John Ross watched Aheadbyacentury come close in the first two jewels of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.

With his horse鈥檚 dominant rival skipping the Breeders鈥� Stakes, the veteran trainer is hoping their time as bridesmaids is finally up.

After finishing second to standout filly Wonder Gadot in both the Queen鈥檚 Plate and the Prince of Wales Stakes, Aheadbyacentury is the early 5/2 favourite for Saturday鈥檚 $400,000 gallop over 1 1/2 miles on Woodbine Racetrack鈥檚 turf course.

鈥淗e keeps getting better and better,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚 like the way we鈥檙e going.鈥�

The consistent Aheadbyacentury, with two seconds and two thirds in five starts in 2018, has $513,800 in career earnings, including $311,250 this year thanks in large part to his Triple Crown performances.

A colt named after the Tragically Hip song that closed the iconic Canadian band鈥檚 final concert in 2016, the three-year-old son of Midnight Lute has a pair of wins, two second-place finishes and three third-place showings in nine-career races.

鈥淗e鈥檚 the only horse that鈥檚 been in all three legs of this Triple Crown,鈥� said Ross, who co-owns Aheadbyacentury with Jack of Hearts Racing. 鈥滱 lot of horses don鈥檛 go the whole way like this.鈥�

Instead of trying to secure the Breeders鈥� for the first Canadian Triple Crown since 2003 when Wando accomplished the feat, Wonder Gadot is instead preparing to run in the more lucrative Grade 1 Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 25 against a full field of male horses.

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Aheadbyacentury and jockey Luis Contreras finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Wonder Gadot in the 1 1/4-mile Queen鈥檚 Plate on Woodbine鈥檚 synthetic track on June 30. The pair were then beaten by 5 3/4 lengths in muddy conditions on dirt at the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales in Fort Erie, Ont., on July 24.

Ross said he understands the decision not to race Wonder Gadot in the 128th running of the Breeders鈥� Stakes, but would have welcomed getting another crack at the filly that has five victories in 13 career starts for more than $1.4 million in earnings.

鈥淲e would have accepted the challenge,鈥� he said. 鈥漈he case is she went somewhere else.鈥�

While the distance of the 1 1/2-mile Breeders鈥� Stakes 鈥� the longest of the three Triple Crown races 鈥� isn鈥檛 a concern for Ross, the fact Aheadbyacentury has never run on grass in competition leaves a big unknown heading into Saturday.

鈥淭here鈥檚 just some things in the back of your mind,鈥� the trainer said. 鈥漎ou hope that he likes turf.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always a concern when you鈥檙e switching courses.鈥�

Hot Cash, a filly trained by Michael Doyle, sits as the early second pick for Saturday at 7/2, followed by Graham Motion鈥檚 Say the Word (3/1) and Mark Casse鈥檚 Neepawa (6/1).

A newcomer to the Triple Crown, Hot Cash won the Maiden Special Weight at Woodbine over 1 1/16 miles on July 27, Say the Word was sixth in the Queen鈥檚 Plate, and Neepawa finished third in the 1 1/8-mile Toronto Cup three weeks ago.

Casse, who also trains Wonder Gadot, was bullish on Neepawa heading into the Queen鈥檚 Plate as a 15/1 longshot before having to settle for 10th.

鈥淗e ran off early on,鈥� said Casse, who didn鈥檛 enter the colt in the Prince of Wales. 鈥滺e wasn鈥檛 supposed to be that close to the pace and I think the pace was too hot. It took a toll on him.鈥�

Neepawa has run six times this year, wracking up a win and two third-place finishes for $59,482 in earnings.

The son of Scat Daddy has been in the money in three of his seven starts on turf, including his only career victory back in January. All told, Neepawa has run 10 career races, grabbing that win, a second and three third-place finishes for $117,614 in earnings.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a horse that one of these days we鈥檙e going to get lucky with,鈥� Casse. 鈥淲e鈥檒l need him to relax and if we get him to do that he won鈥檛 have a problem.鈥�

It鈥檚 a feeling Ross shares when it comes to Aheadbyacentury 鈥� a horse that he feels, quite frankly, is due.

鈥淗e has the temperament,鈥� he said. 鈥滺e鈥檚 a cool horse and he鈥檚 a tough horse. He takes everything well.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very fortunate.鈥�

The field, with post, horse, jockey and odds, includes: 1) Ginger Sky (Emma-Jayne Wilson, 12/1); 2) Eskiminzin (Sheena Ryan, 20/1); 3) Absolution (Alan Garcia, 20/1); 4) Real Dude (Gary Boulanger, 8/1); 5) Aheadbyacentury (Luis Contreras, 5/2); 6) Say the Word (Rafael Hernandez, 3/1); 7) Neepawa (Jerome Lermyte, 6/1); 8) Flight Deck (David Moran, 10/1); 9) Hot Cash (Eurico Rosa da Silva, 7/2).

鈥� With files from Canadian Press reporter Dan Ralph

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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