more I wanted to become a trainer.”
Cole took out her trainer’s license in 2012 and won her first race in 2013 with Remember to Dream, a horse who held far more meaning than just an inspirational name.
“I bought him at the sale,” she said of the son of Philanthropist. “I had never been to a sale in my life. I was working for Gardiner Farms at the time, and I ended up speaking with (the late) Dr. Michael Colterjohn, who managed Gardiner. I told him I wanted to buy a horse. He told me to come to the 2010 CTHS sale – I didn’t know what I was looking for – but I wanted a horse.
“I told Mike that I would buy a horse from him because I trust him. He suggested a particular one, who I bought for $1,000. Nobody wanted him.”
But Cole did.
On June 1, 2013, the chestnut gelding won the fifth race at Woodbine, delivering Cole her first victory.
“I bought him as a yearling, broke him, rode him, groomed him – he was a very quirky horse – and got to know him inside and out. That day he won – I just fell in love with racing even more.”
One of Cole’s biggest success stories is Candy Overload.
Cole, who developed the Ontario-bred into a top sprinter, also owned a share of the gelding with breeders Denny Andrews and Sherry McLean’s Northern Dawn Stable.
In 2022, the trio sold Candy Overload to the partnership of Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Leonard Schleiffer.
“I got him as a baby,” recalled Cole. “He came from Niall Brennan’s farm, so they had broke him and started him on his way. He taught him very well. The horse was going to go into a sale, but the pandemic hit, and a lot of them were cancelled. Denny asked if I wanted this guy and I said, ‘Absolutely!’ He gave me two, Candy Overload and Lil Bit Gangster.”
When Candy Overload stepped off the van and through the shadows in her barn, Cole was nearly speechless.
“He was such a gorgeous horse,” recalled Cole, who led the son of Reload to stakes-placed success. “I knew he was going to do well. Even though I didn’t win one with him, he gave us so much excitement. I rode him every day. I did a lot of his grooming. I was with him the whole way.
“The day that the offer came in to buy him, I called Denny. He told me not to worry and he would give me another nice horse. It was hard to sell him, but I understood.”
The departure of Cole’s most accomplished runner, one who has gone to achieve multiple graded stakes success, could have prompted a step backwards, or, at the very least, a blip in her career arc.
It would be neither.
Last year, Cole set career-best marks across the board, including wins, top-three finishes, and purse earnings.
Support is in great abundance.
“I have some great partners in Sherry and Denny, two people who have always helped and supported me.”
There are others.
“Ryan Brewster, who owns (multiple graded stakes placed) Wicked Django, believes in me and takes very good care of his horse. Wicked Django has done phenomenal this year, so I am very happy for Ryan. That is his only horse, so it is a nice story there.”
Cole is hoping there are others to come, present and future.
Admittedly, The King’s Plate is the talk of Barn 32 these days.
There is an unmistakable air of excitement up and down the shedrow as Cole and her team count down the days ahead of August 17.
“He is a little horse, but his heart is so big,” said Cole of Thor’s Cause. “He is going to try. He will try his heart out. The owners (Joe Pignatelli, Spirit’s Path Management, Inc. and Alan J. McMullen) are great people, and they are so excited.”
As is Cole, who is both seen and heard on race days.
“I get emotional when all my horses run. Everyone gets hugs. The jockeys tell me they can hear me screaming when they come down the lane.”
Win or lose, Cole will have much to shout about on Plate Day.
Her daughters, Kalista and Jodi, along with a dozen or so others will be in attendance to cheer on Cole and Thor’s Cause.
“At first, we weren’t sure if this would be the path for this horse. But that’s what has happened.”
The same can also be said of the pride of Mayfield, Prince Edward Island.
“Toronto road”, she said with a laugh. “I started off with a paved road in Prince Edward Island and ended up on a dirt one in the Woodbine backstretch. And I live in Brampton, just south of Mayfield Road.”
Whether any or all of it is a sign, Cole is simply happy to be along for the King’s Plate thrill ride.
It is everywhere she wants to be.
“I dreamt of having a horse in the Plate. Everyone does. The hope is that you get that chance. And now that we do, it is better than I could have ever imagined.”
Chris Lomon, Woodbine