TORONTO, August 9, 2023 – Krista Cole’s long-held dream of the King’s Plate has now become a reality.
The idea of entering a thoroughbred in Canada’s famous horse race, whose origins date back to 1865, has fascinated Cole since she was a child.
Whether as a fan, groom, training rider or now in the role of trainer, the Prince Edward Island rider has often wondered what it would feel like to have her own horse march through the starting gate of the Plate racing series in front of thousands of racing fans.
She will get the answer in just over a week when Thor’s Cause, a bay son of Brody’s Cause, comes up short in the $1 million classic.
“You always think about what it would be like to be able to say you had a horse in the Plate,” Cole said. “You look back over the years, the ups and downs, the challenges and everything in between, and that makes it even more special.”
The path that led Cole to the greatest moment of her career began in Mayfield, a small, family-oriented town with a long-standing connection to Standardbred racing.
There was also a main road there that seemed to tempt them to head west one day.
“The name of the street was Toronto and the sign had a little arrow on it. That was all, nothing else.”
Cole’s early connection with horses began with pacers and trotters and later expanded into the world of show jumping.
Wherever she was, on the racetrack, in the arena, or on dusty trails, Cole always felt contentment.
“I have always loved horses. They give you a certain serenity and calm.”
When she wasn’t busy with horses, she devoted herself to her studies, particularly her pursuit of a post-secondary education.
In 2000, she earned her science degree from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
However, Cole knew that the racetrack would bring her the greatest happiness.
Each time she took the road to or from her family’s home, Cole felt more compelled to drive in the direction of the arrow on the sign.
And that is exactly what she did in 2021.
The first stop was in Ottawa.
“My girlfriend and I were there to show horses and she wanted to pay a quick visit to Woodbine,” Cole recalled. “I had watched Woodbine races there on TV, but had never been to the track.”
At least initially, it was intended to be a kind of fact-finding mission, an opportunity to gain insight into the world of horses on the Toronto Oval.
Perhaps it was the scientific part of Cole’s career, where experimentation, curiosity and research are the order of the day, that brought her to the stands at Woodbine Stadium that day.
“I was excited from the first moment,” she remembers. “That day I knew where I wanted to go.”
“For me it was fascinating. There were so many horses and it was different because up until then I had been involved with Standardbreds. I love riding, so I started as a groom when I came here and every day I thought to myself, ‘I want to ride these beautiful horses and I want to own them.'”
Cole also wanted to see her in action.
Growing up in Mayfield, she had seen the King’s Plate on television but never experienced it in person.
In 2002, she sat in a packed grandstand at Woodbine to watch the 143rd running of the race.
“I was in the stands when T J’s Lucky Moon won,” Cole recalled of the 82-1 underdog’s historic triumph. “My first year here was 2001, but I still remember that Plate. I remember there being a lot of people there, and for someone from Prince Edward Island, everything that day was much bigger than anything I’d ever experienced in terms of horses.”
Cole’s abilities also expanded.
She obtained her Quarter Horse jockey license in 2003 and won her first start.
After the birth of her daughter Kalista five years later, Cole gave up riding but worked at various stables on the backstretch of Woodbine.
Each experience was invaluable for her professional development.
“My daughter’s father is the son of trainer Norm DeSouza Sr. I started working for them and breaking foals on the farm. I learned a lot about thoroughbreds from them, as well as from many other horse people.”
A trip to the Sunshine State increased Cole’s interest in all things racing.
“I groomed horses in Woodbine and then went to a farm to gallop. My first winter here, someone asked me if I wanted to go to Florida. I was working for Adena Springs at the time and when I was in Florida, Mike Cook (the man who runs the Classic Mile Park Training Center in Ocala) had a farm right next door. He let me gallop in the afternoons and on my days off.
“When I came back, I worked for Laurie Silvera. People told me to go to the man on the big white pony at the railing, and I did. He told me to go to the stable and he would watch me. I ended up working for him and he was so good to me. He was an excellent trainer and a wonderful person.”
Silvera also inspired Cole to join conditioning training.
“The more I learned, the more I wanted to become a coach.”
Cole earned her trainer’s license in 2012 and won her first race in 2013 with “Remember to Dream,” a horse whose meaning was much more than just an inspirational name.
“I bought him at the sale,” she said of the philanthropist’s son. “I had never been to a sale in my life. I was working for Gardiner Farms at the time and ended up talking to (the late) Dr. Michael Colterjohn, who ran Gardiner. I told him I wanted to buy a horse. He told me to come to the 2010 CTHS sale – I didn’t know what I was looking for – but I wanted a horse.
“I told Mike I would buy a horse from him because I trusted him. He suggested a particular one, which I bought for $1,000. Nobody wanted it.”
But Cole did it.
On June 1, 2013, the chestnut gelding won the fifth race at Woodbine and gave Cole her first victory.
“I bought him as a yearling, broke him in, looked after him – he was a very stubborn horse – and got to know him inside and out. The day he won – I fell in love with racing even more.”
One of Cole’s biggest success stories is Candy Overload.
Cole, who turned the Ontario-bred stallion into a top sprinter, also owned a share in the gelding along with breeders Denny Andrews and Sherry McLean’s Northern Dawn Stable.
In 2022, the trio sold Candy Overload to the partnership of Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Leonard Schleiffer.
“I got him as a foal,” Cole recalls. “He came from Niall Brennan’s farm, so they had him broken in and started riding. He trained him very well. The horse was going to be sold, but then the pandemic hit and a lot of sales were canceled. Denny asked me if I wanted this guy, and I said, ‘Absolutely!’ He gave me two, Candy Overload and Lil Bit Gangster.”
When Candy Overload stepped out of the truck and through the shadows of her barn, Cole was almost speechless.
“He was such a great horse,” recalls Cole, who took the son of Reload to a successful race. “I knew he would do well. Even though I didn’t win with him, he gave us so much joy. I rode him every day. I groomed him a lot. I was with him all the time.”
“The day the offer came in, I called Denny. He told me not to worry, he would give me another nice horse. It was hard to sell him, but I understood.”
The departure of Cole’s most successful runner, who has won several graded stakes races, may have marked a step backwards, or at least a setback, in her career.
It would be neither one nor the other.
Last year, Cole set personal bests in all areas, including wins, top three finishes and prize money.
There is support in abundance.
“With Sherry and Denny I have great partners, two people who have always helped and supported me.”
There are others.
“Ryan Brewster, the owner of Wicked Django (who has won multiple stakes races), believes in me and takes very good care of his horse. Wicked Django has been phenomenal this year, so I’m very happy for Ryan. This is his only horse, so it’s a nice story.”
Cole hopes there will be more to come, now and in the future.
Admittedly, “The King’s Plate” is currently the topic of conversation in Barn 32.
There is an atmosphere of excitement throughout the farm as Cole and her team count down the days until August 17th.
“He’s a small horse, but his heart is so big,” said Cole of Thor’s Cause. “He’s going to try. He’s going to do his best. The owners (Joe Pignatelli, Spirit’s Path Management, Inc. and Alan J. McMullen) are great people and they’re so excited.”
Just like Cole, who is both seen and heard on race days.
“I get emotional when all my horses are running. Everyone gets hugs. The jockeys tell me they can hear me screaming as they come down the lane.”
Whether he wins or loses, Cole will have a lot to celebrate on Plate Day.
Their daughters Kalista and Jodi and about a dozen others will be in attendance to cheer on Cole and Thor’s cause.
“We weren’t sure at first if this was the right path for this horse. But that’s exactly what happened.”
The same can be said about the pride of Mayfield, Prince Edward Island.
“Toronto Road,” she said, laughing. “I started on a paved road in Prince Edward Island and ended up on a dirt road on the Woodbine backstretch. And I live in Brampton, just south of Mayfield Road.”
Whether this is all a sign or not, Cole is just happy to be part of the exciting ride on the King’s Plate.
It’s everywhere she wants to be.
“I dreamed of having a horse in the Plate. That’s everyone’s dream. You hope you get that chance. And now that we have it, it’s better than I could have ever imagined.”
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
