Bashford Manor Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Norm Casse Has Pair Of Promising Juveniles For Tepin Connections

Trainer Norm Casse's promising 2-year-old maiden winners Glacial and Ontheonesandtwos are both targeting the Grade 3, $150,000 Bashford Manor and $150,000 Debutante, respectively, following their impressive debut victories at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

“Both horses have really touted themselves in the morning so we were expecting them to run well in their debuts,” Casse said. “After winning the way they did, I think it's reasonable to point them to the stakes races at the end of the meet.”

Glacial, a 2-year-old colt by Frosted who is owned by Robert Masterson, cruised to a rail-skimming 2 ½-length win Saturday in a $100,000 maiden special weight contest. Casse and Masterson have a long relationship outside of Glacial. Masterson campaigned two-time champion grass mare Tepin while Casse was the assistant to his father, Mark.

Tepin was purchased as a yearling by Masterson for $140,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton August Sale with the help of bloodstock agent Deuce Greathouse.

Fast forward nine years, Greathouse was the agent who purchased Masterson's colt Glacial for $140,000 at the 2021 OBS March Sale and is the co-owner, along with Cindy Hutson, of 1 ¾-length debut winner Ontheonesandtwos.

Ontheonesandtwos, a chestnut filly by Jimmy Creed, bested five rivals in a $100,000 maiden special weight event on May 13.

“(Masterson and Greathouse) have supported me from the beginning,” Casse said. “We had a great relationship when I was the assistant to my dad. It's very special to now have two very quality 2-year-olds for them.”

The Bashford Manor and Debutante are two of seven stakes events on the undercard of the $600,000 Stephen Foster (GII). Nominations for all seven races close Saturday, June 12.

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Promising Sophomore Cazadero Headlines Saturday’s Gazebo Stakes At Oaklawn

Grade 3 winner Cazadero is the 9-5 program favorite for the $150,000 Gazebo Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters Saturday at Oaklawn.

The Gazebo headlines an 11-race card, with probable post time 5:52 p.m. (Central). The 6-furlong Gazebo is the 10th race. Racing begins Saturday at 1 p.m., and the infield will be open, weather permitting.

Cazadero, who races for his breeder, Stonestreet Farm, and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, will be making his first start since finishing fifth as the favorite in the $150,000 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) Aug. 7 at Saratoga. Stablemate Jackie's Warrior won the Saratoga Special and was runner-up in voting for an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male.

In his first two starts, Cazadero was a front-running 8 ¾-length winner of his May 29 debut at Churchill Downs, then captured the $100,000 Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) by 4 ¾ lengths June 27 at Churchill Downs.

A son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, Cazadero has been ridden in his three races by seven-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr.

“Cazadero showed a lot of promise,” Santana said. “So glad to be back on him.”

Cazadero has been based this winter at Fair Grounds. Asmussen will also send out unbeaten Jaxon Traveler (3 for 3), who hasn't started since winning the restricted $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity Dec. 5 at Laurel.

Both Cazadero and Jaxon Traveler will be racing on Lasix for the first time Saturday.

The projected six-horse Gazebo field from the rail out: Sir Wellington, Alex Canchari to ride, 119 pounds, 7-2 on the morning line; Dusty Hill, Terry Thompson, 117, 8-1; Lock Up, David Cabrera, 117, 10-1; Jaxon Traveler, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 5-2; Game Day Play, Ramon Vazquez, 119, 3-1; and Cazadero, Ricardo Santana Jr., 119, 9-5.

Sir Wellington won the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes Dec. 12 at Fair Grounds and exits a runner-up finish behind unbeaten Swiftsure – another Asmussen trainee – in a Jan. 23 allowance race at Oaklawn. Sir Wellington finished second to Jaxon Traveler, beaten four lengths, in a first-level allowance race Oct. 23 at Laurel.

“He runs good all the time,” said Mac Robertson, who trains Sir Wellington for Extreme Racing Stables LLC (Vickie McGowan). “I thought he ran a good race last time. A couple of Asmussen's look a little better on paper, but we'll see how we do.”

Asmussen is seeking his second Gazebo victory and 93rd career Oaklawn stakes triumph.

Game Day Play, who is trained by Bret Calhoun, won the $60,000 Clever Trevor Stakes Oct. 30 at Remington Park.

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Street Sense Colt Cazadero Punctual Favorite In Bashford Manor

Odds-on favorite Cazadero reaffirmed his dazzling 8 3/4-length debut win with another impressive performance at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in Saturday's 119th running of the $100,000 Bashford Manor (Grade III), beating County Final by 4 3/4 lengths while running six furlongs in 1:09.73.

Sent to post as the 2-5 favorite in a field of seven 2-year-olds, Stonestreet Stables' homebred Cazadero tracked pacesetter County Final, who blitzed his way to the front through swift fractions of a :21.24 and :45.12. Off the turn, jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. shook the reins on Cazadero, who quickly drew even with the leader at the three-sixteenths pole and asserted himself in deep stretch for the comfortable victory.

“He is an incredibly nice horse,” Santana said. “We sat in a really good spot today and was very comfortable. He kept finding his stride throughout the stretch.”

It was the record sixth Bashord Manor win for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who previously won the juvenile event with Lunarpal (2004), Kodiak Kowboy (2007), Kantharos (2010), Cinco Charlie (2014) and Sir Truebadour (2018).

“He's been a very fast horse in his training and handled everything very well today,” Asmussen said.

Cazadero's triumph was worth $60,760 and increased his bankroll to $106,160 with a perfect record in two starts. His debut win came May 29 at Churchill Downs in a five-furlong maiden special weight.

Cazadero is a 2-year-old son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense out of the Forest Wildcat mare Wild Gams. He was bred in Kentucky by his owner Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC.

“He was a later foal (born May 8, 2018) but we knew he was wickedly fast,” Banke said. “He grew up on our farm and has showed that speed in his two starts.”

Cazadero returned $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10. County Final, under James Graham at 16-1, paid $6.80 and $4.80 and finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Herd Immunity who paid $4.60 to show under Brian Hernandez Jr. at 12-1.

Hulen, Hyperfocus, Gatsby and Crown and Coke completed the order of finish.

First run in 1902, the Bashford Manor is named for the former Louisville Thoroughbred breeding and racing farm that dominated the American racing scene in the early 1900s. George J. Long, a wealthy foundry owner, purchased Bashford Manor Farm in 1887 and developed his Thoroughbred operation that provided him two Derby wins as an owner, 1892 (Azra) and 1906 (Sir Huon), and three as a breeder, 1892 (Azra), 1899 (Manuel) and 1906 (Sir Huon). In addition, Bashford Manor also won the Kentucky Oaks in 1894 (Selika) and 1915 (Kathleen). The original Wilder family owned Bashford Manor. The Wilders were direct descendants of Lord Baltimore, whose English home was also called Bashford Manor. Long died in 1930 and the farm was eventually sold in 1973 to make way for the development of a mall complex, fittingly named Bashford Manor, that formally closed in 2003.

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Midnight Bisou Leading Charge Of The Asmussen Brigade On Churchill’s Closing Weekend

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is poised to close the 2020 Churchill Downs Spring Meet on a charge with 15 horses entered in the final three days of racing including 2019 Champion Older Dirt Female Midnight Bisou (3-5 on the morning line) in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis (GII) and promising juvenile Cazadero (8-5) in the $100,000 Bashford Manor (GIII).

“We're very grateful to be able to run horses of this quality during this 'new normal,'” Asmussen said. “Even though the schedule of racing has been altered, we remain grateful to have horses like (Midnight Bisou) to be able to run in stakes races such as the Fleur de Lis.”

Saturday's 11-race program is highlighted by the $500,000 Stephen Foster (GII) but many racing fans will be focused on the Fleur de Lis with a star-studded matchup between Midnight Bisou and last year's Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Serengeti Empress.

“This has been an unprecedented year in more ways than one,” Asmussen said. “The (national) stakes schedule has not been as traditional as it used to be. We gave (Midnight Bisou) ample time to get over the trip and effort she put in at the world's richest horse race (the $20 million Saudi Cup) in February. She was quarantined in Chicago and eventually moved to Keeneland thereafter. Her time off lasted longer than expected, which wasn't ideal at the time but is now.”

Midnight Bisou (20-12-5-3—$7,250,000) has been nothing short of spectacular throughout her 20-race career. The now 5-year-old mare began her career on the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Oaks with victories in the $200,000 Santa Ynez (GII), $100,000 Santa Ysabel (GIII) and $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks (GI) with previous trainer Bill Spawr. Midnight Bisou finished third behind Monomoy Girl in the 2018 Kentucky Oaks (GI).

“She's always been a beautifully kind filly to train,” Asmussen said. “She's become more confident in her training over the last two years.”

Saturday's Fleur de Lis is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Distaff Division” series race. The winner will get an automatic berth to the season-ending championship race on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

“Her next two races will likely determine which (Breeders' Cup) race we could point toward,” Asmussen said. “We have constantly discussed where we are at with her training and progression but we know how well she performed against some of the world's best racehorses in Saudi.”

The Fleur de Lis field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Go Google Yourself (Brian Hernandez Jr., Paul McGee, 8-1); Another Broad (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 12-1); Chocolate Kisses (Declan Carroll, Mark Casse, 12-1); Serengeti Empress (Joe Talamo, Tom Amoss, 2-1); Midnight Bisou (Mike Smith, Asmussen, 3-5); Red Dane (Corey Lanerie, Charlie LoPresti, 50-1); and Motion Emotion (Julien Leparoux, Richard Baltas, 15-1).

Another top contender for the Asmussen barn entered Saturday is Stonestreet Stables' debut winner Cazadero in the Bashford Manor. The precocious 2-year-old son of Street Sense won his debut by 8 ¾ lengths at odds of 5-1. Asmussen's go-to rider Ricardo Santana Jr. will be in the irons for the six-furlong Bashford Manor, which will go as Race 8 on Saturday.

The Bashford Manor field, which features all first-out maiden winners, from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Crown and Coke (Miguel Mena, James Lawrence II, 30-1); Hulen (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 5-1); Gatsby(Tyler Gaffalione, Juan Alvarado, 4-1); Hyperfocus (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Herd Immunity (Brian Hernandez Jr., Peter Miller, 9-2); Cazadero (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 8-5); and County Final (James Graham, John Ennis, 6-1).

Entering the final three days of the meet, Asmussen remained one win behind Dale Romans, 742-to-741, for the all-time leading trainer mark at Churchill Downs. Asmussen surpassed Romans' mark earlier in the meet but, in turn, Romans won five races in less than two weeks to retake his spot on top.

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