Scorching puts Woodbine trainer Charalambous in position to chase King’s Plate dream

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Horse racing is a sport of dreams — everyone who works in the sport in Canada dreams of winning, or at the very least participating in, the King’s Plate.

For the bigger operations, being in the Plate is usually a given. For smaller stables, the wait can be a lot longer. For John Charalambous, that wait was 43 years.

Charalambous has been a mainstay on the Woodbine backstretch since he started training thoroughbreds in 1982 at the age of 22, but having a Canadian-bred three-year-old good enough to start in Canada’s biggest horse race eluded him.

That changes on Saturday when he sends out Scorching in search of the lion’s share of the $1 million prize. And at 10-1 in the morning line, he’s a contender.

“If this is my first one and only one, I’m in with a very good chance,” Charalambous said. “I’m excited, but more so, I’m nervous.”

A son of Mo Town, Scorching broke his maiden in the Simcoe Stakes last August. He was then beaten by a nose in the Cup and Saucer Stakes, but was promoted to top spot via disqualification.

Scorching then picked up where he left off in June when finishing second to Mansetti in the Marine Stakes. He followed that up with a strong third-place finish in the Plate Trial, giving up a mid-stretch lead late to Sedbury’s Ghost and Notorious Gangster.

“I thought he ran really well,” Charalambous said. “He needed the race because he had a significant amount of time off before his first race of the year.”

The only real concern that Charalambous has is Scorching’s ability to last 1¼ miles. He has enlisted U.S.-based rider Jose Lezcano to try and squeeze every last inch out of the colt. But don’t expect any wasted energy.

“(Scorching) is just very professional, enjoys his training, and enjoys everything about being a racehorse,” Charalambous said.

LONGSHOTS

Mythical Man and Watsonville Red were listed at 50-1 when post positions were drawn at Woodbine on Tuesday. For Watsonville Red, being a longshot winner is nothing new as his maiden score returned $58.90 for two bucks.

He was 34-1 in the Plate Trial, but a fourth-place finish made a few superfecta bettors happy and gave trainer Mike De Paulo hope that the long distance of the Plate could produce another large mutuel price.

“I think his strength is that he’s a stayer,” De Paulo said. “If you have a Canadian-bred who is fit, happy and can run long, you have a chance.”

Leo Salles was on board Watsonville Red for both the maiden score and the Trial effort so he has again earned De Paulo’s confidence here.

Mythical Man is a bit of an unknown. Trained by Danny Gargan, best known for his 2024 Belmont Stakes win with Dornoch, Mythical Man won at both Aqueduct and Gulfstream last year, but his only outing this year resulted in a non-factoring seventh-place finish in the minor Manila Stakes at Saratoga.

“Mythical Man’s greatest strength is that he is a trier,” Gargan said. “He’s a grinder. His biggest thing is that he tries every time.”

Sofia Vives, Canada’s champion apprentice jockey the past two seasons, gets her first Plate mount.

BETTER FORECAST

Last year’s Plate will be long remembered for the freak rain storm that resulted in a five-day postponement. Saturday’s forecast calls for some clouds, but the race should go off without issues.

PLATE FIELD

1. Mansetti (Kevin Attard/Pietro Moran*) 10-1

2. William T (Don MacRae/David Moran) 20-1

3. Notorious Gangster (Josie Carroll/Fraser Aebly) 9-2

4. Scorching (John Charalambous/Jose Lezcano) 10-1

5. Mythical Man (Danny Gargan/Sofia Vives) 50-1

6. Faber (Kevin Attard/Pietro Moran*) 30-1

7. Runaway Again (Sid Attard/Javier Castellano) 12-1

8. Dewolf (Kevin Attard/Flavien Prat) 30-1

9. Watsonville Red (Mike De Paulo/Leo Salles) 50-1

10. No Time (Mark Casse/John Velazquez) 7-2

11. Tom’s Magic (Michael Stidham/Rafael Hernandez) 5-1

12. Sedbury’s Ghost (Barb Minshall/Ryan Munger) 6-1

13. Ashley’s Archer (Mark Casse/Sahin Civaci) 12-1