any of his 14 games this season
Posté: Ven Nov 25, 2016 9:08 amTORONTO -- Hes one of Canadas most successful trainers but one accomplishment missing from Mark Casses impressive resume is a Queens Plate victory. The six-time Sovereign award winner as the countrys top conditioner will send three horses -- including 4-1 early second choice Lexie Lou and 8-1 third pick Matador -- postward Sunday in search of his first career win in North Americas oldest, continuously run stakes event at Woodbine Racetrack. Casses best finish in the $1-million, 1 1/4-mile race was second in 11 with Hippolytus. "When you travel around Canada and tell people youre a horse trainer, they want to know if youve won the Queens Plate," Casse said following the race draw Thursday. "So far, the answer is no but hopefully after Sunday Ill be able to say yes. "I would like to win the Kentucky Derby, that one is big too, but this (Plate win) would be No. 1." We Miss Artie is the 8-5 favourite despite running slower than Lexie Lou their last time out. We Miss Artie rallied to capture the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial in 1:50.78 on June 15 at Woodbine before Lexie Lous impressive 4 1/2-length Woodbine Oaks win in 1:49.77 over the same distance moments later. Lexie Lou will carry five pounds less than the others in the 15-horse field Sunday as the lone filly. "Going a mile and a quarter, five pounds is a big difference," Casse said. "In her last race, she ran a second faster than the favourite and that means something. "I think theres a good shot there will be a female winner this year." Lexie Lou will attempt to become the 35th filly to win the Plate but just the seventh since 56. And only five Oaks winners have also claimed Canadas most prestigious race, the last being Inglorious in 2011. We Miss Artie drew the No. 6 post while Lexie Lou will break from the No. 14 position. Matador starts from the No. 10 post while Majestic Sunset, Casses third horse and the second-place finisher in the Plate Trial, goes from the No. 7 post. "I think this is the strongest hand weve ever brought to the table," Casse said. "With any race you can have the best horses but you still need to have some luck. "Were ready. Sooner or later well get this thing." The field, with post position, horse, jockey and odds, includes: 1) Cap in Hand, Steven Bahen, 50-1; 2) Coltimus Prime, Jesse Campbell 20-1; 3) Athenian Guard, Omar Moreno, 50-1; 4) Asserting Bear, Chantal-Sutherland Kruse, 10-1; 5) Man o Bear, Emma-Jayne Wilson, 30-1; 6) We Miss Artie, Javier Castellano, 8-5; 7) Majestic Sunset, Gary Boulanger, 15-1; 
Lions Bay, David Moran, 30-1; 9) Heart to Heart Eurico Rosa de Silva, 30-1; 10) Matador, Julien Leparoux, 8-1; 11) One Destiny, Justin Stein, 30-1; 12) Tower of Texas, John Velazquez, 20-1; 13) Niigon Express, Gerry Olguin, 30-1; 14) Lexie Lou, Patrick Husbands, 4-1; 15) Amis Holiday, Luis Contreras. Favourites have won 22-of-58 renewals (37 per cent) since 56 but only two -- Wando in 03 and Eye of the Leopard in 09 -- have been victorious in the last 19 editions. But Casse and Lexie Lou arent the only interesting storylines in this years race. Others include: -- Not only is a filly the No. 2 pick but two women will ride Sunday. Sutherland-Kruse, who came out of retirement to ride this year at Woodbine, will be aboard Asserting Bear while Man o Bear, will be ridden by Wilson, who became the only female jockey to win the Plate in 07 with Mike Fox. Also, trainer Josie Carroll chases a third Plate victory with Amis Holiday. -- Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield tries for a record ninth Plate win with Tower of Texas. Attfields last Plate victory was in 08 with Not Bourbon. -- For the first time ever, a father and two sons will saddle separate entries. Hall of Famer Sid Attard conditions Cap in Hand while Paul Attard sends out Niigon Express and Jamie Attard trains Lions Bay. The Plate is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. The other races are the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes (July 29 at Fort Erie) and $500,000 Breeders Stakes turf event (Aug. 17 at Woodbine). Thereve been seven Triple Crown winners, the last being Wando in 03. Paul and Jamie Attard have a round of golf riding on Sundays race, but their father hasnt become embroiled in family bragging rights. Sid Attard has never won the Queens Plate but was second in 92 with longshot Grand Hooley, his first Plate starter. "Ive been listening, being quiet," the senior Attard said with a chuckle. "Id like to win but if I cant win I want one of them to win. "Id like to see them do good." Sutherland-Kruse rode Asserting Bear to victory in the Marine Stakes on May 25 but the horse was relegated to third for obstructing Ami Holidays late run. Sutherland-Kruse has finished in the money 69 times this season -- 22 wins, 28 seconds, 19 thirds -- and amassed over $1-million in purse earnings through 189 starts. The 38-year-old Winnipeg native said shed cherish a Queens Plate victory. "Ive raced all over the world, Ive seen the lArc de Triomphe, Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup and theyre all huge races," she said. "But for me, the Queens Plate is as big. "I love Canada and am proud to be Canadian and to win it would be so gratifying." A win Sunday would further solidify Attfields status as Canadian racings most prolific trainer, having already amassed more Prince of Wales (five) and Breeders Stakes (eight) victories in the Triple Crown era than any other conditioner. But its an accomplishment that isnt keeping 74-year-old resident of Nobleton, Ont. -- who has conditioned three Triple Crown champions over his illustrious career -- up at night. "If it happens, it happens," he said matter of factly. "I feel blessed to have won it (Queens Plate) eight times. "Its a good-sized field, which it should be, and theres a lot of horses that it would be no surprise if they popped up and won, in my opinion. I think its going to be a tremendous race, to be honest." Andre Smith Vikings Jersey . The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header. Alan Page Vikings Jersey .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. http://www.thevikingsshoponline.com/You ... gs-Jersey/. The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. Blair Walsh Vikings Jersey . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Charlie Johnson Vikings Jersey . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks made mistakes on back-to-back shifts against a team that knows a thing or two about scoring in quick succession. It cost them dearly on Saturday night. Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger scored nine seconds apart early in the third period and Corey Crawford made 36 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated Vancouver 2-1 to send the Canucks to their sixth loss in seven games. Saturdays barrage from the Blackhawks was eerily reminiscent of their Stanley Cup-clinching two goals in 17 seconds late in Game 6 of Junes final against the Boston Bruins. "It can turn around pretty quick if we get some chances, especially the opportunities we got," said Crawford, who outduelled fellow Canadian Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo. "They were A-plus chances and usually we bury those and we did tonight." Shaw redirected a pass from Patrick Kane in front of Luongo to tie the score 1-1 at 4:40 of the final period, moments after Chicagos Patrick Sharp ripped a shot on a power play that went off the crossbar and both posts but stayed out. The Canucks then somehow gave up a 2-on-1 seconds after the ensuing faceoff, with Kruger firing a shot that went right through Luongo to give Chicago (16-4-4) its second straight victory. "We got a greasy goal, a lucky one there to get us going, and then a big response the following shift. It was a big comeback," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team has scored a league-high 87 goals this season. "We havent had many games like this. Tight, tight games going into the third period so its nice to find a way." One night after his team exploded for a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets to snap a five-game losing streak that included just six Vancouver goals, Canucks head coach John Tortorella lamented the two lapses in concentration. "I think we beat ourselves there, and teams like Chicago will capitalize on that," he said. "We kill a penalty, we get our guy on the ice and we throw the puck away -- ends up in our net. A faceoff (play) we run and how we forecheck off a faceoff every time, we decide to go off the map with it and we give up an odd-man rush -- its in our net. "Thats a big part of the game." Ryan Kesler scored on a 5-on-3 man advantage in the first period for Vancouver (12-9-4), which has been held to one goal in 10 of its 25 games so far this season. The Canucks are 0-9-3 when scoring two goals or less and 12-0-1 when scoring three times or more. Despite Vancouvers struggles to find offence, Luongo said his team cant forget about its own end. "We have to learn how to win some games 1-0, 2-1," said Luongo, who played on consecutive nights for the first time since November 2011 and finished with 27 ssaves.dddddddddddd "Thats the way the league is right now. We cant just focus on the offence. If you look around the league, its all low-scoring games. We have to find a way to win those." After Chicago took the lead, Vancouvers Dale Weise had a great chance to tie things up but saw Crawford smother his backhand chance with under eight minutes to go. The Canucks continued to press late, with Alexandre Burrows fanning on a shot in front off a pass with Luongo on the bench for the extra attacker before Daniel Sedin also failed to connect from the slot. "We have to put pucks away. It cant just be one game and then youre off again," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin. "Its about getting that feeling when youre going to score goals. Right now its not happening." Trailing 1-0 after the first period despite carrying the majority of the play, Chicago was thwarted by both Luongo and a lack of accuracy in front of goal in the second. Johnny Oduya ripped a shot wide from the slot early in the period before Luongo stopped a Shaw deflection and made a pad save on Brandon Saad. Vancouvers No. 1-ranked penalty killing then fought off Chicagos first power-play opportunity of the night, with the Blackhawks best chance coming when Jonathan Toews fired a shot wide from the slot. Burrows, who has not scored in any of his 14 games this season, then had a chance on a wraparound but couldnt find the range to beat Crawford. "The most frustrating part is that you feel youre letting your teammates down," Burrows said of his slump. "Theyre counting on you to score some goals and youre not getting the job done." Kesler opened the scoring late in the first period when Vancouvers 29th-ranked power play connected on a two-man advantage against Chicagos equally feeble 29th-ranked penalty killing unit. Jason Garrisons one-timer from the point rebounded right out to Kesler, who settled himself before burying his 10th of the season and first in eight games. "I feel like we owned that first period and they come out on top, but we didnt get down on ourselves," said Shaw. "We kept working and stuck to it all game and it just took nine seconds." Notes: Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa missed the game for "family reasons." The team did not provide a timeline for his return. ... Canucks forward Zach Kassian was benched was benched for the third period and saw just 4:10 of ice time on the night. ... The Canucks conclude their season-long six-game homestand on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. Vancouver opens a four-game road trip on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. ... The Blackhawks continue a season-high tying seven-game road trip on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers. China Jerseys ' ' '
Lions Bay, David Moran, 30-1; 9) Heart to Heart Eurico Rosa de Silva, 30-1; 10) Matador, Julien Leparoux, 8-1; 11) One Destiny, Justin Stein, 30-1; 12) Tower of Texas, John Velazquez, 20-1; 13) Niigon Express, Gerry Olguin, 30-1; 14) Lexie Lou, Patrick Husbands, 4-1; 15) Amis Holiday, Luis Contreras. Favourites have won 22-of-58 renewals (37 per cent) since 56 but only two -- Wando in 03 and Eye of the Leopard in 09 -- have been victorious in the last 19 editions. But Casse and Lexie Lou arent the only interesting storylines in this years race. Others include: -- Not only is a filly the No. 2 pick but two women will ride Sunday. Sutherland-Kruse, who came out of retirement to ride this year at Woodbine, will be aboard Asserting Bear while Man o Bear, will be ridden by Wilson, who became the only female jockey to win the Plate in 07 with Mike Fox. Also, trainer Josie Carroll chases a third Plate victory with Amis Holiday. -- Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield tries for a record ninth Plate win with Tower of Texas. Attfields last Plate victory was in 08 with Not Bourbon. -- For the first time ever, a father and two sons will saddle separate entries. Hall of Famer Sid Attard conditions Cap in Hand while Paul Attard sends out Niigon Express and Jamie Attard trains Lions Bay. The Plate is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. The other races are the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes (July 29 at Fort Erie) and $500,000 Breeders Stakes turf event (Aug. 17 at Woodbine). Thereve been seven Triple Crown winners, the last being Wando in 03. Paul and Jamie Attard have a round of golf riding on Sundays race, but their father hasnt become embroiled in family bragging rights. Sid Attard has never won the Queens Plate but was second in 92 with longshot Grand Hooley, his first Plate starter. "Ive been listening, being quiet," the senior Attard said with a chuckle. "Id like to win but if I cant win I want one of them to win. "Id like to see them do good." Sutherland-Kruse rode Asserting Bear to victory in the Marine Stakes on May 25 but the horse was relegated to third for obstructing Ami Holidays late run. Sutherland-Kruse has finished in the money 69 times this season -- 22 wins, 28 seconds, 19 thirds -- and amassed over $1-million in purse earnings through 189 starts. The 38-year-old Winnipeg native said shed cherish a Queens Plate victory. "Ive raced all over the world, Ive seen the lArc de Triomphe, Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup and theyre all huge races," she said. "But for me, the Queens Plate is as big. "I love Canada and am proud to be Canadian and to win it would be so gratifying." A win Sunday would further solidify Attfields status as Canadian racings most prolific trainer, having already amassed more Prince of Wales (five) and Breeders Stakes (eight) victories in the Triple Crown era than any other conditioner. But its an accomplishment that isnt keeping 74-year-old resident of Nobleton, Ont. -- who has conditioned three Triple Crown champions over his illustrious career -- up at night. "If it happens, it happens," he said matter of factly. "I feel blessed to have won it (Queens Plate) eight times. "Its a good-sized field, which it should be, and theres a lot of horses that it would be no surprise if they popped up and won, in my opinion. I think its going to be a tremendous race, to be honest." Andre Smith Vikings Jersey . The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header. Alan Page Vikings Jersey .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. http://www.thevikingsshoponline.com/You ... gs-Jersey/. The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. Blair Walsh Vikings Jersey . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Charlie Johnson Vikings Jersey . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks made mistakes on back-to-back shifts against a team that knows a thing or two about scoring in quick succession. It cost them dearly on Saturday night. Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger scored nine seconds apart early in the third period and Corey Crawford made 36 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated Vancouver 2-1 to send the Canucks to their sixth loss in seven games. Saturdays barrage from the Blackhawks was eerily reminiscent of their Stanley Cup-clinching two goals in 17 seconds late in Game 6 of Junes final against the Boston Bruins. "It can turn around pretty quick if we get some chances, especially the opportunities we got," said Crawford, who outduelled fellow Canadian Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo. "They were A-plus chances and usually we bury those and we did tonight." Shaw redirected a pass from Patrick Kane in front of Luongo to tie the score 1-1 at 4:40 of the final period, moments after Chicagos Patrick Sharp ripped a shot on a power play that went off the crossbar and both posts but stayed out. The Canucks then somehow gave up a 2-on-1 seconds after the ensuing faceoff, with Kruger firing a shot that went right through Luongo to give Chicago (16-4-4) its second straight victory. "We got a greasy goal, a lucky one there to get us going, and then a big response the following shift. It was a big comeback," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team has scored a league-high 87 goals this season. "We havent had many games like this. Tight, tight games going into the third period so its nice to find a way." One night after his team exploded for a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets to snap a five-game losing streak that included just six Vancouver goals, Canucks head coach John Tortorella lamented the two lapses in concentration. "I think we beat ourselves there, and teams like Chicago will capitalize on that," he said. "We kill a penalty, we get our guy on the ice and we throw the puck away -- ends up in our net. A faceoff (play) we run and how we forecheck off a faceoff every time, we decide to go off the map with it and we give up an odd-man rush -- its in our net. "Thats a big part of the game." Ryan Kesler scored on a 5-on-3 man advantage in the first period for Vancouver (12-9-4), which has been held to one goal in 10 of its 25 games so far this season. The Canucks are 0-9-3 when scoring two goals or less and 12-0-1 when scoring three times or more. Despite Vancouvers struggles to find offence, Luongo said his team cant forget about its own end. "We have to learn how to win some games 1-0, 2-1," said Luongo, who played on consecutive nights for the first time since November 2011 and finished with 27 ssaves.dddddddddddd "Thats the way the league is right now. We cant just focus on the offence. If you look around the league, its all low-scoring games. We have to find a way to win those." After Chicago took the lead, Vancouvers Dale Weise had a great chance to tie things up but saw Crawford smother his backhand chance with under eight minutes to go. The Canucks continued to press late, with Alexandre Burrows fanning on a shot in front off a pass with Luongo on the bench for the extra attacker before Daniel Sedin also failed to connect from the slot. "We have to put pucks away. It cant just be one game and then youre off again," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin. "Its about getting that feeling when youre going to score goals. Right now its not happening." Trailing 1-0 after the first period despite carrying the majority of the play, Chicago was thwarted by both Luongo and a lack of accuracy in front of goal in the second. Johnny Oduya ripped a shot wide from the slot early in the period before Luongo stopped a Shaw deflection and made a pad save on Brandon Saad. Vancouvers No. 1-ranked penalty killing then fought off Chicagos first power-play opportunity of the night, with the Blackhawks best chance coming when Jonathan Toews fired a shot wide from the slot. Burrows, who has not scored in any of his 14 games this season, then had a chance on a wraparound but couldnt find the range to beat Crawford. "The most frustrating part is that you feel youre letting your teammates down," Burrows said of his slump. "Theyre counting on you to score some goals and youre not getting the job done." Kesler opened the scoring late in the first period when Vancouvers 29th-ranked power play connected on a two-man advantage against Chicagos equally feeble 29th-ranked penalty killing unit. Jason Garrisons one-timer from the point rebounded right out to Kesler, who settled himself before burying his 10th of the season and first in eight games. "I feel like we owned that first period and they come out on top, but we didnt get down on ourselves," said Shaw. "We kept working and stuck to it all game and it just took nine seconds." Notes: Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa missed the game for "family reasons." The team did not provide a timeline for his return. ... Canucks forward Zach Kassian was benched was benched for the third period and saw just 4:10 of ice time on the night. ... The Canucks conclude their season-long six-game homestand on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. Vancouver opens a four-game road trip on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. ... The Blackhawks continue a season-high tying seven-game road trip on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers. China Jerseys ' ' '