Sophia's Prince has given trainer John Leblanc Jr. a lifetime of headaches.
The six-year-old gelding, who promises to be one of the longest shots on the board in the $1-million Atto Mile at Woodbine on Sunday, is a problem child, a horse with a nose for accidents. And a drippy nose. Back in the barns, he's called Snotty because he was known for having colds that lasted longer than those of other horses.
But he's fast, and on Sunday he will take Leblanc to the most important, richest race he's ever entered in his training career. And if Sophia's Prince can successfully tackle some international turf stars, perhaps Leblanc can forgive him for all the pain he has caused.
About 1½ months ago, Sophia's Prince broke the Woodbine track record for 6½ furlongs, set 44 years ago and equalled in 1999, as he won the $126,000 Shepperton Stakes at Woodbine. He won easily by 5½ lengths. He's on a roll. It was his fourth consecutive victory. He's undefeated in three starts this year.
The purse for the Shepperton was about one-tenth what he will go for on Sunday, but the competition is 10 times tougher for this start. He'll face the much vaunted Leroidesanimaux (King of the Animals), a Brazilian-bred horse that is 9 to 5 in the morning line after winning eight of his 11 career races. He's the top-ranked horse in the Breeders' Cup poll for the Breeders' Cup Mile on Oct. 29 at Belmont Park, after winning five consecutive stakes races this season. In his past start, the five-year-old horse set a course record at historic Saratoga racetrack for the 11/16-mile Fourstardave Stakes after a 5½-month layoff. The Atto Mile is his to lose.
At Woodbine on Sunday, Leroidesanimaux will be ridden by John Velasquez, the top money-winning jockey in North America. Last year, Velasquez won an Eclipse Award as the top jockey in the United States, riding horses to winnings of $22-million (U.S.). And the horse is trained by Bobbie Frankel, a five-time Eclipse Award winner.
Sophia's Prince will be ridden by Simon Husbands, who expertly piloted him to his track record win. Husbands has a history that is a little more humble than Velazquez's. Last season, Husbands won 31 races with winnings of $1.3-million.
At 41, Leblanc is one of Woodbine's up-and-coming trainers, who is having his best season, with 10 winners from 47 starts for winnings of $419,773. In his career, he's won only one stakes race, but he's won it twice, taking the 2001 Shepperton with Hopeful Moment in 2001. Leblanc is broadening his horizons in the Atto Mile.
Sophia's Prince seemed obliviously determined to give LeBlanc Jr. some tough lessons as a trainer. "He's temperamental and skittish," LeBlanc said. "If you worry him in any way, he'll take flight, and not necessarily in the right direction. He'd run right into a fence or a ditch. You just have to control his energy so that he doesn't hurt himself."
In spite of Sophia's Prince's skittish ways, he's won $508,731 with eight wins in 26 starts.
He's not the only local horse in the race.
The richest horse in the field is Gus Schickedanz's Mobil, the winner of $1.7-million but who has been battling foot problems this year, winning only one race.