Mark Casse | Horse Racing Free Tips

March To The Arch Out To Defend His Wise Dan Effort This Saturday At Churchill

Live Oak Plantation's 2019 Wise Dan (Grade II) winner March to the Arch will attempt a repeat victory in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile turf event but needs to rebound from a puzzling 10th-place effort in last month's Grade I Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita.

“I've only been around him for a little while but you'd have to assume he just didn't like it in California,” trainer Mark Casse's locally based assistant David Carroll said. “It was just such a puzzling effort where he didn't show much run at all. The thing of it is, his form in all of his previous races was very good. He's run some very nice efforts over the last year that if you draw a line through that race, he fits right in with this field. We know what he did in last year's race and hopefully he can run right back to that effort once again.”

Saturday's $200,000 Wise Dan presented by Ford (GII) is the featured event on the 11-race program and will go as Race 9 at 5:01 p.m. (all times Eastern) The race will share the stakes spotlight with the inaugural running of the $100,000 Audubon presented by TwinSpires.com at 1 1/8 miles on turf for 3-year-olds. The Audubon is carded as Race 6 at 3:25 p.m.

March to the Arch is the 5-1 third choice on the morning line behind multiple graded stakes winner Factor This (8-5) and stakes winner Parlor (9-2). March to the Arch is not a stranger to pulling off an upset; he won last year's Wise Dan at odds of 10-1 when he surged to the front past 2-1 favorite Admission Office. March to the Arch, a now 5-year-old son of Arch, finished a half-length in front of Parlor in last year's event.

Following his Wise Dan victory last June, March to the Arch was winless until he defeated Florida-breds on Jan. 18 in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Turf at Gulfstream Park. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione was aboard March to the Arch for 10 of his 21-career starts but he opted to ride Parlor in Saturday's race leaving the six-time winner in the hands of Florent Geroux.

The complete field for the Wise Dan from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Just Howard (Rafael Bejarano, Graham Motion, 10-1); English Bee (James Graham, Motion, 10-1); Factor This (Shaun Bridgmohan, Brad Cox, 8-5); Eons (Adam Beschizza, Arnaud Delacour, 50-1); Aquaphobia (Corey Lanerie, Mike Maker, 6-1); Ritzy A.P. (Declan Cannon, Jack Sisterson, 20-1); March to the Arch (Florent Geroux, Mark Casse, 5-1); Emmaus (IRE) (Brian Hernandez, Connor Murphy, 15-1); Casa Creed (Martin Garcia, Bill Mott, 15-1); Hembree (Gerardo Corrales, Maker, 12-1); and Parlor (Tyler Gaffalione, Maker, 9-2).

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Unbeatens Meet Grade I Winner in Acorn

Unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gamine (Into Mischief) will look to take her record to a perfect three-for-three while making her stakes debut in the GI Longines Acorn S. at Belmont Park Saturday.

The highly regarded $1.8-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale topper debuted with the easiest of victories as the 1-9 favorite sprinting at Santa Anita Mar. 7, then gamely held off the hard-knocking subsequent GII Santa Oaks runner-up Speech (Mr Speaker) by a neck in front-running fashion in her two-turn debut in an optional claimer at Oaklawn May 2. The even-money morning-line favorite will be on the engine from her rail draw with Hall of Famer Johnny Velazquez in the irons.

“We took our time with her, let her develop,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said of the Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer. “Her two races have been really nice races. I could have stayed home and run her here two turns in the [Santa Anita] Oaks, but I wanted to give her a couple extra weeks. I thought the Acorn with the bigger, wider turns, I think she’ll like that. And it’s a lot of prestige.”

Perfect Alibi (Sky Mesa), heroine of last summer’s GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga, is the seven-horse field’s lone graded winner. A well-beaten second behind British Idiom (Flashback) in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 4, she kicks off her sophomore season following a fourth-place finish behind last year’s champion 2-year-old filly in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

“She’s been ready to run for about three months,” newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said. “She’s always been very, very professional. If anything, she’s a little better work horse than she was. Last year, if you wanted to give some confidence to another horse you’d just work them with her because she’d let anybody beat her–except when they run in the afternoon. This year and recently, she’s been a little more aggressive in her works.”

The lightly raced and unbeaten Casual (Curlin) paired up 90 Beyer Speed Figures in a pair of hard-fought tallies, including an optional claimer going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs last time May 22. She makes her stakes debut for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen here.

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Tap It to Win Living Up to Casse’s Expectations

Even back when Tap It to Win (Tapit) lost the GI Clairborne Breeders’ Futurity by 43 1/2 lengths and the Street Sense S. by 21 1/4 lengths, Mark Casse was telling owner Charlotte Weber and anyone else who would listen that the horse was special. On Saturday, the trainer could be proven right. After some twists and turns in his 2-year-old year, Tap It to Win has won his only two starts this year and doesn’t look to be in over his head in Saturday’s GI Belmont S., this year’s first leg of the Triple Crown.

“We have a legitimate chance,” said Casse, who is seeking his third straight win in the Triple Crown series.

Tap It to Win broke his maiden last year at Saratoga in his second career start and Casse started thinking GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The problem was that he didn’t have a lot of time to work with and Casse feared that might catch up to him. He wasn’t ready for what he faced in the Breeders’ Futurity.

“It was just too much for him to handle,” Casse said. “He misbehaved coming away from the gate. He ran off. He just did everything wrong. And so I just knew it was too bad to be true.”

The Street Sense was another misadventure. Tap It to Win hit himself on the ankle coming out of the gate, which led to an injury called a sequestrum, which required surgery to remove a piece of dead bone.

“He could hardly walk for a couple of weeks,” Casse said.

That was in the fall of last year and Casse had no designs on making the Triple Crown events. Tap It to Win still isn’t nominated for the Triple Crown and had to be supplemented into the Belmont at a cost of $15,000.

The colt’s rehab went as well as could be expected and Casse had him ready for a May 9 allowance race against fellow Florida breds at Gulfstream.

“When we sent him to run at Gulfstream, I called Tyler (Gaffalione) and told him you are going to ride a different horse today,” Casse said. “I told him that I’d be surprised if this horse gets beat.”

Tap it to Win won that day by 1 1/2 lengths and resurfaced at Belmont for a June 4 allowance. With John Velazquez aboard, he ran the best race of his career, leading every step of the way on his way to a five-length win. His 97 Beyer figures makes him very competitive in the Belmont.

“That was an extremely tough allowance race the other day,” Casse said. “I was amazed and Johnny was amazed that he could run as fast as he did and keep going. Johnny said after the race that he galloped out very strong. That John has so much confidence in him gives me even more confidence.”

After the allowance race, Casse’s first thought was that he would go next in the GI Woody Stephens S. at seven furlongs. But the Belmont lost a couple of top contenders due to injury and with his horse thriving, the trainer decided to give the horse a shot in the Grade I, $1-million event. Casse doesn’t know if he will win or not, but he’s certain that Tap It to Win will be the one to catch. He drew the one post and showed exceptional early speed in his last start.

“It didn’t matter what post position he was in, he was going to come out of there running,” Casse said. “He showed the other day he can run fast and keep running, so we are not going to change any tactics with him.”

Win or lose Saturday, the development of Tap It to Win has been something Casse isn’t taking for granted. He went from a horse that the trainer thought could win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to one who looked to be in way over his head in stakes company and wasn’t even nominated to the Triple Crown. Now, he is 6-1 on the morning line in a Triple Crown race.

“It’s been very gratifying,” he said. “Mrs. Weber means the world to me and she bred this horse. I’ve always told her he was special. It’s crazy how things work out sometimes. If it wasn’t for what’s going on in the world there’s no way he’d be in the position he is. We never would have made the Kentucky Derby and if the Belmont weren’t at a mile and an eighth instead of a mile and a half we never would have run in it. Everything worked out for him.”

They also worked out for Casse, who is in a unique position. He won last year’s GI Preakness S. with War of Will (War Front), which was his first win in the Triple Crown series. Three weeks later, he struck again, winning the Belmont with Sir Winston (Awesome Again). In this most unusual year for the Triple Crown, he’s back with another contender and a chance to win three in a row.

“I hadn’t even really thought about that until recently,” he said. “A couple of people have brought it up. Yes, it’s special. Any time you can win a classic it is special. I am very proud to have won two of them. To win three would be almost unthinkable. I think we have a legitimate chance to do that.”

Casse will find out Saturday just how good this horse is. If he turns out to be everything his trainer always thought he could be, he just might end up in the winner’s circle.

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‘Very Professional’ Perfect Alibi To Begin 3-Year-Old Season In Acorn

Tracy Farmer's Grade 1-winner Perfect Alibi has been ready to debut her 3-year-old form for the better part of the last few months. On Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day, the daughter of Sky Mesa will finally get the chance to take some tangible steps forward in her progress when she headlines a field of sevensophomore fillies in the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Acorn going a one-turn mile over the Belmont Park main track.

The Longines Acorn, slated as Race 8 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern, is one of six graded stakes races on a stellar June 20 card highlighted by the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes and two additional Grade 1s in the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm an the $250,000 Jaipur presented by America's Best Racing, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. NBC will have live coverage starting at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

When Perfect Alibi heads to post in the Acorn – which has produced such divisional champions as Abel Tasman (2017) and Monomoy Girl (2018) in recent seasons – it will mark the first competitive outing for the dark bay filly since her fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park on November 1. Though her trainer Mark Casse already planned for his protégé to get a deserved break following her sixth career start, the hiatus ended up being extended as the coronavirus pandemic forced most tracks to shut down temporarily.

As the newly minted Hall of Fame conditioner worked to keep Perfect Alibi race ready while waiting for an opportunity to present itself, Casse saw a more authoritative version of her in the mornings – one he hopes will elevate her gritty demeanor in the afternoons.

“She's been ready to run for about three months,” Casse said. “She's always been very, very professional. If anything, she's a little better work horse than she was. Last year, if you wanted to give some confidence to another horse you'd just work them with her because she'd let anybody beat her – except when they run in the afternoon. This year and recently, she's been a little more aggressive in her works.”

Bred in Kentucky by Pin Oak Stud out of the Maria Mon's mare No Use Denying, Perfect Alibi was one of the more precocious members of her class last season, winning three of six starts including two graded stakes triumphs at Saratoga Race Course. Two starts after breaking her maiden at first asking last May at Churchill Downs, the leggy filly showed mettle beyond her years when she found room after being stuck behind a wall of horses midstretch en route to taking the Grade 2 Adirondack going 6 ½ furlongs last August.

She followed that effort up by taking her quality to the next level with a 1 ¼-length triumph in the Grade 1 Spinaway before being bested by eventual 2-year-old filly champion British Idiom in both the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

“She struggled big time (with the Santa Anita track),” Casse said of Perfect Alibi's Breeders' Cup run. “She got a hold of the track late and she actually made a mild move at the end.”

Perfect Alibi has logged one start over the Belmont surface, having finished second in the 2019 Astoria going 5 ½ furlongs last June. She will break from post 7 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“I said the other day that training horses is like putting a puzzle together. And this year it's putting a puzzle together with no pictures and no edges. It's even more difficult with everything going on,” Casse said. “I just feel fortunate that we're running. We're lucky.”

Perfect Alibi is the only graded stakes winner in the Acorn field but she will have no cakewalk as she returns from her near seven-month layoff. Among her biggest threats is the speedy Gamine, who has led every point of call in her two career starts.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Gamine has been stealing focus from her comrades ever since she sold to owner Michael Lund Petersen for $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training sale. The daughter of Into Mischief dusted her foes by 6 ¼ lengths on debut March 7, going 6 ½-furlongs at Santa Anita Park. She then stretched out successfully when taking a 1 1/16-miles allowance optional claiming test by a neck at Oaklawn Park on May 2.

“She's just a tall, really elegant filly,” Baffert said. “We took our time with her, let her develop. Her two races have been really nice races. I could have stayed home and run her here two turns in the (Santa Anita) Oaks but I wanted to give her a couple extra weeks. I thought the Acorn with the bigger, wider turns, I think she'll like that. And it's a lot of prestige.”

Gamine's speed has been her most effective weapon, and her trainer isn't about to alter that strategy for Saturday's one-turn test.

“She's fast. At Oaklawn, she just broke and made the lead easily,” Baffert said. “I've been breezing her and going easy with her. The other day I worked her and she tracked a horse all the way. She's still just learning. But she's going to be forwardly placed. She'll be up there close.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez will have the call aboard Gamine on Saturday from post 1.

Casual, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, is also stepping into graded stakes company for the first time after posting victories in her first two starts.

Assistant trainer Toby Sheets said the Curlin filly should be comfortable in the one-turn mile.

“Casual is doing very well. She shipped in [Tuesday] also and came in very well; she looks great,” said Toby Sheets, assistant to Asmussen. “I don't think a mile will be a problem at all for her.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call aboard Casual from post 4.

Rounding out the field is Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks-runner-up Lucrezia [post 2, Julien Leparoux] for trainer Arnaud Delacour; the Rudy Rodriguez-trained last-out Busher Invitational-winner Water White (post 3, Jorge Vargas, Jr.]; Glass Ceiling [post 5, Joel Rosario]; and Pleasant Orb [post 6, Manny Franco] round out the field.

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