Back To 12: Elite Alex Off Queen's Plate Trail

Courtesy: WEG / Michael Burns Photography

Bill Tallon of the Daily Racing Form has reported that Elite Alex has been withdrawn from Queen's Plate consideration. With Elite Alex off the trail, At The Post's list of Queen's Plate starters is now down  to 12.

The move means that all three of the horses who were required to pay a late nomination fee on May 1st (Bear's Chill, Elite Alex, Jojo's Mojo) will not start in Canada's biggest race on June 26th.

It appeared that Elite Alex's work of 57.00 at Delaware Park on June 8th meant he was ready to go for the 152nd running of the Queen's Plate, but trainer Tim Ritchey did not feel the same way. Here's a quote from Ritchey on the status of his three-year-old:

"Unfortunately Elite Alex's last work was not what we wanted," said trainer Tim Ritchey on his Facebook page. "The 57 should have been 1:00 to 1:01. We could have built on that work and moved forward but the faster work has backed us up."

Ritchey added: "We will need to bypass one of Canada's most prestigious races and one we would have loved to try to win. Hopefully we can find a future race in Canada for Elite Alex."

The move is a little surprising to me, as I had listed Elite Alex in my "Strong Case" list earlier this week.

Elite Alex spent his winter down in Arkansas and Louisiana, chasing a place in the Kentucky Derby. His first race on the Derby Trail was a third place finish in the Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas behind Archarcharch and J P's Gusto. From there, the three-year-old son of Afleet Alex went to Louisiana and finished fourth in the Grade II Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds behind Derby starters Pants on Fire, Nehro and Mucho Macho Man. The dream quickly came crashing down, however, as Elite Alex disappointed in the Grade I Arkansas Derby, finishing ninth. After the Derby dream disappeared, the connections looked to the Plate as another big race option for the Ontario-bred, but they have now decided to look for another race.

With the removal of Elite Alex from the potential starters list, here's how it currently stands today:

In It To Win It

- Check Your Soul
- Inglorious
- Queen'splatekitten

Strong Case

- Bowman's Causeway
- Enduring Star

Outsiders

- Hippolytus
- Oh Canada
- Strike Oil
- Head Honcho
- Ojibway Signal

Longshots

- Celtic Conviction
- Control

Posted in: Elite Alex,Queens Plate