Unbeaten Helium Lifts Casse’s Kentucky Derby Hopes With Sparkling Return At Tampa Bay

Almost half a century before he saddled Helium to win the 41st running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday, Mark Casse fell in love with the picturesque, rustic charm of Tampa Bay Downs.

The track set an all-sources handle record of $15,229,267 on the 12-race Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card, bettering the previous track mark of $14,859,633 on Tampa Bay Derby Day three years ago. Saturday's total was also 15.77 percent above the 2010 Festival Day figure of $13,155,350.

With all those greenbacks circulating, both in purse money and wagering dollars, it might be hard for fans under 40 to understand Casse's emotions watching Helium race to victory. But racing's lure extends far beyond the possibility of big paydays.

“Tampa Bay Downs has been part of my life since I was a boy,” said Casse, who was elected last year to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. “My dad (late horseman Norman E. Casse, the long-time chairman of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company) took me there when I was about 12 and kids weren't allowed into the racetrack, back in the early 1970s.

“He would park outside of the 3/16-pole and I'd put a chair in the back of his truck and watch the races. He'd buy me hot dogs and a program, and I'd tell him my selections so he could make a few bets for me.”

Saturday marked five years to the day since the elder Casse died at 79.

Thoroughbred racing, it seems, has always transcended the generation gap. There was jockey Jose Ferrer, 56, summoning all his experience and guile to outduel Hidden Stash and Rafael Bejarano in a thrilling stretch duel as his wife Steffi and their sons, 6-year-old Derek and 5-year-old Joseph, shouted their encouragement.

“I heard their voices. I always hear them screaming for me when I'm coming down the lane,” Ferrer said. “I was up all night Saturday thinking about it, just enjoying it and embracing it and thanking God for the opportunity, especially with my wife and children there.

“I think it was the best win I ever had. It was a winning combination all the way around.”

All thanks to a 3-year-old colt who hadn't raced in four-and-a-half months, had never competed on dirt and had never raced around two turns.

Now, Helium is 3-for-3 and virtually assured of qualifying for the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve with the 50 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points he picked up Saturday. Hidden Stash earned 20 points to move into eighth place with 22 points, and the third-place finisher, Moonlite Strike, earned 10 points to settle in 16th place with 11 points.

Helium's standing will become official when owner D. J. Stable pays a supplemental Triple Crown nomination fee of $6,000, which Casse believed Leonard Green and his family will take care of soon. They had missed the deadline of Jan. 23 for early nominations.

Helium earned $210,000 for Saturday's victory, which wasn't foreseen by most of the experts and bettors who sent him off at 15-1 odds. Casse said Helium may go straight to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve off his Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby victory, although a final decision will be made later.

Casse and the Greens probably need a little longer to digest what transpired.

“I'm not easily worried, but I was kind of worried because he had so much adversity to overcome,” Casse said. After winning the seven-furlong Display Stakes on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta surface on Oct. 18, “we planned to run him in the (Grade 3) Grey Stakes (on Nov. 22), but it snowed and they cancelled the race.”

That happened after Woodbine officials had announced the last three weeks of the meeting would be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, meaning the Grey would not be rescheduled.

“We took him to New Orleans next and were going to run him in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds (on Jan. 16), but he wrenched an ankle one morning. Nothing serious, but we brought him home to Ocala and gave him about 10 days off before we put him back in training,” Casse said.

After working out twice at the Casse Training Center in Ocala, the conditioner sent Helium to his Palm Meadows Training Center base in Boynton Beach to continue preparations under assistant Nick Tomlinson. “When we get horses ready to run on a deeper surface (such as Tampa Bay Downs), that's where we take them,” Casse said. “I have to give so much credit to Nick.”

Casse didn't say much before the race, except to state his belief the son of Ironicus–Thundering Emilia, by Thunder Gulch, belonged against other relatively untested 3-year-olds.

For his part, Ferrer had never been aboard Helium before getting on in the paddock, and it had been so long since he rode in the Tampa Bay Derby (1993) that he didn't recall that race.

Not that he hadn't won a whole bunch of races in a lot of different places. Ferrer entered Saturday with more than 4,500 victories and 26 graded-stakes triumphs.

“He tried to buck twice when we went to the track and the pony went to grab him,” Ferrer said. “I don't know if he was trying to make a statement to me, but I petted him and talked to him and he settled down. Sometimes they want to act like little kids, and you just have to let them know you're on the same team. After that, he was perfect.”

Helium broke slowly and was wide going into the first turn, but Ferrer knew it was too early to despair. “I just told myself to keep going, and he did fine,” the jockey said. Meanwhile, Florida-bred Boca Boy was leading Moonlite Strike and King of Dreams, but a 6-furlong split of 1:11.38 didn't do them any favors.

Ferrer was forced to come wide on the far turn, but this was the moment Helium had been anticipating since the fall. He had won those two seven-furlong races at Woodbine by open daylight, and muscle memory kicked in, with encouragement from his rider.

Anxiety kicked in when Hidden Stash came to Helium in mid-stretch. Bejarano had a lot of horse, too, but like a modern-day Felix the Cat, Ferrer's bag of tricks wasn't exhausted.

“I threw the reins in the air to let him know we weren't done yet, and he picked up the bit again and took off,” Ferrer said, describing a technique he honed years ago under the tutelage of Angel Cordero, Jr., and Jorge Velasquez. Helium surged in front to win by three-quarters of a length.

It was an amazing scene for Ferrer, who didn't know a little more than three years ago when he might return to action after incurring a collapsed lung, eight broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae in a multi-horse spill at Delaware in September of 2017. He was ready to return at the start of the 2017-'18 Tampa Bay Downs season and finished in sixth place that meeting with 37 victories.

“If you have faith and don't give up, anything is possible, no matter how old you are,” Ferrer said. “Experience and fitness are what let me keep riding against these 25 and 30-year-old jockeys.”

Casse has two other 3-year-olds who might be Kentucky Derby candidates in Soup and Sandwich, who is being pointed to the March 27 Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa off an impressive allowance/optional claiming score here on Feb. 24, and Grade 1 Summer Stakes winner Gretzky the Great, who may run next in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on March 27.

But on a day that started off cloudy and ended with a sunburst of joyfulness for all that racing can offer, there seemed to be no harm reliving a Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for the ages a little longer.

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Helium Returns Big ‘Balloons’ In Tampa Bay Derby Upset

D J Stable LLC's Helium (Ironicus) overcame an impossibly wide trip and gamely fended off a late charge from the well-backed Hidden Stash (Constitution) to upset Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby by three-quarters of a length while making his dirt and two-turn debuts.

Perfect in two starts going seven furlongs over the Woodbine synthetic last year, including a 4 1/4-length success in the Display S. when last seen Oct. 18, the $55,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling graduate's worktab included a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 (1/8) at Palm Meadows Feb. 3.

Helium was slow into stride from a wide gate and was left no choice but to take the first turn in about the six path while racing with just two rivals behind. Five or six paths off the inside down the backstretch, Helium went for an early run with about a half-mile to run, but continued to be trapped off the track, as favored GIII Sam F. Davis S. winner Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) was moving simultaneously underneath him.

Consigned to a five-deep trip around the second turn, Helium nevertheless gained steadily on the leaders, was shifted down to the inside when making the lead in upper stretch and managed to hold sway late.

Hidden Stash, a closing third to Candy Man Rocket in the Sam F. Davis, looked to have Helium at his mercy at the sixteenth pole, but was swatted away late and settled for second.

Candy Man Rocket was out of gas by the top of the stretch and tired to 11th.

“Our biggest concern going into the race was not only the competition, but also the distance, because he had never gone further than seven furlongs,” said DJ Stables Racing Manager Jon Green. “We were also concerned about the surface, because he had only run on the Tapeta at Woodbine. So we felt like he had three things he had to accomplish today–not only to beat the top horses in the race, but also overcome the two turns, the surface, and the layoff. So for him to accomplish what he did today by holding off a very nice horse in Hidden Stash, made us very excited for his future.”

Green added, “As of now, we're unsure as to his next start. We're going to analyze where the competition is going and decide what would be his best spot.”

Helium is not currently nominated to the Triple Crown, but will be supplemented for $6,000 at the next deadline at the end of March, said Green. “He has certainly punched his ticket.”

Helium was purchased privately last March as a 2-year-old from Bo Hunt. “The horse industry certainly works in mysterious ways,” said Green. “If it weren't for COVID, we never would have been able to buy this horse. We bought him privately because we weren't sure what was going to happen with the sales.”

Green said, “I really want to give Mark Casse tremendous credit for being able to be flexible with this horse and pivoting as many times as we did with him before landing on the Tampa Bay Derby in his 3-year-old debut.”

Casse said, “He trained well enough that we thought he deserved a chance. Again, I have to give so much credit to Nick Tomlinson who had him down at Palm Meadows for us. We had thought about running in the Gotham and thought, if we're going to try the dirt, let's run him close to home. It worked well for us.

Casse continued, “This horse is something because he got away a little slow today and we had planned on him being closer. He made that big wide run, he made the lead but [after Hidden Stash rallied] I was going to be happy with second. I thought, we can build on this, because this is only his third start and there is a lot of room for improvement. What was amazing is that he wasn't overly exhausted after the race. He's a beautiful horse, he's bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it's exciting.”

Winning rider Jose Ferrer added, “On the backside, I had all kind of horse under me, and when I set him down at the three-eighths pole, I could see I had a chance. I just had so much horse and he flew down the lane. Then I think he got by himself and kind of got bored and he thought, game over. But I still had plemty of horse and be re-broke again.”

Pedigree Notes:

Helium hails from the first crop of Ironicus. He became the first stakes winner for the young Claiborne sire after securing last term's Display and is also his first graded winner. This is the 46th graded winner for Thunder Gulch as a broodmare sire.

Thundering Emilia, a $15,000 KEESEP yearling graduate, carried Teneri Farms' colors to a win in Delaware's John W. Rooney Memorial S. She was also a GSW & G1SP in Peru.

Progeny in the pipeline for Thundering Emilia include the 2-year-old colt Thunder Stride (Classic Empire) and a yearling colt by Accelerate. She was bred to American Pharoah for 2021.

Winning owner DJ Stable bought Helium's 6-year-old GSP half-sister Mighty Scarlett (Scat Daddy) for $240,000 at the 2020 KEENOV Sale.

This is the family of Peruvian champions Valiant Emilia (Per) and Domingo.

Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
LAMBHOLM SOUTH TAMPA BAY DERBY-GII, $350,000, Tampa Bay Downs, 3-6, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.55, ft.
1–HELIUM, 117, c, 3, by Ironicus
1st Dam: Thundering Emilia (GSW & G1SP-Per,
SW-USA, $140,963), by Thunder Gulch
2nd Dam: Saint Emilia (Per), by Saint Ballado
3rd Dam: Proud Emilia, by Proud Appeal
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($55,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-D. J.
Stable LLC; B-Teneri Farm Inc & Bernardo Alvarez Calderon
(KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Jose C. Ferrer. $210,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-3-0-0, $287,763. *1/2 to Mighty Scarlett (Scat
Daddy), GSP, $225,860; Emilia's Moon (Malibu Moon),
G1SW-Per. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hidden Stash, 117, c, 3, Constitution–Making Mark Money,
by Smart Strike. ($50,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-BBN Racing, LLC;
B-Rhineshire Farm LLC (KY); T-Victoria H. Oliver. $70,000.
3–Moonlite Strike, 117, c, 3, Liam's Map–Twinkling, by War
Chant. ($45,000 RNA Wlg '18 KEENOV; $120,000 Ylg '19
KEESEP; $145,000 RNA 2yo '20 OBSMAR; $77,000 RNA 2yo '20
OBSOPN). O-Sonata Stable; B-Brushy Hill, LLC (KY); T-Saffie A.
Joseph, Jr. $35,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 15.40, 3.10, 34.60.
Also Ran: Unbridled Honor, King of Dreams, Awesome Gerry, Sittin On Go, Boca Boy, My Liberty, Super Strong, Candy Man Rocket, Promise Keeper.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Helium Remains Unbeaten With Tampa Bay Derby Surprise

D J Stable's Helium transformed his synthetic track form to dirt and improved his record to a perfect 3-for-3 with an off-the-pace victory in Saturday's Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.

Trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Jose Ferrer, Helium ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.55 and paid $32.80 as a 15-1 longshot. Hidden Stash, who ranged up to challenge the winner in mid-stretch, finished second as the 3-1 second choice, with another longshot, 34-1 Moonlite Strike third, Unbridled Honor finished fourth, with King of Dreams fifth. Candy Man Rocket, the  8-5 favorite coming off a victory in the G3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, was never a factor.

The Tampa Bay Derby offered 85 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby with 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers.

From the first crop of Ironicus, a top-class turf performer by Distorted Humor, Helium won his first two starts on the Tapeta synthetic surface at Woodbine, including a 4 1/4-length victory in the Display Stakes in his most recent start on Oct. 18.

Boca Boy reprised his role from the Sam F. Davis, setting the pace through fractions of :23.23, :47.06 and 1:11.38 for the first six furlongs. King of Dreams and Moonlite Strike were in closest pursuit, with Helium kept to the far outside in the run down the backstretch, with Hidden Stash just behind him.

Approaching the far turn, Ferrer put Helium in a four-wide drive and had the lead entering the stretch. Hidden Stash rallied alongside Helium, possibly putting his nose in front just inside the eighth pole, but Helium fought back and gradually edged clear approaching the wire.

“I'm just so happy to ride my first Tampa Bay Derby,” said Ferrer. “I always wanted to ride this race. Mark Casse gave me a great opportunity to go out there and do my job and do my thing. On the backside, I had all kind of horse under me, and I could see who had more horse and when I set him down at the three-eighths pole, I could see I had a chance. I just had so much horse and he flew down the lane. Then I think he got by himself and kind of got bored and he thought, game over. But I still had plemty of horse and be re-broke again.”

“He trained well enough that we thought he deserved a chance,” Casse said. “Again, I have to give so much credit to Nick Tomlinson who had him down at Palm Meadows for us. We had thought about running in the Gotham and thought, if we're going to try the dirt, let's run him close to home. It worked well for us.

“This horse is something because he got away a little slow today and we had planned on him being closer,” Casse added. “He made that big wide run, he made the lead but (after Hidden Stash rallied) I was going to be happy with second. I thought, we can build on this, because this is only his third start and there is a lot of room for improvement. What was amazing is that he wasn't overly exhausted after the race. He's a beautiful horse, he's bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it's exciting.”

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Candy Man Rocket to Beat in Tampa Bay Derby

After recording a stalk-and-pounce victory in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 6, Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) will have 11 rivals standing in his way to double up in Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. The Tampa Bay Derby carries 50-20-10-5 qualifying points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

The Frank Fletcher colorbearer previously romped by 9 1/4 lengths at second asking going six furlongs at Gulfstream Park Jan. 9. He received 85 Beyer Speed Figures in both efforts.

The Sam Davis was Candy Man Rocket's first start around two turns. The fifth-place finisher that day Known Agenda (Curlin) returned with a daylight optional claiming tally at Gulfstream Feb. 26.

Candy Man Rocket, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Tampa Bay Derby, worked a bullet four furlongs in :48 3/5 (1/36) at Payson Park Feb. 28. He is drawn in post three with Junior Alvarado aboard.

“The [Tampa Bay Derby] has been on our minds since he won the Sam F. Davis,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “Any time you get a horse that runs well over that racetrack, you have to give it consideration.”

He continued, “It seems like he is doing equally as well now as he was before the Davis. He's got good natural speed away from the gate, which can always be an advantage for any horse, position-wise. The chances of getting a good trip might be better than they would for a deep closer, especially in a big field.”

After completing his juvenile campaign with two straight route wins in Kentucky, Hidden Stash (Constitution) rallied smartly from eighth after a ground-saving trip to finish third–beaten just 1 1/4 lengths–while making his stakes debut in the Sam Davis. The addition of more speed types in this full field should certainly play in his favor.

Helium (Ironicus) tries dirt for the first time in his sophomore debut. He was perfect from two tries for Mark Casse going seven furlongs over the Woodbine synthetic last term, most recently dominating six rivals in the Display S. Oct. 18.

Promise Keeper (Constitution), a well-beaten fourth behind Candy Man Rocket sprinting on debut, stretched to a mile with a sharp, front-running maiden victory for Todd Pletcher in the Gulfstream slop Feb. 6. He will have to work out a trip in his two-turn debut from post 11. Pletcher has won the Tampa Bay Derby a record five times and will also tighten the girth on Unbridled Honor (Honor Code), who took a big step forward to annex a local two-turn maiden special weight at third asking Feb. 6.

After saddling King Guillermo (Uncle Mo) to a shocking 49-1 victory in last year's Tampa Bay Derby following a third-place finish in the grassy Pulpit S., trainer Juan C. Avila will go turf-to-dirt once again with Jan. 30 wire-to-wire Gulfstream maiden winner King of Dreams (Air Force Blue).

Super Strong (Super Saver), winner of the Classico Agustin Mercado Revron S. first out in Puerto Rico Dec. 19, shows up in this ambitious spot for his U.S. debut. He worked a bullet five furlongs for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. in :59 3/5 (1/30) at Palm Meadows Feb. 13.

“He has trained well enough to give it a shot,” said Joseph, who will also saddle longshots Awesome Gerry (Liam's Map) and Moonlite Strike (Liam's Map). “It's hard to judge his form in Puerto Rico, but he acts like the distance will be no problem. We aren't giving up much experience to most of the other horses in the race. We definitely would like him to have another race in him, but we have to play the hand we're dealt.”

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