FORT ERIE, Ont. — Amis Gizmo eased jockey Luis Contreras' pain Tuesday night.

The Queen's Plate runner-up took a huge lead at the top of the stretch, then cruised to a convincing victory in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie Racetrack. Contreras guided the 6/5 favourite to the impressive 5 1/2-length win just two days after suffering head and back injuries when thrown from his mount at Woodbine Racetrack.

"I was very worried in the hospital waiting for the results," said Contreras after his second Prince of Wales win. "I was happy when they told me everything was OK but when they tried to give me two days off I told them I had to ride Tuesday.

"I'm a little bruised but it doesn't bother me when I ride. I love to be on a horse and once I jump on the horse everything feels better."

Amis Gizmo finished the 1 3/16-mile dirt race in 1:56.76 on a fast track. Leavem in Malibu was second ahead of Niigon's Edge.

"Early in the race, I had the opportunity to sit behind horses," Contreras said. "My horse was so nice and relaxed.

"At the turn, I opened up a little to start to run and I had so much horse. I was handy the whole way. I was looking back to see where everybody was and they were a long way back. I wasn't worried at all because I knew I had a lot of horse to finish."

Queen's Plate champion Sir Dudley Digges was sixth in the eight-horse field, 20 1/4 lengths behind. Wando remains the last Triple Crown winner, accomplishing the feat in 2003.

"I dropped in on the first turn and saved ground and was right behind the winner on the backside," said Julien Leparoux, Sir Dudley Digges' jockey. "But I was kind of empty by the second turn.

"He didn't take me anywhere today."

Amis Gizmo paid $4.70, $3.10 and $2.70 while Leavem in Malibu returned $4.90 and $4.50. Niigon's Edge paid $8.70.

The third and final Triple Crown event is the $500,000 Breeders' Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile turf event slated for Aug. 21 at Woodbine.

Ironically, two years ago owner Ivan Dalos made Amis Gizmo available for purchase at a local yearling sale. Fortunately he was able to buy back the '16 Plate Trial champion when Amis Gizmo didn't secure the $150,000 reserve fee.

"Thank you," Dalos said with a smile. "(At the time) I could've used the money, you can always use the money . . . . but I'm glad we didn't sell him."

The win was the sixth in eight career starts for Amis Gizmo with the $300,000 winner's share boosting his all-time earnings past $787,000. Trainer Josie Carroll, the only female conditioner to win the Plate, also earned her first Prince of Wales victory.

"Just a great day, a great race and a great horse," she said. "He really bounced out of (Queen's Plate) very very well.

"When we brought him down here last week, he just skipped over this surface. This racetrack is in really good shape . . . and my horse just loved it when he worked over it."

Gary Boulanger, the jockey aboard Leavem in Malibu, said his mount simply finished behind a better horse.

"The dirt coming back at him got him a little further back, he jumped up and down quite a bit but didn't give up," Boulanger said. "He didn't run second to a bad horse and he's probably got a lot more education than our horse does.

"He's a nice colt."

Alan Garcia, who rode third-place finisher Niigon's Edge, echoed those sentiments.

"He finished well but 'Gizmo' was the best horse today," he said.

Carroll said the presence of speed in Tuesday's race helped Amis Gizmo immensely.

"I think he likes to be in the mix," she said. "There was some speed he was sitting behind, he had something to carry him along.

"When he gets up there and gets in the midst of horses he gets game."

Carroll is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding whether Amis Gizmo will make his grass debut in next month's Breeders' Stakes.

"Fingers crossed," she said. "Let's see how he comes out of this, let's make sure he likes the grass.

"He's never stepped on the grass. There's a lot of factors involved in going forward."