King resident Ian Black trains Plate champ Mike Fox
By Bill Rea

Most agree last Sunday's Queen's Plate was a real thriller, and that was especially the case for King City area resident Ian Black.

Black, the former manager at Kinghaven Farms, is the trainer of Mike Fox, and he watched his colt come off the rail on the stretch, scoot by the favoured Jiggs Coz and spoil what had been shaping up as an easy win for Alezzandro.

Mike Fox took the Plate by half a length.

He is owned by Morgan Firestone, and he went off at 15-1 odds from the outside post position.

"I thought he had a chance," Black commented a couple of days later. "I thought he'd run well."

Alezzandro seemed in command of the race until jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson got her mount moving.

"It was a pleasant surprise," Black said. "It was a last-minute surge."

Mike Fox had seven previous starts and three wins before the Plate.

The race was historic because it was the first time a woman jockey was in the winner's circle at the Plate.

"If I had the choice right now, I wouldn't switch with any horse in the race," she told TSN's Sandy Hawley before the start. "Ian's done a tremendous job getting him ready. I'm really happy about the position I'm in and just looking forward to see if we can get our nose in front."

Wilson later told TSN's Renee Kierans that things looked a little worrisome coming out of the final turn, but rider and horse were able to get things together.

"He wanted it just as bad as I did," she said. "I knew I had it. He was moving so strong coming to the wire."

"I just buried my head and kept on driving," she added. "He got down so deep and out of nowhere, I just knew we were flying."

"I'm just very honoured to be part of Emma's great day," Black told TSN's Jeff Bratt, adding he was also happy that Firestone got a Plate win.

Councillor Linda Pabst praised the local effort at last Monday's council meeting.

"I had one of the most exciting Queen's Plates that I have ever been to," she told her colleagues.

She also commented that Firestone has been hoping for a Plate win for years. "It couldn't have gone to a more deserving owner," she remarked, stating Firestone has done much for the horse industry over the years.

"And I won money," Pabst happily declared.

Mike Fox paid $32.40, $13.10 and $5.

Black said the horse is slated to run in the Price of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, later this month. He was hopeful of his chances there, all being well with the horse. "You kind of take it one day at a time," he remarked.