Ravi Sugrim, the man that bred Plate-winner Luster, proved intense pedigree study can be a great equalizer for smaller breeders trying to compete with big-money stables. Sugrim has already earned over $95,000 in Ontario Breeders Awards.

story by Dave Briggs

photos by Michael Burns

As the field began to disappear in Luster’s rearview mirror en route to the grey filly’s dominant victory over the boys in Saturday’s (Aug. 15) $1 million King’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack, her breeder, Ravi Sugrim, hugged his wife, and then the tears began to flow.

“The first thing that came through my head was my dream came true,” said Sugrim, who attended the Plate with 18 family members and friends. “When I got into the breeding aspect of [horse racing], I said, ‘I’m going to breed the King’s Plate winner.’”

Beyond one of his dreams coming true – because with Sugrim, there are always multiple ones in the works – the Ottawa resident also earned an Ontario Breeders Awards bonus of $50,000 for the Plate victory, pushing the money he’s collected as the breeder of the Ontario Bred filly to over $95,000, so far.

Ravi Sugrim (centre) with his siblings at Saturday’s King’s Plate (courtesy Ravi Sugrim)

All this may seem improbable. Sugrim is a man who owns just one horse – Luster’s 2-year-old half-brother Whatsyoursismine. Sugrim doesn’t even own Luster’s dam anymore.

But then, we’ve already documented that Sugrim, a man that exudes positive energy, already has significant karma on his side.

“The stars are lined up for me, honestly, and my dreams are coming true,” Sugrim said three days after Luster’s dominant Plate triumph.

The quick version of the story is this: Sugrim purchased Luster and Whatsyoursismine’s dam, Ruby Frost, for about $3,500 from Kent Hersman of Flying H Stable and then bred her to Knicks Go on something of a hunch. The result was Luster, the overwhelming 1-5 Plate favourite who won the race by 7 ¼ lengths with John Velazquez in the irons for four-time Plate-winning trainer Josie Carroll and owners Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen.

 

Beyond the serious kismet, Sugrim said what most people don’t know is Luster – originally named Sweet Selena after Sugrim’s daughter – was the result of more than 20 years of studying pedigrees.

“It was endless nights of nicking,” said Sugrim, who works in construction. “The nicking plays a big part. I told Josie [Carroll], don’t worry about two turns… I put the numbers together, and this is what they are showing me. [Luster] could run around four times…’ She said, ‘Wow, you’re confident.’ I said, ‘When you’re a breeder and you put the nickings together, you know what they will give you in return.’”

For Sugrim, the biggest lesson for others in all of this is that hard work and studying can be an equalizer for those that don’t have much money to spend on breeding stock.

“That’s why there are people who are rooting for me,” Sugrim said. “They say, ‘Look at this guy with one broodmare and he’s putting the numbers together by himself,’ But I have to feel it. It’s like you’re playing chess. You have to make moves, but you have to feel, ‘Is this the right move I’m making?’ And if you don’t feel it, you would not make it.

“I went through hundreds of stallions, but I knew my mind was on Knicks Go. There was stallions that I thought might be better, but I came back to Knicks Go. I said, ‘I’m going to go with my first choice.’ The breeders, a lot of people don’t really acknowledge them, but they do play a big part of it.”

Luster and jockey John Velazquez winning the 167th King’s Plate on August 15, 2026 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Sugrim said smaller breeders have reached out to him since the Plate victory to thank him for the inspiration to keep trying to breed great horses, despite the odds being against them.

“A lot of small breeders have contacted me in the last 48 hours, and they’ve said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I want to do it like you. I want to keep going,’” Sugrim said. “They said they wanted to give up so many times… now they are saying, ‘I want to continue.’”

Hersman, who plucked Ruby Frost from the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale for $5,000, is among them. He said he would rather try to find a diamond in the rough than pay huge dollars for swankier stock.

“That is,” Hersman said, “going and finding a good, high-quality mare with a discount on her for some reason or another, and breed her to a really nice stallion like they did with Knicks Go, rather than to go and spend $250,000 on a mare and then breed her to a $50,000 stallion and be hoping all along that it will even be a baby worth racing.

“I am definitely proud of [Luster], and definitely glad to say we had a part of snatching [Ruby Frost] from the bottom of the barrel at Keeneland, But at the same time, I’m just happy for Ravi.”

Even Sugrim said Luster’s story has given him the inspiration to continue on in the horse business.

Down to just Whatsyourismine and about to take a hiatus from owning horses, Sugrim said he now may buy another horse or two, once he pays off some of his bills with the Ontario Breeders Awards money.

In the short term, Sugrim plans to attend the CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling Sale on Sept. 2 at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion. Ontario’s Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP), which recently received $5 million in additional funding annually, is a big part of what is keeping Sugrim in the game.

“I will be attending the sale,” Sugrim said. “I’m looking at the book presently… but this wasn’t about the money. But, I know the [Ontario] program is great, it’s one of the best, and that’s one of the reasons why I [brought Ruby Frost to Ontario to foal Luster]. And, within the last month, [the Ontario program] got even better [thanks to additional funding].”

As for Whatsyoursismine, who is by Ontario sire Frac Daddy, Sugrim is still dreaming of winning next year’s King’s Plate – this time as the owner and breeder.

Despite showing talent in workouts, Sugrim and the colt’s trainer, Nico Lafond, decided to shut Whatsyoursismine down until next year to improve their odds of winning the 168th running the King’s Plate.

Sugrim said Lafond will be taking the colt to Florida.

“He will be going to Oak Ridge Farm Training Center – swimming pool, beautiful facility,” Sugrim said. “He’s going to be training there for the winter, and Nico Lafond will be with him 24/7. Nico said, ‘I’m not leaving him. I’m going to be by his side.’

“One hundred per cent you will be seeing [Whatsyoursismine] next year.”

As for his wife, Joannie Dass, Luster’s co-breeder, Sugrim said she’s also invigorated by the filly’s success.

“Obviously she’s a huge fan, but she’s in it now,” Sugrim said of Dass. “She’s looking at the sales book. She’s looking at the pedigrees and all that. [When Luster won] she hugged me, and I shed tears, and she told me, ‘You did it. You called it. I’m so proud of you.’ I said to her, ‘It’s only one of my dreams, though.’ She said, ‘That’s awesome… You keep dreaming.’”

Sugrim’s wife, Joannie Dass – Luster’s co-breeder – and daughter, Selena, at the King’s Plate. Selena was the inspiration for Luster’s original name, Sweet Selena. (courtesy Ravi Sugrim)