Article content It has been just over a week since trainer Kevin Attard scored the biggest win of his career. And he’s still getting congratulations from everyone at Woodbine he crosses paths with. And because that win came in North American horse racing’s championship showcase, you can appreciate he is still on cloud nine.
“It’s hard to explain, but definitely walking with more pep in my step,” he said. Attard has won more than 800 races in his training career, but when Moira crossed the finish line a half-length ahead of her closest pursuers in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar, he broke into an unbridled jubilation seen by millions of fans worldwide.
“I’m obviously very proud of her, of the journey she has taken me on,” he said. “And to win a Breeders’ Cup race, being Canadian, it’s really special, the highlight of my career.” Moira broke a couple of long droughts for Canadian racing at the Breeders’ Cup.
She became the first Canadian-bred since 2015 and the first Woodbine-based horse since 2011 to win a Cup race. For his part, Attard joined a very small list of Canadians to train a Breeders’ Cup winner. In 2022, after Moira gave Attard his first Queen’s Plate win, her team decided to forego a shot at the Canadian triple crown and instead try to make her a Grade 1 stakes winner on the turf.
But going into her start in San Diego, she managed only two Grade 2 wins, including one in the race that qualified her for the C.
