In this 2nd part of the Queen’s Plate special on At the Gate, host Norm Borg interviews conditioners – Robert Tiller and Catherine Day Phillips.    

Robert Tiller has won the Sovereign Award as Canada’s Outanding Trainer, three times and was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.  Tiller has recorded 1,488 career wins since beginning his training career in 1973, having trained some of his most notable horses for late Frank DiGiulio, Sr and Frank DiGiulio Jr.     Frank DiGiulio Jr’s aptly named homebred, Oh Canada is by Proud Citizen out of Oh Livia D.  Oh Canada looks for his third career victory on Sunday. 

Catherine Day Phillip’s races under the stable name of Kingfield Farms.   Catherine began her racing career as a trainer in 1994 and has had a great deal of success, training multiple Sovereign Award winner – A Bit O’Gold for the Two Bit Racing Stable of which she was a part owner,  Jambalaya winner of the G1 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Handicap and Van Lear Rose, Canada’s 2 Year Old Filly in 2009.  Catherine Day Phillip’s entrant this year in the Plate is Head Honcho, a 3 year old bay gelding by Strut the Stage out of Cherokee Treasure.  Head Honcho was bred by Bill Graham and sold at the 2009 CTHS Select Sale to the partnerhip of Rocco D’Alimonte, Frank Annecchini and Kingfield Racing.  The partnership of D’Alimonte and Annecchini have approximately 20 horses, the vast majority are trained by Catherine Day Phillips at Woodbine.    Head Honcho looks for his 3rd career victory as well on Sunday.