Mark Casse | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pappacap Doing Well After Best Pal, Casse Considering Next Start

Pappacap, an impressive 4 ¾-length winner of Saturday's $200,500 Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes, was comfortably ensconced in his stall Sunday morning while Allen Hardy-Zukowski saw to the regular routine in his role as overseer for the California-based string of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse currently stabled at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, in Del Mar, Calif.

Pappacap, a 2-year-old son of Gun Runner, “looks good and ate up well,” Hardy-Zukowsky said. “Now he'll rest a day or two before going back to the track and we'll see what happens from there.”

Casse watched the race in New York, where he had been inducted into racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs a day earlier, and was soon on the phone with Hardy-Zukowsky.

“He was ecstatic, very happy for the horse and for the owner (Gary Barber),” the assistant reported. The $300,000 Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on closing day, Monday, September 6, would be a logical next step for Pappacap. In the past 12 years, four horses have gone on from victory in the Best Pal to take the Futurity: Lookin At Lucky (2009); J P's Gusto (2010); Nyquist (2015), and Klimt (2016).

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Eastern Invaders Take Best Pal, Yellow Ribbon At Del Mar

A stakes doubleheader saw a young colt begin to bloom and an impressive filly continue to shine Saturday afternoon at Del Mar as Rustlewood Farm's Pappacap scored smartly in the Best Pal Stakes and Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace found a hole turning for home and ran away from rivals in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap.

The pair of offerings at the seaside track in Del Mar, Calif., were both Grade 2 events and both offered $200,000 purses. The Best Pal – being run for the 51st time – saw Pappacap maneuver like an old pro in only his second start in the juvenile headliner as he waited on rider Joe Bravo's signal, then zoomed to the front turning for home and went on to tally by 4 3/4 lengths. He ran the six furlongs in 1:11.66.

In the Yellow Ribbon – on the turf at 1 1/16 miles and being offered for its 69th edition – jockey Kent Desormeaux saw a hole nearing the quarter pole and asked the 4-year-old filly Princess Grace to go for it. She did readily and pulled clear in the lane to finish 1 1/4 lengths to the good at the end of the filly/mare feature. The winner covered the distance in a snappy 1:40.84.

Pappacap, a bay colt by champion Gun Runner bred by his owners, had captured his debut in a straight maiden race at Gulfstream Park in Florida on May 14. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse shipped him west for the Best Pal, perhaps looking ahead to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which will be run at Del Mar on November 5.

Princess Grace, a homebred daughter of the Japanese stallion Karakontie, was winning her fifth race in her sixth start (she was second in her lone loss) and accomplishing it at her sixth different racetrack. The well-traveled filly is trained by Michael Stidham.

Pappacap picked up a check for $120,000 with his victory, pushing his bankroll to $158,000. Princess Grace also earned $120,000 for her bit of handiwork and now shows winnings of $440,460.

Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus checked in second in the Best Pal, while Gary Barber's Bet On Mookie was third. Pappacap paid $6.60, $3.40 and $2.60 across the board. In the Yellow Ribbon, LNJ Foxwoods' Dogtag ran second and Slam Dunk Racing, Stable Currency and Branham's Maxim Rate was third. Princess Grace paid $9.20, $5.00 and $3.40. Dogtag returned $4.80 and $3.20, while Maxim Rate paid $3.00.

Six horses ran in the Best Pal, while nine competed in the Yellow Ribbon.

Pappacap draws off to win the Best Pal by 4 3/4 lengths under Joe Bravo

The track's Pick 6 Single Ticket Jackpot Wager continued elusive for gamblers and grew its jackpot again for the 11th straight day. The carryover into Sunday's 10-race card will now be $982,985.

First post Sunday is 2 p.m.

Post-race quotes – Yellow Ribbon:

KENT DESORMEAUX (Princess Grace, winner) – “Michael (trainer Stidham) told me one thing before the race that I used to advantage today: He said 'She's brave.' When that hole opened turning for home, I sent her through and she went right on with it. She was a bit keen going into the first turn, but on the backside she was just all floppy ears and off the bit; taking it easy. I clucked to her at the three (eighths) and from there she just carried me home. Nice win on a nice filly.”

MIKE STIDHAM (Princess Grace, winner) – “I will tell you this: this filly is tenacious and one of the most hard-trying fillies I've ever trained. I trained her mother and she was just like that – not quite as talented, but always digging in and trying to win every time out. This little filly has been at six different racetracks and she should be undefeated, the one loss was just unlucky. I don't know what's next, I haven't looked past this race. This was going to be her test to step up to another league and she obviously passed the test really well.”

FRACTIONS: :23.06 :46.61 1:10.46 1:34.89 1:40.84

The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Desormeaux but his fourth in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has 84 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth best among all riders.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Stidham and his first in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has six stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Susan and John Moore from Far Hills, N.J.

The pair of offerings were both Grade II events and both offered $200,000 purses. The Best Pal – being run for the 51st time – saw Pappacap maneuver like an old pro in only his second start in the juvenile headliner as he waited on rider Joe Bravo's signal, then zoomed to the front turning for home and went on to tally by four and three-quarter lengths. He ran the six furlongs in 1:11.66.

In the Yellow Ribbon – on the turf at a mile and one sixteenth and being offered for its 69th edition – jockey Kent Desormeaux saw a hole nearing the quarter pole and asked the 4-year-old filly Princess Grace to go for it. She did readily and pulled clear in the lane to finish a length and a quarter to the good at the end of the filly/mare feature. The winner covered the distance in a snappy 1:40.84.

Princess Grace, a homebred daughter of the Japanese stallion Karakontie, was winner her fifth race in her sixth start (she was second in her lone loss) and accomplishing it at her sixth different racetrack. The well-traveled filly is trained by Michael Stidham.

Pappacap picked up a check for $120,000 with his victory, pushing his bankroll to $158,000. Princess Grace also earned $120,000 for her bit of handiwork and now shows winnings of $440,460.

Six horses ran in the Best Pal, while nine competed in the Yellow Ribbon.

The track's Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot Wager continued to be too tough to take down for gamblers and grew its jackpot again for the 11th straight day. The carryover into Sunday's 10-race card will now be $982,985.

First post Sunday is 2 p.m.

[Story Continues Below]

Post-race quotes

Yellow Ribbon

FRACTIONS: :23.06 :46.61 1:10.46 1:34.89 1:40.84

The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Desormeaux but his fourth in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has 84 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth best among all riders.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Stidham and his first in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has six stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Susan and John Moore from Far Hills, NJ

Best Pal

JOE BRAVO (Pappacap, winner) – “I was glad to see how well he settled in behind those two up front. His race in Florida, he just was pure speed. You don't know if that's the way they like to go. But he showed another dimension today. Mark Casse sends them out ready.”

ALLEN HARDY-ZUKOWSKI, assistant to Mark Casse (Pappacap, winner) – “Joe (Bravo) gave him such a great ride coming out of the gate. He seemed loaded and when Joe asked in the stretch he responded. I was glad to see that, especially coming off a layoff. It was great.”

FRACTIONS: :22.11 :45.79 :58.61 1:11.66

The stakes win was the second of the meet for rider Bravo, but his first in the Best Pal. He now has four stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Casse and his second in the Best Pal (Skyway, 2014). He now has nine stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Rustlewood Farm of George and Karen Russell of Reddick, Fla.

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Sunday’s Insights: $1M Into Mischief Colt Debuts at Ellis

2nd-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:41 p.m.
LOVE TO RUN (Connect) debuts for Breeze Easy LLC and trainer Mark Casse, who enjoyed is year-delayed induction into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Friday. Piloted by Tyler Gaffalione, who is striking at a 19% clip at the current meet, the half to MSP Thanks Mr. Edison realized a $640,000 final bid from agent Tom McGreevy following a 10 2/5 breeze at the OBSAPR Sale. The price represented the top price for a 2-year-old filly and the second-highest price for a juvenile this season. TJCIS PPs

3rd-ELP, $51K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 2:46 p.m.
Frank Fletcher and Ten Strike Racing's PURE ROCKET (Lord Nelson) gets his start for Brad Cox. Representing his sire's first crop of foals, the colt brought $460,000 at Keeneland last September, making him the highest priced offering by the Spendthrift sire last season. Bred by Mulholland Springs, the colt is out of Reina Maria (Songandaprayer), the dam of of Grade II winner Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief), also standing at Spendthrift Farm. Cox is also represented by $625,000 KEESEP buy Guest Speaker (Into Mischief), representing Larry Best's OXO Equine. TJCIS PPs

5th-ELP, $51K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:42 p.m.
OXO Equine LLC's GUNOE (Into Mischief) adds some sparkle to Ellis' Sunday card. Trained by Brad Cox, the son of GSP Curlina (Cuvee) realized $1 million at KEESEP last season. He is a half-brother to GSP Sine Wave (Big Brown). TJCIS PPs

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It’s All About the Horses..And Their Trainers at HOF Induction Ceremony

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–To punctuate his acceptance speech that concluded the Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday, trainer Todd Pletcher used a favorite line of the late Cot Campbell, the Thoroughbred owner and colorful racing personality who was one of his longtime patrons.

“It's not going to sound nearly as cool coming from me, he was a cool guy,” Pletcher said, “but most of all, I want to thank the horses, the horses and the horses.”

Campbell's words were a fitting coda for racing's annual feel-good day that salutes the best of the best in the America's oldest sport. The 2020 ceremony was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic so the 65th and 66th Hall of Fame classes at the National Museum of Racing were welcomed into the shrine during a two-hour ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton's Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion.

Pletcher, 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher comprised this year's class. The 2020 inductees were trainer Mark Casse, jockey Darrell McHargue, the horses Wise Dan and Tom Bowling, and three honored as Pillars of the Turf: J. Keene Dangerfield Jr., George D. Widener, Jr. and Alice Headley Chandler. Pletcher and American Pharoah were elected in the first year they were eligible to be on the ballot: 25 years of service for a trainer and five calendar years after retirement for horses.

While Casse, with the help if his wife, Tina, delivered the most emotional speech of the event, Pletcher was typically precise and under control throughout. He was introduced by owner Mike Repole, who totally ignored the mandate to be brief and spoke for over 18 minutes. Repole served up a mix of praise and humor to salute his trainer and friend.

“I got into owning race horses 2004, and I watched this young trainer just keep winning races,” Repole said. “I sat there at Aqueuct, Belmont and Saratoga and I watched my horses in the same race as his. What consistently happened after the races, he would walk right by me and go to the winner's circle and I would sit there a loser. If you can't beat him, you join him.”

Repole said that Pletcher belonged in the Hall of Fame of Hall of Famers, the top 1% and predicted that at the age of 54, he would add to his long list of accomplishments.

“He's an icon. He's a legend,” Repole said. “He's going to go down as one of the greatest of all time.”

Pletcher already leads the way with $410 million in purse-money earned. He was the first to reach $300 million and has a $48 million lead over fellow Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Pletcher ranks seventh on the career list with 5,157 victories, which include two in the GI Kentucky Derby, three in GI Belmont S. and 11 in the Breeders' Cup.

After years working for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Pletcher took out his license in December 1995 and opened a seven-horse stable. He now trains 200 horses.

“I can't tell you how humbled I am to join this esteemed group,” Pletcher said. “So many of these guys were my childhood heroes, role models and mentors, competitors.”

Pletcher noted that Jerry Bailey rode his first winner and that Jose Santos–one of the 14 Hall of Fame members introduced at the ceremony–was up for his first loser.

“Jose, don't feel bad,” Pletcher said, smiling. “I've lost 17,458 more since then.”

Pletcher called Lukas a great mentor.

“After I went out on my own, the most common question I'd get is 'What is one thing that you've learned working for Wayne Lukas?'” Pletcher said. “The answer is: There's not one thing. It's everything. Everything matters. Every horse matters. Every horse owner matters.”

Fearful of forgetting to name and thank someone, and error he said he made in 2004 when accepting his first Eclipse Award, Pletcher called his election to the Hall of Fame a team event. But he made a point of saluting the late Jeff Lukas, his first boss in 1989, who suffered brain injuries when he was run over by a loose horse.

“I feel like no one has been more influential in the way that I try to conduct my business, than Wayne's son Jeff,” Pletcher said. “Jeff was a detail-oriented person. He was driven. He was motivated. He was a skilled horseman and he had the unique ability to make those around him better. There's no doubt in my mind, that if he didn't have a tragic accident that Jeff would have been inducted into the Hall of Fame years ago.”

Breeder-owner Ahmed Zayat and his son Justin accepted American Pharoah's plaque. Trainer Bob Baffert did not attend the event.

“Thank you very much for voting for American Pharoah to be in here,” Zayat said. “This is very, very humbling for us. When I was trying to think of what to talk about–I probably can talk for another two hours about what the American Pharoah meant for me–I realized this is not about the Zayat family. This is about American Pharoah and what American Pharoah achieved.” He said he wanted “to point out American Pharoah as the people's horse, the horse that excited fans.”

Zayat said he had three distinct memories of the 2015 season: announcer Larry Collmus's call of the GI Belmont S. finish that made American Pharoah the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years followed by the reaction of the crowd; the reception that American Pharoah received at Saratoga, where he galloped on Friday before an estimated crowd of 15,000 the morning before his upset loss in the GI Travers; the hero's tribute upon his arrival at Keeneland where he won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

“These are memories that I will never forget about what American Pharoah meant for the sport and the public,” Zayat said.

Zayat congratulated the inductees from both classes, including Pletcher who trained some horses for his stable.

“One final thing,” Zayat said. “Thank you, Bob Baffert for just a brilliant training job and for opening your barn for every single person to come and visit American Pharoah.”

Casse had to wait a year for his induction ceremony and he relished the opportunity to thank the people who set him on the path to the Hall of Fame. At the top of the list was his late father, Norman, a trainer and an important figure in the development of Florida's breeding and bloodstock business. Casse took out his license as a teenager and developed into successful trainer. He left the day-to-day competition on the track in the early 1990s to manager Harry Mangurian's farm, but returned several years later to win multiple titles in Canada and become one of the premier trainers in the United States.

Confident, enthusiastic and outgoing, Casse promptly set the stage as he stepped to podium wearing his new Hall of Fame blazer.

“Let me start by saying, I have a better chance of winning the Kentucky Derby that getting through this speech without losing my composure,” he said.

Casse' voice wavered and cracked a bit, but he continued.

“I've been very fortunate in my life to win many big races and awards but nothing greater than this honor,” he said. “The last few weeks, I've spent much time reflecting on the various paths my life has taken. It amazes me that every experience, relationship, conversation with friends, families and clients has molded and shaped my career. Who would have thought 50 years ago, as I slept over there in the parking lot, the Fasig-Tipton parking lot, with my dad, had breakfast every morning at the Saratoga Snack Shack that I would be standing here today?”

Casse said he would not have made it to the Hall of Fame without having great horses, but that the people who touched his life influenced him the most.

“Obviously, my dad, Norman, greatly encouraged me to follow my passion,” he said “My father was a huge part of my education with horses. And I inherited my love of racing from him. On this journey. Many family members have had to make sacrifices for me to pursue my career, but none greater than my mom.”

At that point, Casse, too emotional to continue, had his wife take over. She read the part describing how when his parents divorced when he was 13 his mother agreed to his request to stay in Florida with his father to be near horses.

Casse returned to the podium and thanked several of his major owners, John and Debby Oxley, Charlotte Weber, Robert Masterson and Gary Barber–all of whom were at the ceremony–for their support.

“In closing, my dad and I first visited the Hall of Fame in 1972 when I was 11,” Casse said. “I still remember walking around with my mouth open in amazement. At the end of the visit I confidently told my dad , 'I'm going to be in here some day.' As any good father would do, he said, 'Yes, Mark you will.'

“Well, we did it.”

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