Mark Casse | Horse Racing Free Tips

Casse, Rafael Hernandez Team Up For Graded Stakes Double At Woodbine

Woodbine's meet-leading trainer Mark Casse teamed up with jockey Rafael Hernandez to sweep Saturday's graded stakes action at the Toronto, Ontario, oval.

Three-year-old filly Heavenly Curlin continued her winning momentum when facing stakes company for the first time in the co-featured $125,000 Maple Leaf Stakes (Grade 3).

With Hernandez picking up the mount, Heavenly Curlin trounced her older rivals with ease, launching her attack from the backfield on the final turn and drawing away by 5 3/4 lengths. Her winning time was 2:03.24 over 1 1/4 miles on the Tapeta.

Auntie Katherine and Juliana traded turns on the lead through fractions of :23.93, :48.79 and 1:13.04 before Heavenly Curlin moved into contention as they raced past the mile mark in 1:37.91. She took command as the fillies and mares headed into the homestretch en route to her third straight victory.

After posting a pair of wins over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta, Heavenly Curlin was sent postward as the 5-2 second choice and returned $7.60 to win. Art of Almost, the 2-1 favorite, settled for second-place honors after closing from mid-pack while Peace Seeker rode the rail to finish 1 1/4 lengths back in third after tracking the pacesetters.

Multiple graded stakes winner Elizabeth Way was fourth with Juliana, Gun Society, the winner's stablemate Tappitty Tappitty, A Broken Breeze, Silent Tango and Auntie Katherine completing the order of finish.

“There was too much speed in the race, so the main thing was getting her relaxed,” said Hernandez of the winning trip. “We just sat behind the 10 [Art of Almost] and when we turned for home, I just put her in the clear. She was doing her thing and just rolling down the lane.”

Owned by Gary Barber and John Oxley, the lightly-raced Kentucky-bred daughter of Curlin is now three-for-five in her career and boasts a perfect three-race Woodbine record.

Team Casse struck again two races later in the $175,000 Autumn, as Skywire went from last to first in the Grade 2 main track stakes event for horses three years old and up over 1 1/16 miles.

After a first quarter in :24.21, Skywire was trailing the field – reduced to five starters following the scratch of the Casse-trained Dream Maker.

It was another stablemate, the favored Salute With Honor, who controlled the pace after crossing to command before the first turn. Fresh off his Grade 3 Durham Cup triumph last month, Salute With Honor continued to lead through a half-mile in :48.10 before Armistice Day headed him past the 1:11.85 three-quarters mark.

However, Skywire had improved to third down the backside and rallied three-wide on the final turn as Armistice Day took the lead. They battled briefly down the lane before Skywire surged by to score in 1:42.70 by 1 3/4 lengths. Armistice Day stayed for second while Timeskip, who was denied racing room between rivals down the lane, finished third after moving inside. Vanzzy was fourth while Salute With Honor faded to fifth.

Skywire, winner of the Grade 2 Eclipse over the same course and distance this summer, paid $6.70 as the 2-1 second pick. He entered the Autumn after putting forth a strong rally to finish one-length behind Salute With Honor in the Durham Cup.

“Last time, we were stuck inside and by the time he was clear and started running, it was too late, but today I made sure he had a clear path the whole way and you see the results,” said Hernandez, who knew turning for home it was his race to win. “Every time he switches leads, he gives you another gear. When he switched leads, I thought, that's it. If they're going to beat me, they have to come running because my horse was running.”

Bred in Ontario by the late Bill Graham, the 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex now has five wins to go along with three seconds from 14 starts lifetime.

Gary Barber celebrated a Saturday stakes double at Woodbine as co-owner of the Autumn champ with Lou Tucci.

With a training triple on the 12-race card, Casse moved within three wins of joining the 3,000-win club.

Live Thoroughbred racing resumes at Woodbine Racetrack on Sunday, with post time set for 1:25 p.m. Please note new post times are in effect for the remainder of the meet with live racing four days a week on Thursdays (2:25 p.m.), Fridays (4:45 p.m.), Saturdays (1:25 p.m.) and Sundays (1:25 p.m.).

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Like His Namesake, Gretzky The Great Taking On Big Challenge In Breeders’ Cup

Mark Casse and his wife had just arrived in Lexington, KY on Tuesday when they got the good news they needed. They'd both tested negative for Covid-19 and would be able to attend the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America at Keeneland.

That allows them to see if Gretzky the Great can continue to win like his namesake.

A name that boomed over the speakers at Woodbine this summer, Gretzky the Great was bred by Anderson Farms in St. Thomas, Ont. Anderson was impressed with the colt and Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred paired with L.A. film producer Gary Barber to buy the horse. They handed him off to Casse, the trainer.

“I can remember when we first started training him in Ocala,” Casse said.

“When he started breezing I told Gary Barber and Aron Wellman both, I said, 'I think this horse is pretty good.' He's just done everything right, right from the beginning. I was surprised when he got beat his first time. I didn't think he'd get beat, but of course he got beat by a good horse that had a race over him.”

He lost that first race to Ready to Repeat on July 12 at Woodbine, placing second. He shook off the early loss to mount three wins in a row, on Aug. 2, then taking the Soaring Free Stakes on Aug. 23 and the Grade-1 Summer Stakes — a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race — on Sept. 20.

“Since then, he keeps winning,” Casse said. “He's a beautiful-moving horse…and he's an extremely smart horse.”

While the horse was trained in Canada, the hockey-inspired name actually came from Barber, whose work in the film industry spans the last three decades and coincides with Wayne Gretzky's time as an L.A. King.

“I think Gary Barber named him. Gary is a huge, huge sports fan,” Casse said, pointing out that Gretzky the Great's sire is Nyquist, who is named after Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist. His owner, J. Paul Reddam is a big Wings and (obviously) a Nyquist fan. So hockey, or at least hockey fandom, is in the family's blood.

“Nyquist is just turning out to be a phenomenal sire. This is his first crop,” Casse said.

Like Wayne Gretzky, Gretzky the Great is following a similar path in his field: Ontario-bred, success in Canada early in his career and now getting into the spotlight of his sport in the U.S. Of course, just four races into his young career, Gretzky the Great's future is in front of him and even with the promise he's shown to this point, nothing is guaranteed.

“It's tough to know,” Casse said. “He's going where he was a star in a regional area. Now he's going to compete against the world and you just never know how you fit in until you try. We've been fortunate, we've won the Breeders' Cup five times.

“Even at that point, with some of your horses you never know. It's truly hard to gauge. You go in with as much confidence as you can, but knowing that you never know until it's over.”

That's also part of the fun for Casse, who started down a path that his wife has heard him take by his estimation a million times in their years together.

“Training horses is like putting a puzzle together,” he said. “You're always trying different pieces and seeing what works. So far with him, the puzzle pieces have gone in very nicely.”

He looks at Gretzky the Great and wonders just how great he could be. He could see the Canadian-bred horse competing for the Queen's Plate, or maybe even at the Kentucky Derby. For now, it's step-by-step, race-by-race.

On Friday, Gretzky the Great will have some challenges. Casse said he could have gotten a better post, noting how hard it is to win from the 11-hole. He'll also be going from a one-turn mile at Woodbine to a two-turn mile in Lexington.

There are old stories about a young Wayne Gretzky playing above his head when he was young, a scrawny boy playing against kids a few years older than him. He scored his 1,000th minor hockey goal when he was 13; he scored 378 goals in his final season of peewee.

On Friday, a 2-year-old horse that's named after hockey's greatest player will try to make its mark against stiff competition. This is his opportunity.

“I'm hoping that one day he's good enough that maybe Wayne comes to see him,” Casse said. A lot has to happen first but if Gretzky the Great stays in the winner's circle enough, he might get his full circle moment.

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Casse Holds Strong Hand In Both Autumn, Maple Leaf Stakes At Woodbine

Six hopefuls, including Mark Casse trainees Dream Maker, Salute With Honor, and Skywire, are set to contest the $175,000 Autumn Stakes (G2), while 10 starters set their sights on top spot in the $125,000 Maple Leaf Stakes (G3), Saturday at Woodbine.

Casse, who won the Autumn in 2008 with Marchfield, will be represented by a pair of graded stakes winners, Salute With Honor and Skywire, and graded stakes placed Dream Maker, in the 1 1/16-mile main track Autumn for three-year-olds & upward.

A 6-year-old son of To Honor and Serve, Salute With Honor arrives at Saturday's race off a one-length score in the 1 1/16-mile Durham Cup (G3) on October 11. Bred and owned by Live Oak Plantation, the chestnut gelding bested his stablemate Skywire by a length in the Tapeta race.

Holding a 3 ½-length advantage at the stretch call, Salute With Honor went on to notch his second straight score. It's the second time the Florida-bred has rattled off two straight wins, the first time coming last year when he recorded victories on July 20 and September 27.

He now owns a mark of 7-2-2 from 19 starts.

“He's fast,” said Casse. “When they leave him alone, he's tough to beat. He's on a roll now.”

Skywire, a 4-year-old son of Afleet Alex, has endured an uneven campaign, having recorded one win and a pair of seconds in six starts.

The lone triumph came in the Eclipse Stakes (G2) on July 4. Dismissed at 17-1 on the tote board, the Ontario-bred rallied stoutly and secured a 1 ¼-length score in the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta event.

In the Durham Cup, he was once again rolling late, closing two-wide late in the turn and making up ground with each step.

Although he didn't net top prize, Skywire, bred by the late Bill Graham, earned high praise from Casse for the determined display.

“He needs some help up front. He comes with a big run. I thought he ran extremely well last time because he got hung up a little bit. Salute With Honor was able to use his speed to get away from him. I think both horses are pretty equal in their abilities. I think it's just kind of who gets the trip when it comes to Salute With Honor and Skywire.”

Dream Maker, a three-time winner from 10 races, won his last start on September 27 at Woodbine.

The 4-year-old son of Tapit, bred and owned by John Oxley, notched a 2 ¼-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile Tapeta race.

“Dream Maker is a horse I thought a lot of,” offered Casse. “At one time, I thought he was a [Kentucky] Derby horse. He's extremely tough to train. I thought Emma [jockey, Wilson] did a superb job with him when he won his allowance race last time out. He has a ton of ability, he just doesn't always show it.”

Casse is hoping for a repeat performance from the grey colt, who will make his fourth straight appearance at the Toronto oval on Saturday.

“Dream Maker has to bring his A-game. If he comes with his A-game, he'll be very tough. The problem is that you just don't know when he's going to come with it. I think, even with him winning last time, that was his B-game.”

Are You Kidding Me won consecutive (2015-16) editions of the Autumn. Starting in 1920, Kentucky Derby champion and U.S. Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Exterminator, won the race three straight years.

***

Casse is represented by the duo of Heavenly Curlin and Tappitty Tappitty in the 1 ¼-mile main track Maple Leaf Stakes, for fillies & mares, three-year-olds & upward.

Bred in Kentucky by Elevage II, Heavenly Curlin, a 3-year-old daughter of Curlin, has compiled a record of 2-0-1 from four starts.

Owned by Gary Barber and John Oxley, the bay is on a winning roll ahead of her spot in the Maple Leaf starting gate.

On July 12, Heavenly Curlin rallied to win a 1 1/16-mile Tapeta race at Woodbine, getting up for a 1 ¾-length score in a maiden special weight event.

Just shy of three months later, she was back in the winner's circle, winning at the same distance and on the same surface, this time a half-length victory with Emma-Jayne Wilson in the irons.

Prior to those efforts, Heavenly Curlin finished 10th in her career bow on the turf at Gulfstream in December of 2019, followed by a third over the Aqueduct main track in her three-year-old debut at Aqueduct in February.

“She's three and I normally don't like them taking on older fillies just yet,” explained Casse. “But she's training really well and I thought her last race was really good. I think she'll run well.”

Live Oak homebred Tappitty Tappitty, a 4-year-old daughter of Tapit, will go after her third career win in what will be her ninth start.

“She's been a bit of an underachiever so far,” said Casse. “She's done her best running on the grass, but we feel she trains well enough on the Tapeta to give her a chance. Both fillies, they have really good pedigrees. So in the future, for them to be broodmares, it's important for them to get black type.”

The Casse pair will meet up with a group of rivals that includes multiples graded stakes placed Art of Almost, multiple graded stakes winner Elizabeth Way and 2019 South Ocean stakes champ Gun Society. All three are from the barn of trainer Roger Attfield.

Attfield has won three Maple Leafs crowns, including back-to-back scores with Triple Wow in 1987 and Arcroyal the following year.

Hockey Hall of Fame legend and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Conn Smythe won six runnings of the Maple Leaf, including four straight editions (1974-77). Last year, Lift Up took the Maple Leaf in a time of 2:04.23.

The Autumn goes as race eight and the Maple Leaf is listed as race six. First post for the 12-race card is 12:25 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com.

Beginning this weekend, Woodbine is adding a Late Pick 5 to its wagering menu every Saturday and Sunday. The 20-cent minimum wager includes the last five races on the program.

$175,000 AUTUMN STAKES (GRADE 2)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Dream Maker – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

2 – Timeskip – Justin Stein – Renee Kierans

3 – Armistice Day – David Moran – Barbara Minshall

4 – Vanzzy* – Luis Contreras – Michael Pino

5 – Skywire – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

6 – Salute With Honor – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

* supplemented

$125,000 MAPLE LEAF STAKES (GRADE 3)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Peace Seeker – Kazushi Kimura – Nicholas Nosowenko

2 – A Broken Breeze – Simon Husbands – Alexander McPherson

3 – Silent Tango – Justin Stein – Richard Morden

4 – Auntie Katherine – Juan Crawford – Alison Jennings

5 – Gun Society* – Daisuke Fukumoto – Roger Attfield

6 – Juliana – Luis Contreras – Ignacio Correas

7 – Heavenly Curlin – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

8 – Elizabeth Way* – David Moran – Roger Attfield

7 – Tappitty Tappitty – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

8 – Art of Almost – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Roger Attfield

* supplemented

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Unknown Commodities: Mark Casse On Bringing Freshman-Sired Runners Into The Breeders’ Cup

Though we can certainly start to form opinions on the talent and preferences of freshman sires by the fall, no stallion's resume is completely written heading into their first crop's Breeders' Cup.

Up to this point, even the most prolific freshman sires only have a small sampling of horses at the distances and class levels seen during the championship races. Though it can help guide a narrative, a strong or poor performance by one or two runners from a debut crop on one day at a single track does not engrave a sire's capability for putting out a precocious foal.

Trainer Mark Casse has two runners by freshman sires entered in this year's Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds, meaning he will be part of the real-time focus group learning about their sires' abilities with the rest of the world. Casse will send Gretzky the Great, by Nyquist, to the Juvenile Turf; and Dirty Dangle, by Not This Time, to the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

This is not to say, though, that Casse is going into these races completely blind to how his runners will perform. Aside from the obvious factors of hands-on experience and the horses' own past performance, the trainer prides himself in doing his homework when it comes to pedigree research.

“At the end of every day, I go through and look at the charts at every major racetrack, and I make mental notes of what sires are doing well on different surfaces,” he said. “I pay a lot of attention, too, to damsires. I'm big on buying out of certain damsires.”

Gretzky the Great flies the banner for sire Nyquist, a member of Darley's stallion roster in Lexington, Ky.

Nyquist was himself part of the record-setting freshman crop for sire Uncle Mo. Both Nyquist and Uncle Mo snagged Eclipse Awards as champion 2-year-old male after winning their respective editions of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, giving plenty of evidence that Nyquist's foals would be early types.

That has proven out thus far, with Nyquist siring a pair of Grade 1 winners heading into Novemver, making him the only North American freshman sire with more than one graded stakes winner. Nyquist's other Grade 1 winner this season was Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies contender Vequist, who took the G1 Spinaway Stakes earlier this year.

Gretzky the Great added himself to that list when he won the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 20, clinching a “Win and You're In” berth to the Juvenile Turf in the process. The Ontario-bred has raced exclusively at Woodbine, breaking his maiden in his second start, then taking the listed Soaring Free Stakes before moving on to the Summer.

“We had high hopes on him from the beginning, but I think he's just gotten bigger, and better, and he's thriving,” Casse said. “He looks tremendous. He moves over the ground great. I believe if you can go a mile at Woodbine with that long stretch, you can pretty well go a mile anywhere. I think the two turns will actually be a benefit for him. He's got enough speed, he's going to be fairly close as long as he breaks well, and I think he'll really like this turf course.”

Nyquist raced exclusively on dirt during his own on-track career, and while Gretzky the Great's dam Pearl Turn started her career in Ireland, all of her wins came over the dirt after returning to the U.S.

Casse said the decision to start Gretzky the Great on the turf was part of his overarching program with his Ontario-based 2-year-olds.

“The pedigree obviously is extremely important, but that's what we do as trainers; we try different things,” he said. “With Gretzky the Great, our Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds is the Summer, so I try to get my horses to at least give them a chance on the grass. It turns out the Nyquists can do anything.”

Nyquist leads a tight race as the leading freshman sire by progeny earnings, with $1,108,381. Tracking closely behind him in second is Taylor Made Stallions' Not This Time, with $1,053,867.

Not This Time will be represented in Casse's barn by Juvenile Turf Sprint contender Dirty Dangle, who is unbeaten in two starts, both at Woodbine.

The filly enters the Juvenile Turf Sprint off a 1 1/4-length closing score in the Woodbine Cares Stakes on Sept. 19. She won on debut over Woodbine's all-weather main track in her debut.

“We purchased her after her last race, so I didn't have the privilege of training her before, but her race on turf at Woodbine was extremely good,” Casse said. “That's what made us purchase her.”

Dirty Dangle now races for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, the same connections that campaign Gretzky the Great.

Not This Time's freshman runners are led by probable Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies favorite Princess Noor, who brought $1.35 million at auction earlier this year, and has gone undefeated in three starts, including a 6 1/2-length score in the G1 Del Mar Debutante Stakes and an 8 1/4-length drubbing of the Chandelier Stakes.

Like Nyquist, Not This Time was a fast-starting 2-year-old during his own time on the racetrack, winning the G3 Iroquois Stakes leading into a runner-up finish in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

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