Two-year-old Canadian-bred champion Edenwold gets his third chance to conquer a two-turn distance in Sunday's $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine. For the Southern Halo colt, who will be partnered with Emile Ramsammy, the 1 1/8-mile test will be his final prep for the $1 million Queen's Plate on June 25.In the Plate Trial, the Jim and Alice Sapara color-bearer renews his rivalry with Pyramid Park and Thinking Out Loud, two of the three horses that defeated him in last year's 1 1/8-mile Coronation Futurity, his first ever two-turn attempt.In the Futurity, Edenwold was impeded in the scramble to the first turn and forced to rally wide from well off the pace. He gained steadily in the stretch and wound up fourth, just two lengths behind winner Thinking Out Loud. Even though the large chestnut colt returned with a sub-par fifth-place result in the Display Stakes in his final start of 2005, conditioner Josie Carroll is confident in her champion's distance ability. After a strong second-place finish in his sophomore debut, the seven-furlong Queenston Stakes, May 6, Edenwold enters the Plate Trial with his best chance yet to validate his trainer's assessment. "With it being his first start, we were just hoping for a strong finish and that he would gallop out well," said Carroll. "He got enough out of it that it set him up well to continue on the journey. He's on target."After a five-wide trip on the turn, Edenwold closed determinedly in the Queenston to finish second, a neck behind the Reade Baker trainee Atlas Shrugs, who seeks his third consecutive stakes tally in the Plate Trial.
A year ago, Edenwold's 2-year-old campaign began in precisely the same fashion, a second-place finish by a neck to Atlas Shrugs.The debut kicked off a banner year for Edenwold, who returned to finish second to stablemate Vibank in the Victoria Stakes before reeling off four straight victories, including stakes scores in the Colin, Vandal and Simcoe Stakes.By season's end, Edenwold had finished at least second in six of his eight starts and accumulated $346,400, earning himself a divisional title. On Sunday, he seeks to become the first champion 2-year-old to win the Plate Trial Stakes since Regal Classic in 1988. $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes (Race 8, 4:29 p.m.), 3-Year-Olds, 1 1/8 Miles
PP. Horse, Jockey
1. Cifercat (AB), Richard A. Dos Ramos
2. Atlas Shrugs (ON), Corey Fraser
3. Thinking Out Loud (ON), James McAleney
4. Pyramid Park (ON), Slade Callaghan
5. Edenwold (ON), Emile Ramsammy
6. Ascot Bill (ON), Justin Stein
7. Pipers Thunder (ON), Raymond B. Sabourin
8. Hot Deputy (PQ), Patrick Husbands
Each horse assigned 126 pounds.