Thoroughbreds

Steve Attard believes Saskawea could give him first win in major race, Kevin McGran writes in The Toronto Star:

Steve Attard would never let his kids do what he did: quit school at 14 to work full-time at the racetrack. "I'm not happy about it now; I would rather have an education, too," the trainer said. "That's why my two daughters (Leta and Sarah), they're both at Queen's University in Kingston and make sure they stay away from the racetrack." It's a different story for Attard and his wife Sharon, who doubles as assistant trainer. Neither could stay away from the racetrack. They come from a different era and Steve, in particular, from a family nuts about horse

One uncle is hall of fame jockey Larry Attard. His two uncles, Sid and Tino, both trainers, will have horses in the Queen's Plate at the end of the month. Cousins Paul and Kevin are also trainers. Both Sid and Tino Attard have won the Oaks, Canada's premier race for 3-year-old fillies. Now Steve figures it's time to make his mark with Saskawea today in the $500,000 race at Woodbine. A victory would be the biggest in 20 years on his own as a trainer.

Attard remembers the day he confronted his parents and told them to sign off with the principal to let him out of school or he'd skip off and do it himself. His parents, immigrants from Malta, weren't happy. But they came from a horse background. His father, Joe, was a steelworker who helped build the Gardiner Expressway. He bought a quarter horse and eventually would have some success racing thoroughbreds at Woodbine, saddling speedster Parisianprospector, a stakes winner of $559,000 and My Imperial. "He brought everybody from Malta over," Steve Attard said. "They lived with us, worked with us. We all worked together and everybody became a trainer. "It was all in the family."...