It has been just over a week since trainer Kevin Attard scored the biggest win of his career. And he’s still getting congratulations from everyone at Woodbine he crosses paths with.
And because that win came in North American horse racing’s championship showcase, you can appreciate he is still on cloud nine.
“It’s hard to explain, but definitely walking with more pep in my step,” he said.
Attard has won more than 800 races in his training career, but when Moira crossed the finish line a half-length ahead of her closest pursuers in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar, he broke into an unbridled jubilation seen by millions of fans worldwide.
“I’m obviously very proud of her, of the journey she has taken me on,” he said. “And to win a Breeders’ Cup race, being Canadian, it’s really special, the highlight of my career.”
Moira broke a couple of long droughts for Canadian racing at the Breeders’ Cup. She became the first Canadian-bred since 2015 and the first Woodbine-based horse since 2011 to win a Cup race. For his part, Attard joined a very small list of Canadians to train a Breeders’ Cup winner.
In 2022, after Moira gave Attard his first Queen’s Plate win, her team decided to forego a shot at the Canadian triple crown and instead try to make her a Grade 1 stakes winner on the turf. But going into her start in San Diego, she managed only two Grade 2 wins, including one in the race that qualified her for the Cup, the Beverly D Stakes at Colonial Downs in August. Her previous Breeders’ Cup experience consisted of a fifth-place finish at Keeneland two years ago and a third-place run at Santa Anita last year.
“We always had faith in her,” he said. “She matured as she went along.”
“After the Plate, she came back in the E.P. Taylor and had a tough trip. With a little bit of luck that day, she could have won her first Grade 1 then.”
Moira was given a very confident ride in the Breeders’ Cup by Flavien Prat. She moved up several spots down the backstretch to get closer to the pace, then took the lead from stablemate Full Count Felicia early in the stretch and dug in to the wire.
“Watching it live, I was a little concerned she moved too soon,” he said. “But she’s a filly that can turn on and off and a lot of horses can’t do that. It put her in contention and out of trouble and that turned out to be the winning move.
Before her turf ventures, Moira’s wins in the Plate and Woodbine Oaks earned her Canada’s horse of the year in 2022 and even before that, she turned the rare trick of winning a stakes race, the Princess Elizabeth, in her career debut.
But the Breeders’ Cup weekend also had a sad, though expected, side to it. Some horses go right from the Breeders’ Cup to the Fasig Tipton November sale which focuses on breeding stock. On Nov. 4, Moira was sold for $4.3 million US to Australian bloodstock interests. It has been reported she may race in Australia before settling to her second career as a broodmare.
“You go from an ultimate high, to having to say goodbye to a horse that has meant so much to my personal life and my career. It was one of the most difficult things I have had to do in life,” Attard said.
Now, the queen of Attard’s stable is the filly that gave him a second Plate win earlier this year. And on Saturday, local fans had another chance to see Caitlinhergrtness in action. But facing older mares, the three-year-old filly faded to fourth in the $135,000 Maple Leaf Stakes behind 2023 Woodbine Oaks winner Elysian Field.
Still, Attard is confident Caitlinhergrtness will get better as she gets older.
“She’s very versatile, maybe a little bit more versatile than Moira,” he said. “I’m excited to see what’s in store for her next season.”
CANADA AT THE BREEDERS’ CUP
Canadian-bred winners (Woodbine-based runners in Bold): 7
Dance Smartly — 1991 Distaff
Chief Bearhart — 1997 Turf
Awesome Again — 1998 Classic
Maryfield — 2007 Filly and Mare Sprint
Judy the Beauty — 2014 Filly and Mare Sprint
Wavell Avenue — 2015 Filly and Mare Sprint
Moira — 2024 Filly and Mare Turf
Other Woodbine-based winner (Non-Canadian-bred): 1
Perfect Shirl (2011 Filly and Mare Turf)
Canadian-based winning trainers:
Jim Day, Mark Frostad, Roger Attfield, Kevin Attard
Note: Mark Casse has won six Breeders’ Cup races. None of those horses were based at Woodbine, though 2018 Filly and Mare Sprint winner Shamrock Rose registered three local wins.