“To be honest with you down the stretch is a little bit of a blur right now,” said Attard with a laugh, when asked about Moira’s charge under Hernandez. “If he was , obviously there’s a lot on the line and you don’t want to see somebody come from under the clouds or somebody out of the corner of your eye. Rafi told me afterwards that ‘We still have plenty left.’Article content
Heading into this year’s race, Attard had won pretty well every major race in Canada, but the Plate had long eluded him. This year was the sixth time he had horses in the race and Moira was his 11th entry in the Plate. The personable trainer said last week that winning Canada’s most prestigious race was his “Stanley Cup” and felt that he couldn’t be considered a top trainer until he finally won it.
“My dad put me in this position, he taught me everything I know. He sacrificed part of his career to put me in a position to succeed when he was training and I was able to take over his part of the business. I can’t think him enough. I love him so much,” Attard said, his voice cracking. “I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Lanni, a native of Montreal and one of the top bloodstock agents in North America, put together X-Men Racing, a syndicate making up of his good friends. The other owners are Madaket Stables and SF Racing.