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Wanna Runner installed as 9-5 favourite 6/23/2006 1:36:37 AM TORONTO - Mike Pegram's Wanna Runner, the 9-5 morning line favourite and Stronach Stables' Malakoff, the 3-1 second choice, head a field of 13 Canadian-bred three-year-olds for the $1 million Queen's Plate, Sunday at Woodbine. Post time for Canada's most renowned horse race is 6:07 pm ET, as TSN will televise the race live in a special presentation at 5:30pm et. All starters will carry 126 pounds in the mile and one-quarter classic, with the winner receiving $600,000. Representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for the 147th edition of the Plate, the oldest continuously-run stakes race in North America, will be the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Honourable James K. Bartleman. Canada's Clara Hughes, the 2006 Turin Olympics 5000-metre speed skating gold medallist and the only Olympic athlete in history to win multiple medals at both the Summer (as a cyclist) and Winter Olympics, was the guest drawmaster when the post position draw took place Thursday morning at Woodbine. The selection order for post positions was drawn first, via the traditional 'pill-pull', followed by the choosing of post positions by the connections for each horse, a system which has been in place since 1998. The connections of Ascot Bill were the first to select and chose post six for their Plate hopeful. Wanna Runner (PP9, 9-5), trained by California-based Bob Baffert, comes into the Queen's Plate fresh from two convincing wins south of the border...a five and one-quarter length romp in the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby at Lone Star Park in Texas, May 13, preceded by a four and three-quarter length tally in the $600,000 WinStar Derby, April 1 at Sunland Park in New Mexico. Earlier in the year, he finished third to Brother Derek and 2005 two-year-old Eclipse Award champion Stevie Wonderboy in the San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita, January 14. The Ontario-bred son of El Corredor, who is the field's leading money winner with $566,950, will be ridden by Victor Espinoza, currently the third leading rider in North America in purses, with over $6.6 million. "He's been very effective in those races, so I guess I've been spotting him right," said Baffert. "He's making money, I just hope he runs like he's been running. So far, he looks good. And he's been working great. He's quick. He likes to be up there, in the fight." Malakoff (PP8, 3-1), a son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, has also won his last two outings, including a seven and one-quarter length gallop in the May 20 Marine Stakes at Woodbine. Trained by Brian Lynch, Malakoff, named after an 1855 battle between the French and the Russians during the Siege of Sevastopol, hasn't been worse than third in five career starts. He'll be seeking a third Plate win for both his owner and breeder Frank Stronach (Basqueian in 1994 and Awesome Again in 1997) and jockey Todd Kabel (Regal Discovery in 1995 and Scatter the Gold in 2000). "You always hope they show that sort of form this time of year, hoping he's a Plate horse," said Lynch. "He stepped up (in the Marine Stakes) and showed he certainly is. He's prepped well his last two works. The closer we've got (to the race), the better he's got. I'm quietly confident." Trainer Todd Pletcher will send out Melnyk Racing Stables'lightly-raced Sterwins (PP5, 6-1) in the 'Gallop for the Guineas.' A son of Runaway Groom, who finished second in the 1982 Queen's Plate to Son of Briartic, before winning both the Prince of Wales and Breeders' Stakes, Sterwins has only raced twice, but his last start was a 10 and one-half length destruction of a field of maidens at Monmouth Park, June 10, recording a race-high 101 Beyer (Daily Racing Form speed rating) in the process. He'll be attempting to duplicate the feat of 1997 Plate winner Awesome Again, who, in modern times, is the only horse to win the Plate off only two previous career starts. To be ridden by reigning Eclipse Award winner John Velazquez, Sterwins will also be trying to give owner Eugene Melnyk (who also has Bridgecut in the race) and Pletcher a second Plate win, after Archers Bay in 1998. "Coming out of post five, hopefully, he won't get any traffic problems," said assistant trainer Ginny DiPasquale. "He (jockey John Velazquez) will be able to take him to the outside but maybe not hung too far out. I think he'll probably lay fifth or sixth, but a close fifth or sixth." Pipers Thunder (PP10, 10-1), to be handled by Ray Sabourin, will be trying to give his owner, Chiefswood Stable and trainer Eric Coatrieux, a second Plate triumph in three years. Niigon won the 2004 edition, when Chiefswood and Coatrieux celebrated their first stakes win. Pipers Thunder is a lightly-raced son of 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Thunder Gulch, with only three previous starts, including his one-length win in the Plate Trial Stakes on June 4. He'll be looking to become the 23rd Trial winner to also emerge victorious in the Plate, but the first since Alydeed in 1992. "Eric was pretty high on him (before the Plate Trial) so I wasn't surprised when he ran that well and he said he'll run that much better on Sunday," said Sabourin. "From the post we got, we get to watch a couple of those inside horses we want to keep an eye on. We'll just see how the pace develops and take it from there. He had his ears pricked (in the Plate Trial)." Another intriguing Plate candidate is David James' Shillelagh Slew (PP3, 8-1), who won his only race this year, a seven furlong allowance test back on April 29, but was subsequently sick and missed the Marine Stakes, in what was going to be his final Plate tune-up. A son of Chief Seattle, Shillelagh Slew, who is trying to become the first Quebec-bred to win the Plate, is trained by Mike DePaulo and will be ridden by Dino Luciani. In a racing rarity, all eight combatants in the Plate Trial have also been entered back in the Queen's Plate. They include Beclawat Stable's Ascot Bill (PP6, 20-1), the second place finisher to Pipers Thunder in the Trial, who will be ridden by apprentice Justin Stein for trainer Steve Attard and third-place finisher Edenwold (PP1, 12-1), last year's Sovereign Award-winning two-year-old colt/gelding for owners Jim & Alice Sapara, trained by Josie Carroll and ridden by Emile Ramsammy, who won the Plate in 1996 with Victor Cooley. Completing the field are C.R. 'Bud' Roberts and John Pepper's double stakes winner Atlas Shrugs (PP2, 20-1), to be ridden by Corey Fraser for trainer Reade Baker; Melnyk Racing Stables' Bridgecut (PP13, 50-1), one of two David Bell trainees in the race, with last year's Eclipse and Sovereign Award-winning rider Emma-Jayne Wilson; Bruno Schickedanz's Cifercat (PP12, 50-1), trained by Abraham Katryan with Richard Dos Ramos aboard; Tucci Stables' Quebec-bred Hot Deputy (PP11, 50-1), to be ridden by Constant Montpellier for trainer Sid Attard; Eaton Hall Farm's Pyramid Park (PP7, 30-1), last year's surprise winner of the Cup & Saucer Stakes on turf for trainer Mike Doyle and jockey Slade Callaghan and D. Morgan Firestone's Thinking Out Loud (PP4, 30-1), winner of last year's Coronation Futurity for Bell, with Jim McAleney named to ride. Wanna Runner was supplemented to the Plate for $7,500 on February 1, while Hot Deputy and Thinking Out Loud were supplemented on May 15 for $15,000. The Queen's Plate is the first leg in the Canadian Triple Crown. The second leg is the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, July 16 at Fort Erie, over one mile and three-sixteenths, while the $500,000 Breeders' Stakes, at one mile and one-half on the grass, August 6 at Woodbine, comprises the third and final leg. There have been seven Triple Crown winners since the concept was inaugurated in 1959, the last being Wando in 2003. The stakes record (since 1956) for the mile and one-quarter Plate is 2:01 4/5 seconds, set by Izvestia in 1990, when he also won by the largest margin in race history, 13 lengths. Favourites have done well in the Plate since 1956, winning 21 of 50 renewals (42%), well above the traditional 33% for mutuel favourites in all races. However, Wando, in 2003, is the only favourite to win in the last 11 editions. Post/Order/Horse/ Owner/Trainer/Jockey/Odds 1/10/Edenwold/Jim & Alice Sapara/Josie Carroll/Emile Ramsammy/12-1 2/6/Atlas Shrugs/Charles Roberts & John Pepper/Reade Baker/Corey Fraser/20-1 3/5/Shillelagh Slew/David James/Michael DePaulo/Dino Luciani/8-1 4/3/Thinking Out Loud/D. Morgan Firestone/David Bell/Jim McAleney/30-1 5/2/Sterwins/Melnyk Racing Stable/Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez/6-1 6/1/Ascot Bill/Beclawat Stable/Steve Attard/Justin Stein/20-1 7/4/Pyramid Park/Eaton Hall Farm/Michael Doyle/Slade Callaghan/30-1 8/7/Malakoff/Stronach Stables/Brian Lynch/Todd Kabel/3-1 9/8/Wanna Runner/Michael Pegram/Bob Baffert/Victor Espinoza/9-5 10/9/ Pipers Thunder/Chiefswood Stable/Eric Coatrieux/Ray Sabourin/10-1 11/12/Hot Deputy/Tucci Stables/Sid Attard/Constant Montpellier/50-1 12/11/Cifercat/Bruno Schickedanz/Abraham Katryan/Richard Dos Ramos/50-1 13/13/Bridgecut/Melnyk Racing Stable/David Bell/ Emma-Jayne Wilson/50-1 Probable Favourites: Wanna Runner - Malakoff - Sterwins Total Purse/$1,000,000 Winner to receive/$600,000 2nd/$200,000 3rd/$110,000 4th/$60,000 5th/$30,000