One eyed wonder horse steals Puss N Boots Cup in Fort Erie

“He wasn’t supposed to win,” said Gary Chudobiak, in disbelief after his horse, Society Joe, upset a field of nine to win the 2024 Puss N Boots Cup on Labour Day at Fort Erie Race Track. At 40-1 odds, nobody thought Society Joe had a chance at the $30,000 stakes race, least of all, Chudobiak.

“At those odds, it was a real longshot,” said Chudobiak, a longtime owner and trainer at Fort Erie. Prior to its big upset on Monday, the horse had just five wins in 40 starts. But Chudobiak still had a soft spot for the one-eyed horse, so on a whim, he nominated him to the Puss N Boots Cup. 

“Once I looked at the field, I thought, well, we’re not totally out of our class here, but I still knew it was going to be tough, so we made a few tweaks, a couple little changes, and it worked out,” said Chudobiak. “Now everyone is calling him the one-eyed wonder horse.”

For most of the race, Society Joe was running middle of the pack before making a move into third place with about an eighth of a mile left. Then, with only a few yards left before the finish line, a burst of speed at the behest of jockey Amanda Vandermeersch sent Society Joe racing past the two leading horses and across the finish line. 

Winning the Puss N Boots Cup meant Chudobiak took the customary plunge into the infield pond, in honour of the Cup’s namesake. 

Back in 1961, a horse named Puss N Boots was leading a race at the top of the stretch, when he decided to veer inward and take a refreshing dip in the infield pond. Years later, owner Robert Elkins boasted that he’d jump into the infield lake if his horse Dancing for Beans won the race. Rider Francine Villeneuve brought her horse from last to first, sending Elkins for a swim. Each year since, the winning connections take the traditional jump into the infield pond.

At the time, Puss N Boots’ trainer, Frank Merrill, often said the horse loved the attention and got into trouble on purpose. This year, Frank’s daughter, Kim, was on hand to watch the race and present the trophy to the winning connections.

“My dad would be so proud to know that Fort Erie is still doing this, all these years later,” said Kim before presenting the hardware to Chudobiak. “This is such a lovely tradition.”

Next up at Fort Erie Race Track is the Prince of Wales Stakes, which hits the track on Sept. 10 with a first post time of 1 p.m.