Milestones | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gary Sciacca Eyes Win Number 1,000

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – For sure, trainer Gary Sciacca knows the score. He is well aware and very proud of the fact that he is closing in on a personal milestone: 1,000 career victories.

A month shy of 40 years since he saddled his first runner at Belmont Park, Sciacca is sitting on 997 wins. Five Alarm Robin (Fed Biz) moved the 61-year-old New York stalwart a step closer with her victory at 11-1 on the opening day of Saratoga season.

Leaning against a rail at the barn that has been his base of operations at Saratoga for 25 years, Sciacca said that he started paying attention to his win total a year or so ago.

“I was saying, 'Boy, I'm pretty close,'” he said. “When you're at 700 or 800, nah, but when you get to like 50, 60…and then you are on three. Three is like a reality, you know. Then you come here opening day and the first one you run wins. That made it three. So it's kind of hitting home a little bit.”

Sciacca finished second with his first starter, Page Six, on Aug. 27, 1981. Nine races later, on Oct. 21, 1981 at Aqueduct, Proud Northern became his first winner.

Sciacca did not hesitate when asked what getting to 1,000 wins will mean to him.

“A whole lot,” he said. “A lot of people can't get to that spot in New York. It ain't like we are winning them at Finger Lakes or Suffolk Downs or something. To win a thousand here; they've all been here or in California with a couple. It's been good. It would be very nice to win it here in Saratoga. That would be a little special.”

Since there is no off-season, horsemen often say they will reflect on their accomplishments at some time on the future. Yet Sciacca said he has thought about getting to this milestone.

“If you go back to when I started out here, all my friends are retiring,” he said. “Nobody has really made that many wins. Of course, the big outfits have. A guy like me, it means a lot to. A lot of memories. A lot of big races. Between Saratoga Dew and Subordination, those are the big ones. We won two Belmont meets.”

Charles Engel's New York-bred filly Saratoga Dew was Sciacca's first star. Unraced at two, she won eight of 11 starts in 1992, including two Grade I races, the Gazelle and the Beldame, was second by a nose to November Snow in the GI Alabama, and become the first New York-bred to win an Eclipse Award. In the New York-bred awards, she was the champ of two divisions and the Horse of the Year.

“She was one of the best,” he said. “She launched me into the limelight.”

Though Engel decided to move Saratoga Dew to another trainer the following year–she never raced again–Sciacca's success with the filly was a boon for his stable. He won his first Belmont Park meet title in 1993 with 31 victories. Klaravich Stables' Subordination (Mt. Livermore) made his first start for Sciacca as a 2-year-old at Saratoga in 1996. In 21 starts over three seasons of racing, he won 11 of 21 starts, eight of them graded stakes and finished with $1.2 million in purse earnings.

“Subordination took me to Breeders' Cup,” Sciacca said. “Took me to Del Mar, where we won the Eddie Read, a Grade I. Took me to Hollywood Park, that's no more, and won the Hollywood Derby.”

Among the horses that Sciacca trained for NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells's August Dawn farm were Saratoga Snacks and Bavaro.

Sciacca said that during his most successful years he typically had a stable of 40 to 45 runners. These days he has 24 to 30 in his barn.

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Sciacca was introduced to racing in his youth. His uncle was a trainer. He worked his way up in the business and started his stable with six horses.

“When I got a shot to train some horses I took it,” he said. “Actually, the game has been very good to me. What a place. I'm very fortunate to be in New York. To have the No. 1 racing in the country, to be brought up in that is pretty good. To win 1,000 races here is great.”

The post Gary Sciacca Eyes Win Number 1,000 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘You’re Always Busy With The Horses’: The Road To 3,000 Wins For Mark Casse Had Many Stops

In the aftermath of the text he received from one of Thoroughbred racing's most prominent owners, the dual Hall of Fame trainer, the one with plenty to look forward to, took a look back in time.

Can talk now if you like. Nothing much happening here except a tropical storm.

It's a typical text – inviting, sprinkled with a tinge of dry humor – from Mark Casse, who continues to be one of Thoroughbred racing's top conditioners.

Seated comfortably in his training centre office in Ocala, Fla., the man on a cusp of a major career milestone is enjoying a rare unfettered morning, one that has allowed him a few more moments to think of what it means to have 3,000 Canadian and U.S. lifetime wins to his name.

“I didn't really realize I was so close,” started Casse. “[Owner] Gary Barber sent me a message [last] Wednesday night and told me I was only three away. I didn't know that.”

The exchange with Barber, a longtime supporter of Casse's, prompted reminiscences of how it all began for the native of Indianapolis, the countless highlights along the way, and win No. 3,000, courtesy of Souper Watson on Thursday at Gulfstream Park West.

Taking out his trainer's license in Massachusetts at the age of 17, Casse saddled his first winner at Keeneland with Joe's Coming, his first starter, in April of 1979. A success story on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, he's won the Sovereign Award for outstanding trainer in Canada a record 12 times and was inducted into the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame in 2016. This year, he was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. He won two-thirds of the American Triple Crown in 2019 when War of Will won the Preakness and Sir Winston prevailed in the Belmont.

He's campaigned Eclipse Award winners Classic Empire, Shamrock Rose, Tepin, and World Approval, as well as Canadian Horse of the Year honourees Catch a Glimpse, Lexie Lou, Sealy Hill, Uncaptured, and Wonder Gadot. He has recorded a total of seven scores in the Canadian Triple Crown series (the Prince of Wales four times, the Queen's Plate twice, and the Breeders' Stakes once), won five Breeders' Cup races (the Mile twice, as well as the Filly and Mare Sprint, Juvenile, and Juvenile Fillies Turf), and the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot with Tepin. His leading trainer titles have come at Woodbine (11 times), Turfway (four times), Keeneland (three times), and Churchill Downs (twice).

A trip in a horse van with his father, the late Norman Casse, to see Secretariat win the 1973 Kentucky Derby hooked him on racing. His father had a successful breeding operation in Indiana before moving his family to Ocala, where he established Cardinal Hill Farm. The elder Casse retired as chairman of the board of the Ocala Breeders' Sales in 2006 after more than 40 years involvement in the industry.

“I was thinking about it [his own career] on that Wednesday night,” said Casse. “How it all started, a lot of it thinking about my dad. He was the driving force. He always helped me along the way. There are just so many people who have helped me.”

He mentions his wife, Tina, as a major contributor to his numerous successes.

“I would say in the last 20 years, Tina would be No. 1 for that. I wouldn't be winning 3,000 races without her. She handles all of the financial parts and business parts, which allows me to go and concentrate on the horses. She also inspires me to continue to try and be successful. I wouldn't have wanted to do it without her. The ups and downs, the losses – when you're having a bad day, or you're not as pleasant or as happy as you should be – your entire family feels that. We don't have the vacations. Even if you slip away for a few days, it never ends. You're always busy with the horses.”

Casse also acknowledges the impact owners, and his racing team, have had on his career.

“Even if we don't go over all the owners – the Gary Barbers and the John Oxleys – there are so many people I am grateful to. I could tell you lots of owners and people who have played a huge part in reaching this number. In the first 20 years of my career, I would say the most influential person would be my dad, and in second 20 years it would be in Tina. There's also [assistant trainer] David Adams, [Casse's son and fellow trainer] Norm, and [head of Casse's Florida operation] Mitch Downs, he's been with me 40 years, Robbie Hofher, Cindy Black… there are a lot of people where not everyone sees their names. You eliminate any of these people out of the equation and I wouldn't be looking at 3,000 wins.”

How does Casse feel about the pursuit of 4,000 wins?

For now, he'll focus on the short term.

“I remember thinking when we won our 1,000th race [on August 9, 2008, with Laragh, at Woodbine] that we wouldn't get to 2,000. Then, when we did that [on May 14, 2016, with Reimburse, at Gulfstream], I thought, 'Well, it won't be 3,000.' But I was wrong. I don't know about 4,000. I'm not sure if I have the energy to get there. When you get to 3,000, you realize how many times you have to lose to get that number.”

Thankfully, the hard-luck losses have been offset by an abundance of accomplishments, accolades and awards.

Yet despite those lofty numbers, there is no ego to match.

What there is, however, is a passionate pursuit of winning.

“With all assets, there are liabilities. I've always said that. It's interesting – going back a long time ago when we won our first Sovereign Award – I thought about the New York Yankees and them winning the World Series year after year. I thought, 'What drives them once you win it to do it again?' The answer to that is you don't want to lose it. Once you've won it, you don't want to lose it.

“That's what keeps you going. Everything we do as an operation is to get to the winner's circle.”

It's a familiar spot, whether it happens to be at Woodbine, Churchill, Gulfstream Park, or elsewhere, for a conditioner still very much in his prime.

Long days, tough beats, and the odd tropical storm are hardly enough to dampen Casse's love of racing.

“Believe me, I'm not complaining about any of this life. It's the life I chose. The good news is that we always have something to look forward to. Some days, when I get up and we don't have horses running, on some occasions that's a good day if it means that the day is a little more peaceful. But when I wake up and we have a lot of horses running, it excites me for the day.”

He now has 3,000 reasons and counting to feel that way.

The post ‘You’re Always Busy With The Horses’: The Road To 3,000 Wins For Mark Casse Had Many Stops appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Casse Notches 3,000th Career Win At Gulfstream Park West

Mark Casse became the 34th trainer in Thoroughbred racing history to win 3,000 races Thursday when Live Oak Plantation's Souper Watson scored a decisive 1 3/4-length victory in Race 3 at Gulfstream Park West.

The 59-year-old, who was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame earlier this year, watched the milestone win on TV from his Ocala, Fla. farm.

“It feels good. I watched it with my son, Colby, and we gave each other high-fives and celebrated,” Casse said. 'I'm happy to be able to do it for [Live Oak Plantation's] Mrs. [Charlotte] Weber.”

Nick Tomlinson, Casse's South Florida-based assistant trainer, saddled Souper Watson ($17), who graduated under jockey Miguel Vasquez while coming off a 6 1/2-month layoff in the 7 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race on turf.

“[Training] is something I've just wanted to do my entire life. Milestones mean a lot. This has made me think back over the years,” Casse said. “I went through a period of seven or eight years where I didn't train many horses. We kicked back in, I want to say, 20 years ago. When we won 1,000, I said, 'Well, that was nice.' Then, when we won 2,000, I said, 'I don't think there will be 3,000.' I don't know if there will be 4,000. We'll see.”

Souper Watson entered Thursday's race off a sixth-place finish at Gulfstream Park in an April 25 maiden special weight event that has turned out to be a key race. All eight of the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper's rivals have gone on to graduate, including four next-out winners.

Victorious Venezuelan Hug won his next race at Gulfstream and went on to win an allowance race at Saratoga. Runner-up Shamrocket came back to graduate at Belmont Park in his next race and most recently finished third in the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs. Third-place finisher Mystery Bank graduated at Saratoga in his next start. Freedom Force, Winter's Wonder and Disturbin Bourbon – who finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively – all graduated two starts later. Seventh-place finisher Jealous Boyfriend won next time out at Gulfstream and last-place finisher Viper came back three races later to win back-to-back races.

Souper Watson was narrowly beaten in his turf debut at Gulfstream Feb. 13 in his third career start before a troubled fifth March 4 and sixth in the April 25 key race, in which all nine starters have all gone on to visit the winner's circle in subsequent starts.

“I was just talking with my assistant, Nick Tomlinson. We weren't shocked at all,” Casse said. “We honestly thought he was a pretty good horse early on. That last race came up a little tough. We sent him home and gave him a little break and he came back blockbusters.”

A native of Indiana, Casse took out his trainer's license at the age of 17 in Massachusetts. He saddled his first career winner, Joe's Coming, in 1979 at Keeneland and his first graded-stakes winner came in 1984 when winning the Grade 3 Jamaica at Belmont Park with Raja's Shark. A 12-time Sovereign Award winner, Casse is ranked sixth in North America this year by wins (172) and purse earnings ($10.7 million) this year. Just a few of Casse's many highlights include saddling winners in the 2019 Preakness Stakes (War of Will) and 2019 Belmont Stakes (Sir Winston) and training two-time champion Tepin, winner of the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Casse has won training titles at Woodbine, Keeneland, Churchill and Turfway.

The post Casse Notches 3,000th Career Win At Gulfstream Park West appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post