Glorious!

She certainly was that, wasn't she? Inglorious captured the 152nd running of the Queen's Plate on Sunday afternoon at Woodbine on an overcast day where she shined through the cloud cover to fashion a memorable and conclusive victory. Inglorious rallied from off a speedy pace to register a 2 1/2 length victory over the sixteen colts and geldings she faced and is now the 34th filly to win Canada's top race for three-year-olds.

It completed a tremendous Double for the filly as she had already prevailed in the Woodbine Oaks, making her the fifth filly ever to win both races and the first since 2001. Inglorious rated just behind mid-pack in the early stages while Oh Canada, Curgone, and Okiyama set suicidal fractions in the front of the field. They went 23 4/5 for the quarter and 47 3/5 for the half ensuring that none of them would be around at the finish. Luis Contreras, riding in his first Queen's Plate ever, sent the filly forward as the field of seventeen moved into the stretch and once she got going, she was not going to be stopped. There must be kudos given to the 61-1 longshot, Hippolytus, that ran much closer to the pace than the winner and still staved off everyone else to hold on for second. His race was very reminiscent of the race Closing Argument put forth at 71-1 in the 2005 Kentucky Derby to me. A good effort, just not good enough on the day. The heavy favorite, Check Your Soul, made a substantial move on the final turn before flattening out and finishing seventh.

Inglorious' trainer, Josie Carroll, did not say whether or not the filly would proceed on the Prince Of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. However, it appears that Hippolytus, Pender Harbour, and Bowman's Causeway, who ran second, third, and fourth, respectively, are intent on moving forward to Fort Erie. That is according to the DRF.com website.

If you missed the 152nd running of the Queen's Plate and would like to see the glorious run of Inglorious, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUhBVJElUt4. Tune in again tomorrow for more from They Are Off. For right now, I am Gone... GOODBYE!