![\"Luster](\"https:\/\/woodbine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20260815-0648-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>It was the first King\u2019s Plate win for owners Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck) and Andrew Rosen, as well as breeders Ravi Sugrim and Joannie Dass; the second for Velazquez, who won the 2018 Plate aboard Wonder Gadot; and the fourth for Carroll, whose previous Plate victories came with Edenwold (2006), Inglorious (2011) and Mighty Heart (2020). Carroll was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve been very lucky and very blessed with the fillies, running against the colts and coming here to Canada and winning [the Plate] for a second time,\u201d said Velazquez. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed. She broke so well, so I didn’t want to be in her mouth right away. I wanted to give her a sixteenth of a mile. I knew the horse next to me (Fire and Wine) is going to go to the lead, but he was not fast enough to get in front of me. Right before the wire, I got her back behind the other horse, she relaxed, and then I was really comfortable where I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn’t want to be behind the horse that was on the lead, obviously,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd so, once I put myself in that position, I had a horse right on my outside, and I made sure I pushed him out. And then I sat again. She was perfect, sitting where I was. Coming to the quarter- pole, I asked her to go, and she responded really nice. I\u2019m very, very blessed to have a horse like that. I want to thank the partnership for letting me ride her. I’m very, very happy that I’m part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carroll lauded the trip engineered by Velazquez.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery moment’s anxious until they cross the wire,\u201d admitted Carroll. \u201cThat’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.\u201d<\/p>\n Rosen was thrilled to hoist Canadian racing\u2019s most coveted trophy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing. I’ve been in the business over 40 years, and winning a race like this is just fantastic. It’s what it’s all about. Last year, Josie [Carroll] told me that we were going to be standing here. So, she\u2019s quite special, Luster. I think Josie knew that right from the get-go, and Josie’s done an amazing job with her. We\u2019re just so happy to have her as our trainer, and Johnny, of course, did a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n Brandon Duchaine is Luster\u2019s groom.<\/p>\n A daughter of Knicks Go out of The Factor mare Ruby Frost, Luster debuted with a 6 \u00bc-length score at seven furlongs over a yielding E.P. Taylor turf course on Aug. 17, 2025.<\/p>\n She is now 5-0-1 from six starts, which includes her first stakes victory, the Grade 3 Selene Stakes on June 27.<\/p>\n Luster was an $80,000 purchase (Hip No. 2196) at the 2024 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale.<\/p>\n She paid $2.50 for today\u2019s win.<\/p>\n The win pool for The King’s Plate race was a record $1,242,081.<\/p>\n The $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, a 1 3\/16-mile race over Fort Erie\u2019s dirt oval on Sept. 7, is the next race in the tri-surface OLG Canadian Triple Crown series, which concludes with the $500,000 Breeders\u2019 Stakes at 1 \u00bd miles over Woodbine\u2019s E.P. Taylor turf on Sept. 27.<\/p>\n Wando, in 2003, was the last horse to sweep the series.<\/p>\n Chris Lomon, Woodbine<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>