My Boy Prince, the 2023 top 2-year-old colt in Canada and a strong favourite for the King's Plate, made a triumphant return to the winner's circle on Sunday at Woodbine by winning the King Corrie S. The strong favourite, who finished second in the GI Summer S. the previous year and third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, was making his first appearance on the synthetic surface since winning the Simcoe S. at Woodbine in August of last year. He kept up with Maximus Magic's (Maximus Mischief's) speed through sectors of 24.38 and 47.82, grabbed the lead heading into the stretch, and walked smoothly down the lane.
“He's an easy horse,” jockey Sahin Civaci noted of the winner. “Raffie [jockey Rafael Hernandez] did break sharper than my horse, but he is very versatile. He can sit off the pace and can be in the front. We had an easy pace up front and when it's time to kick, he sure does kick on. I made sure I slept early to have energy for this race. It's great being back on him, I was looking forward to it. I've worked with him a couple of times in the morning. I'm very pleased with him.”
My Boy Prince, the top-sale pick for C$115,000 at the 2022 CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling Sale, broke his maiden over Woodbine's Tapeta surface in June of last year and easily won the Simcoe S. by 14 lengths on August 27. He finished second in his first turf race, the September 16 Summer S., and went on to win the 1 1/16-mile Cup and Saucer S. in October, setting a new course record. He ended his juvenile career with a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup.
The grey colt finished seventh in the 5 1/2-furlong Palisades S. at Keeneland on April 7, 2024, in his first appearance of the year.
This year, Hopping Not Hoping, the Canadian stakes winner, produced a filly by Classic Empire. Athlete (Kitten's Joy), who is now 2 years old, was shipped to Great Britain after being purchased by China Horse Club and Qatar Racing for $585,000 during the September Keeneland sale the previous year.