said. "It is good to have him back in the lineup. Boston

TORONTO -- Mark Casse finally has his first Queens Plate victory. Luis Polonia Jersey Braves . Filly Lexie Lou captured the $1-million race Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack, giving the six-time Sovereign Award winner as Canadas top trainer his first Plate win. The 53-year-old American came close in 2011, finishing second to Inglorious with Hippolytus, but admitted becoming emotional after Lexie Lou crossed the finish line 1 1/2-lengths ahead of runner-up Amis Holiday, a 9-1 longshot. "My son, Colby, just started crying afterwards and to see it mean that much to him got me crying," said Casse, a 34-year racing veteran. "There was a lot of crying . . . I think I wouldve been OK had Colby not started crying. "When all youve done your entire life is been around race horses . . . I really dont know anything else. Ive been following the Queens Plate since I was a little boy and so to finally win it, I just pinch myself. I thought wed win it sooner or later. I knew I wasnt going to give up." The daughter of Sligo Bay-Oneexcessivenite served notice in the Woodbine Oaks on June 15 that she was indeed a Plate contender. Lexie Lou earned a comfortable 4 1/2-length win and covered the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:49.77, a full second faster than We Miss Arties winning time in the Plate Trial a race earlier. Breaking from the No. 14 post in the 15-horse field, Lexie Lou sat comfortably in ninth at the halfway point before steadily working up the field. She sat second behind Asserting Bear after a mile before surging into the lead, then holding off Amis Holiday to finish the 1 1/4-mile race on Woodbines polytrack in 2:03.94. "I think a lot of times theres too much preparation, too much training and we did very little with her," Casse said. "After the Oaks we sent her out to our farm, which is about an hour north of here, and let her eat grass. "When I saw her in the paddock today walking around with not a care in the world, I said to my wife, Shes going to be really really tough, because the first time we ran her she was kind of nervous. But not today." Asserting Bear finished third ahead of We Miss Artie, the 9/5 favourite who rallied to take fourth after a terrible start. The remainder of the field included: Niigon Express; Lions Bay; Matador; Heart to Heart; Coltimus Prime; Athenian Guard; Cap in Hand; One Destiny; Man o Bear; Tower of Texas; and Majestic Sunset. Lexie Lou paid $8.20, $4.50 and $3.30 while Amis Holiday returned $9.70 and $5.80. Asserting Bear paid $6. Jockey Patrick Husbands earned his second career Plate win but first since 03 when he guided Wando to a Triple Crown, the last horse to register that achievement. But the victory was almost anti-climatic for the veteran rider. "I breezed this filly Saturday and when I pulled her up I started crying because I couldnt believe I had another Queens Plate winner," Husbands said. "On the way back to the barn I told the assistant, Could you tell Mark I dont think they will beat this filly. "I went back to my car, I called Barbados and told everybody Im coming home to celebrate. Im on the flight (Sunday night) to Barbados to celebrate (Monday)." Javier Castellano, We Miss Arties jockey, said the poor start cost his horse the race. "I think with the big field my horse got a little nervous in the gate, he completely sat down behind the gate," Castellano said. "Thats why he broke straight in the air . . . it took a lot out of him. "He was too far behind. I lost a lot of ground going around horses." Jockey Luis Contreras had no such complaints about his trip or Amis Holiday starting from the No. 15 post. "We didnt need to be on the lead and I could see all the horses from the outside position," he said. "My horse gave a tremendous kick and we almost got there." Chantal Sutherland-Kruse, the jockey aboard Asserting Bear, said Lexie Lou was a deserving winner. "We did our best but Lexie Lou was just powerful," she said. The victory was the fifth in 12 career starts for Lexie Lou, with the $600,000 winners share boosting her all-time earnings past $1.2 million. Last year, Lexie Lou ran for owner-trainer John Ross, earning more than $300,000. But after her first start this year, Ross sold the filly to Gary Barber, the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). "I dont buy horses thinking Im going to win the Oaks," Casse said. "I buy them just thinking and hoping Im making a good buy and can make it work and sometimes funny things happen. "John Ross did a wonderful job with her, she came to us in great shape and we couldnt have done it without him. We were just in the right place at the right time and got lucky." Casse was non-commital about Lexie Lou running July 29 in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie Racetrack. "A third race in a short time and, of course, a surface shes never been over," Casse said. "Well see, we could go there. "Gary is from California and they have synthetic there and it wouldnt shock me if she ends up in California." Brian McCann Jersey Braves . Notes on P.K. Subban, Dale Weise, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Ilya Bryzgalov and more. David Justice Jersey Braves .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/javy-lopez-jersey-braves-20 . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class.TORONTO - Mark Buehrle eyes up a historic win Friday night when the Toronto Blue Jays welcome the Boston Red Sox to town for the opener of a three-game set between American League East rivals. Buehrle enters with a major league-best 0.64 ERA through four starts. He looks to become the first pitcher in the majors to reach five wins as well as the first Blue Jays pitcher ever to begin a season with five straight victories. "Hes just locked in right now," manager Jay Gibbons said. "He even admitted in spring training he hadnt felt this good in a long time. But he competes, hes a great competitor. "One thing about Buehrle is he pitches to win, he doesnt pitch for stats. You get guys in this game who pitch for stats. He pitches to win, and you need more guys like that." In his last start, Buehrle gave up just four hits in seven-plus shutout innings of a 5-0 win at Cleveland. Toronto will try to avoid its first three-game slide of the season after falling at home to Baltimore on Thursday, 11-4. While things have gone well so far this season for Buehrle, Bostons Jake Peavy is still in search of his first win. This marks the fifth time tthrough the rotation for the right-hander. Dusty Baker Jersey Braves. He had given up a total of just four earned runs over his first three starts before getting tagged for five runs on a season-high 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore his last time out. However, Peavy has a 2.29 ERA over his last five starts against Toronto. Boston has lost three of its last four after Thursdays lopsided 14-5 setback to the division-leading Yankees. "Every team goes through slumps hitting, goes through slumps defensively," shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "Its part of the game. Were definitely going to get better." On the injury front, outfielder Shane Victorino was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday after missing the first 22 games of the season with a strained right hamstring. He played right field and batted second in Thursdays game and went 1-for-5 with a double. "This is something we have been waiting for. Shanes return will help solidify our outfield defense and also the top of the order," manager John Farrell said. "It is good to have him back in the lineup. Boston went 11-8 against the Blue Jays last season. ' ' '