Draft:Paramount Prince

Paramount Prince (foaled February 20, 2020) is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2023 King's Plate. Bred by Ontario breeder Ericka Rusnak and jointly owned by Michael Langlois and Gary Barber, the horse has seen impressive success on the track, coming first at the 2023 Plate Trial and King's Plate and earning placements in the Clarendon Stakes, Queenston Stakes and Prince of Wales Stakes.

Background
Paramount Prince is a chestnut gelding bred by Ericka Rusnak, resident of Stouffville, Ontario. He was the fifth foal out of Platinum Steel, purchased by Rusnak at the Keeneland January sale for $25,000 USD. He was the 2020 foal of Society’s Chairman, one of the more prominent racing stallions in Ontario.

He spent much of his early years on the Rusnak property, where he quickly became known for his athleticism and strong temperament, qualities that earned him the nickname “Maverick” from Rusnak. Rusnak stated that he was one of the toughest colts she has owned or bred.

Rusnak put the (still unnamed) Paramount Prince up for auction at the 2021 Canadian Premier Yearling Sale, with a reserve price of 24,900 CAD. The horse caught the attention of Jamie Attard, a horse trainer who attended on behalf of Michael Langlois and his family. The Langlois family had purchased their first horse, Magic Spin, just a month prior, and were now seeking out their first yearling. Attard was approached by Rusnak, who asked him to take a look at her horse. After examining the horse’s x-rays and scope, he called Langlois to finalize a deal. Langlois was unable to meet the horse’s reserve price, but made a deal with Rusnak and secured him for $21,000 CAD.

After the purchase, the Langlois family exchanged name suggestions for their new racehorse. They eventually settled with the name “Paramount Prince”, suggested by Langlois’ wife Charmaine.

2022: Two-year-old season
Paramount Prince started in his maiden race on November 12, 2022. His jockey was Slade Jones, a 16-year-old jockey who began his riding career in May. He was the favored horse with 3-to-1 odds. With a strong start out of the gate, Paramount Prince would maintain the lead for the entire race. He won gate-to-wire, placing first out of five horses and winning by nine lengths.

Paramount Prince’s win caught the attention of horse owner Gary Barber, who made an offer to Langlois to purchase the gelding. His initial offer was turned down, but Barber made a second offer of $140,000 to purchase half of the gelding, which would put him in a partnership with Langlois. Langlois was reluctant to take the deal, as accepting would mean Attard’s training duties would be taken over by Barber’s trainer, Mark E. Casse. After Attard voiced his encouragement, however, Langlois accepted the deal.

Attard would start Paramount Prince one last time at the 2022 Clarendon Stakes. Paramount Prince entered the race with 7-to-1 odds, and with a good start, ran the first quarter-mile in a comfortable fourth place. Paramount Prince accelerated to pass the third-place Rolling Hills before the half-mile mark, securing a third-place finish and trailing the first-place Armstrong by 4½ lengths. From that point on, training duties were taken over by Casse. Paramount Prince was moved to Casse’s training center in Ocala, Florida for the winter, where Casse trained him for his three-year-old season.

2023: Three-year-old season
Paramount Prince's made his first start of 2023 at the Queenston Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. His first race as a three-year-old and his first stakes race. Veteran jockey Patrick Husbands would take over jockey duties. Paramount Prince started the race with 8-to-1 odds, making a strong start from the gate to claim second place early on. For the first half-length, he battled horses Poulin in O T and Kaukokaipuu for first place. Running neck-and-neck with Poulin In O T for the last stretch, Kaukokaipuu would pass them both with a final burst of energy to pass the finish line. Paramount Prince placed second, 1¼ lengths after Kaukokaipuu.

On July 23, Paramount Prince made his start at the Plate Trial Stakes. Paramount Prince demonstrated a strong front running performance, taking the lead from the starting gate and winning the race gate-to-wire. He won the race gate-to-wire, finishing with a final time of 1:49.99 and beating runner-up Cool Kiss by five lengths.

Canadian Triple-Crown
Motivated by the victory at the Plate Trial, Paramount Prince was set to start at the 2023 King’s Plate, one of the largest horse racing events in Canada. Paramount Prince started from gate 13 on the far side, giving a strong start to cut to the inside rail and secure an early first-place lead. He maintained a strong front running lead throughout the whole race, winning gate-to-wire. He won with a final time of 2:01.93, beating runner-up and stablemate Elysian Field by a half-length. The victory marked Casse and Barber’s third plate win, after Lexie Lou in 2014 and Wonder Gadot in 2018. In a post-race interview, jockey Patrick Husbands complimented Paramount Prince’s strong performance. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to let the horses talk and don’t get too cocky. I had a clean break, I let him do what he likes best, and he just enjoyed the running. I asked him to get over on his right lead and he was just gone.” Husbands dedicated the victory to the late Canadian jockey Ricky Griffith, who died of ALS earlier that year.

Confident after the King’s Plate victory, Paramount Prince was set to start for the 2023 Prince of Wales stakes on September 12. The race marked Paramount Prince’s first race on a dirt track, and the horse was favored to win with odds of 2.70-to-1. Though he led for most of the race, he was overtaken by Velocitor at the final sprint. Paramount Prince came second, trailing Velocitor by 1¼ lengths.

Paramount Prince finished his run at the Triple-Crown with an October 1 start for the 2023 Breeders’ Stakes. The race would mark Paramount Prince’s first stakes race on a turf track. Though he made a strong start, he lost steam in the later legs of the race. He came 13th, 24¾  lengths away from first-place Touch’n Ride.

Statistics
Legend:

An asterisk after the odds means Paramount Prince was the post-time favorite.

Pedigree
When considering Platinum Steel's breeding options, Rusnak paid particular attention to the specific bloodlines and pedigrees of the potential stallions. She stated that she was trying to avoid horses with Storm Bird ancestry and was seeking out horses from Northern Dancer bloodlines. She eventually settled with breeding Platinum Steel to Society's Chairman, due to the latter's successful stud career as well as her own particular interest in the stallion. Number indicates the generation. S/D indicates sire/dam respectively.