The Coronation Futurity Stakes has long been a proving ground for Canada’s brightest young Thoroughbreds, and this winter it is Fire and Wine who keeps Paul Ryder’s imagination burning. With snow blanketing the barns and training tracks at Woodbine Racetrack, thoughts of the 167th running of the King’s Plate feel distant — yet vividly possible.

You can forgive Ryder for being in a King’s Plate state of mind.

The historic Canadian classic, first run in 1860 and the oldest continually staged stakes race in North America, remains months away. Woodbine’s three racing surfaces — the Tapeta main track, the expansive E.P. Taylor turf and the inner turf — lie frozen beneath a stubborn Greater Toronto winter. But hope, like spring, has a way of arriving early.

“He definitely gives you reason to hope and dream,” Ryder says of Fire and Wine, the colt who has transformed a modest investment into a potential classic contender.

A Coronation Futurity Stakes Breakthrough

Bred in Ontario and purchased for just $5,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February Mixed Sale, Fire and Wine was not meant to be a headline act. A son of Lexitonian out of the The Factor mare Double Latte, he arrived at the barn of veteran conditioner Zeljko Krcmar with more quiet promise than fanfare.

“He had a little swayback,” Ryder recalls. “Zeljko told me not to worry. He said he’d grow into himself. And he was right.”

The colt debuted last June at Woodbine, finishing sixth in a five-furlong sprint. Improvement came steadily. On October 19, in his sixth start, he powered to a 13-length victory over a mile and 70 yards on the main track — a performance that emboldened the stable to try deeper waters.

Those waters proved bracing in the Coronation Futurity Stakes.

Contested over 1 1/8 miles and restricted to Canadian-foaled juveniles, the race serves as a key stepping stone toward the King’s Plate. Sent off at generous odds in a field of nine, Fire and Wine — guided by Slade Jones, Canada’s champion apprentice of 2022 — wasted no time asserting himself.

Breaking from post seven, he crossed over to command the pace through an opening quarter in :24.08. The advantage widened to four lengths at the half in :49.59 and remained comfortable through three-quarters in 1:13.98. Turning for home, he still travelled with purpose.

At the stretch call, the margin was five lengths. At the wire, it was the same — the clock stopping at 1:51.90.

“I get on him all the time,” Jones said afterward. “He’s got that big stride and he just keeps running. Once I felt him underneath me at the half-mile pole, I knew he had plenty left.”

For Ryder, the victory was equal parts disbelief and delight.

“Honestly, I said to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’” he admitted. “Zeljko and Gail believed he could do it. I just couldn’t let myself think that way.”

King’s Plate on the Horizon

History suggests the path from the Coronation Futurity Stakes to the King’s Plate is not an easy one. Norcliffe was the last to complete the double, nearly five decades ago. Yet Fire and Wine’s record — two wins and three placings from seven starts — offers encouragement.

Ryder, an owner since 1999 and a former marathon runner, sees familiar qualities in his colt.

“You have to have miles in the tank,” he says. “And everything has to go perfectly to get to the finish line first.”

The name Fire and Wine, meanwhile, came from quiet evenings at home. “There’s always a fireplace and a glass of wine in the movies we watch,” Ryder explains with a laugh. “I thought it sounded right.”

Since the Coronation Futurity Stakes triumph, he has replayed the race dozens of times — for neighbours, friends and even bank tellers curious about the excitement. The trophy, he admits, is never far from view.

Fire and Wine is currently wintering near Bolton, Ontario, gaining strength for what connections hope will be a meaningful sophomore campaign. Ryder prefers not to visit during the cold months.

“I like to be surprised in the spring,” he says. “To see how big they’ve grown.”

There is, of course, the practical matter of sustaining eligibility for the Plate. Krcmar has already reminded him about the necessary payments.

“I won’t forget,” Ryder says, smiling.

Between now and August lies time — time for maturity, time for preparation, time for fortune to play its hand. But thanks to a stirring Coronation Futurity Stakes performance, Ryder can already picture his colours carried toward the Woodbine starting gate on the biggest afternoon in Canadian racing.

“It’s a great feeling,” he says. “Just thinking about it makes me smile.”

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