Aug 15, 2026 – There are second starts where you simply hope to see progress. Then there are second starts like the one Canuck Racing Club enjoyed on King’s Plate day.
Named after Canadian screen siren Kim Cattrall who paired bombshell glamour with stage chops to become a pop-culture legend, Cattrall dominated most of the boys in her 5-furlong debut against geldings and colts. Missing first by a head bob, Gino Buccola from DRF described her as “almost too good to lose”.
The two-year-old daughter of Corniche is owned in partnership between the Canuck Racing Club, X-Men Racing and Madaket Stables.
In her second start, Cattrall stretched from five furlongs on the inner turf to 6.5 furlongs on Woodbine’s outer course Saturday, faced a full field of 11 in a $125,500 maiden special weight, and delivered a front-running 2.25-length victory in 1:15.98. Despite a significantly deeper and very different assignment, she still came into Saturday’s race as the horse to beat.
In the irons and donning the Canuck silks was Hall of Famer John “Johnny V” Velazquez, North America’s all-time leading jockey.
Cattrall broke inward from post five, but Velazquez corrected her immediately and she was quickly into stride. From there, she assumed command and was leading by half a length through the opening quarter in 23.03.
Hope Is a Breeze tracked her from the outside and kept the pressure on through a half-mile in 45.92. Around the turn the two separated themselves from the field, with Hope Is a Breeze briefly getting on even terms outside at the five-sixteenths pole and henpecking Cattrall the whole way.
Velazquez stayed composed, kept Cattrall organized along the inside, and waited before asking her for everything.
Turning into the long E.P. Taylor stretch, the pair had opened a significant gap on the rest. With Cattrall back in front, with roughly 330 yards remaining and yet to be fully extended, Johnny V continued to let the race come to her.
Inside the final 150 yards, he asked for more and Cattrall answered by opening clear and stopping the clock in 1:15.98. She crossed the wire to win by 2.25 lengths – directly in front of the Canuck Racing Club members gathered along the rail, the closest any owner could get to the action.
“Cattrall is a very promising filly,” said Donato Lanni, top agent and managing partner of Canuck Racing Club. “We’re going to have some fun with her.”
