for the early lead, then started to draw away in the stretch to win by six lengths. Awesome Again was then shipped north to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario for Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate. Despite only having one win, he was still highly regarded by the bettors, going off at odds of 3–1. The favorite was Cryptocloser, who had won the Plate Trial. Ridden for the first time by Mike Smith, he broke slowly but made a strong wide move on the final turn. He took the lead entering the stretch but ducked inside, apparently distracted by the crowd noise. He regained his stride and held off a late drive by Cryptocloser to win by lengths. Smith noted that the colt won easily despite racing greenly. "About every 10 times he hit the ground, I had to remind him to stay back on the bridle because he was kind of watching everything. I was kinda all tuckered out. But he wasn't," he said. Awesome Again returned on August 3 in the Jim Dandy Stakes over a sloppy track at Saratoga Race Course. He went off as the second choice to Behrens, who was undefeated in three starts. Awesome Again settled near the back of the field and was still in seventh after three-quarters of a mile. Swinging wide into the stretch, he started to close strongly and drew off to win by three lengths. "I'm a little surprised with his effort because he ran against some really good horses," said Michelle Jensen, Hofmans' assistant trainer. "On the backside, he was laying a little out of it, so I didn't know what to expect from there. But down the stretch, he kicked in and he got it done." On August 23, Awesome Again went off as the favorite in the Travers Stakes. He rated behind the early leaders and made his move with Deputy Commander on the final turn. But he tired in the final furlong to finish third, beaten by seven lengths behind Deputy Commander, who was a nose ahead of Behrens. "I really didn't have a good trip," said Smith. "We were stuck the whole way around, and it was too much to overcome. The winner forced us out, and we got caught wide." Awesome Again finished fifth in his final start of the year, the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs. It was the only time