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Hendy Woods Could Give Mark Casse 3,000th Win In Saturday’s Mrs. Revere Stakes

At the start of racing on Thursday, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse was just three wins away from 3,000 – a mark he could eclipse with Stonestreet Stables' Hendy Woods in Saturday's $200,000 Mrs. Revere (Grade II) at Churchill Downs.

“I actually didn't realize we were this close until Wednesday night when (owner) Gary Barber said something to me,” Casse said from his home in Ocala, Fla. “It's a lot of wins and lots of getting beat up trying to get them.”

Casse has yet to win the Mrs. Revere but his assistant trainer, David Carroll, won the race in 2008 with Acoma. Carroll oversees Casse's Churchill Downs string and has been with Hendy Woods since the start of her career in January at Fair Grounds.

“She can be a bit of a difficult horse to ride at times but has a lot of talent,” Carroll said. “I think with only seven in the Mrs. Revere, and not a lot of pace, it'll be interesting to see how things play out early. She's run well in all of her starts but ran into some really nice horses in her last two races like Sharing and Harvey's Lil Goil.”

Saturday's Mrs. Revere is the headliner of the 11-race program beneath the Twin Spires. First post is 1 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Mrs. Revere will go as Race 10 with a post time of 5:36 p.m. Run at 1 1/16 miles over the Matt Winn Turf Course, the Mrs. Revere is the lone graded stakes race in North America this weekend.

Churchill Downs leading rider Tyler Gaffalione will be aboard Hendy Woods in the Mrs. Revere. Gaffalione finished third in last year's running of the race aboard The Mackem Bullet.

Casse had two horses entered on Thursday: one at Indiana Grand and one at Gulfstream Park West.

The Mrs. Revere field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Hendy Woods (Gaffalione, Casse, 3-1); Positive Danger (Brian Hernandez Jr., Tony Granitz, 15-1); Stunning Sky (Ricardo Santana Jr., Mike Maker, 5-2); Princess Grace (Florent Geroux, Mike Stidham 3-1); How Ironic (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver, 4-1); Pass the Plate (Joe Talamo, Paul McGee, 8-1); and Witez (Julien Leparoux, Ian Wilkes, 8-1).

The Mrs. Revere is named in tribute to the highly competitive filly who collected a total of four Churchill Downs stakes during the two-year span of 1984-85. Mrs. Revere won three stakes in total during her 3-year-old season, thus providing the appropriate name for this stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf. Mrs. Revere was owned by the partnership of Dr. Hiram Polk and Dr. David Richardson.

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Milestone In The Breeders’ Cup? Pletcher Has Five Chances To Hit 5,000 During World Championships

Trainer Todd Pletcher said it would be “kind of cool” to hit his next career milestone during this weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships. Heading into this weekend's action, Pletcher has saddled a total of 4,999 winners; on his next trip to the winner's circle, the trainer will become be just the eighth in history to reach 5,000 victories.

“It's a tribute to a lot of great horses over the years,” Pletcher said from Keeneland on Tuesday. “A lot of hard work from a lot of people. It really takes a huge team to supervise all that, so we're grateful, we're hoping it happens soon.”

That milestone win could come at Gulfstream Park on Thursday with Seize The Hay in a claiming race, or in a pair of undercard stakes at Keeneland on Friday (Mo Ready and No Word in the Bryan Station, or Farmington Road and You're To Blame in the G2 TAA Stakes, formerly the Marathon).

Should none of those five make their way to the winner's circle, Pletcher will have three shots to hit the milestone during the Future Stars Friday at the World Championships. Those chances include: Mutasaabeq (Juvenile Turf, 5-1), Union Gables (Juvenile Filly Turf, 20-1), and Likeable (Juvenile, 15-1).

Alternatively, a pair of entrants at Aqueduct on Friday (Microsecond and Malathaat) might be his next trainee in the winner's circle.

Another two Breeders' Cup entrants present opportunities on Saturday: Halladay in the Mile (12-1) and Valiance in the Distaff (12-1).

The lowest odds on a Pletcher trainee in this year's Breeders' Cup are the 5-1 morning line chance given to Mutasaabeq in the Juvenile Turf. Considering he won the the Classic last year with Vino Rosso, Pletcher acknowledged that this year's Championships have a slightly different feel.

“Last year we were fortunate enough to not only win the Classic, but coming in we felt like we had a big chance,” Pletcher said. “We're coming in with a little different group this year. We have some young horses that are doing really well, but we don't have that clear-cut standout.

“It seems like a lot of times you get right on the cusp of the milestone and then have trouble getting through. We had five chances at Belmont last weekend and we couldn't quite get there, but I suppose if it were to happen in a Breeders' Cup race, it'd be kind of cool.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Keeneland grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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‘It’s Hard To Put Into Words’: Cox Grateful For Career-Boosting Champion Monomoy Girl

According to trainer Brad Cox, champion Monomoy Girl's is better this year than she was two years ago. The 2018 Eclipse Award winner returned from multiple setbacks and nearly 18 months away from the races to win this season's Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs, and she's back in next Saturday's G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff hoping for a repeat of her victory in the 2018 edition.

The 5-year-old daughter of Tapizar gave Cox his first Grade 1 win in the Ashland in April of 2018. Since then, even without Monomoy Girl in his barn for the entire 2019 season, Cox's career has skyrocketed; he has now won 15 Grade 1 races as a trainer.

“It's hard to put into words what she means to me,” Cox said on Wednesday's Breeders' Cup teleconference. “Monomoy Girl put us in a position to have an opportunity to have eight, maybe nine horses in the Breeders' Cup this year. Horses like her definitely kickstart your career and get you to a different level.”

Cox trains the potential favorites in both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Essential Quality and Aunt Pearl.

Essential Quality, a 2-year-old son of Tapit owned by Godolphin, won the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 3.

“I think the sky's the limit with this horse,” Cox said. “He's had a race over the Keeneland track, he trained there a good bit of the summer, and he's had two nice works since his last race… I'm hoping he gets a good trip and he'll be in the mix.”

Aunt Pearl, a 2-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega, set a track record in the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland last out.

“She's a very fast filly who's able to carry her speed around two turns,” said Cox. “She had a really, really nice work last Friday at Churchill.”

In the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Cox may be represented by both Owendale and Knicks Go.

A Grade 1 winner at two, the now-4-year-old Knicks Go was transferred to Cox's stable over the winter. He's won a pair of allowance races this season, first at Oaklawn in February and last out at Keeneland, setting a track record on Oct. 4.

“We're 100 percent committed with Knicks Go,” Cox said. “He had a setback and minor surgery after the race in February, and there was talk of retiring him… When he came back he trained extremely well just like last winter, and he had his three-other-than condition. We took advantage of that at Keeneland, but we didn't expect him to break the track record. Obviously he loves Keeneland. Before that race, it never crossed my mind to run him in the Breeders' Cup. But after that performance… he has early speed and with the short stretch, I think he'll be a factor.”

The trainer isn't sure whether Owendale will start in the Breeders' Cup. The 4-year-old son of Into Mischief was most recently second in the G3 Pimlico Special, and may alternatively target the G1 Clark at the end of the Churchill Downs November meet.

“Owendale worked well with Monomoy Girl last week, and I feel like he's doing well,” Cox said. “If we don't land in the Dirt Mile, we'll go in the Clark.”

Cox's other Breeders' Cup entrants are: Abarta (Juvenile Turf), Beau Recall (Mile), Factor This (Mile), and Arklow (Turf).

In terms of Monomoy Girl, the mare has been entered in the Nov. 8 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Cox left the door open, however, when asked if she might return to race again in 2021.

“A lot of Monomoy Girl's future depends on her performance on Breeders' Cup day,” Cox said. “It was a long road, we had a couple of setbacks in '19, and took a lot from our staff and for everybody involved with her to get her back to compete and to win a Grade 1. We feel like she's better this year than she was in '18.”

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‘I Loved That Man’: Huey Barnes Gives Emotional Eulogy For Barry Abrams

Family, friends and race trackers spanning three generations paid their final respects last Monday to Barry Abrams in a graveside service at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills.

The popular former trainer passed away on Oct. 9 at 66 after a courageous 15-year battle with cancer, never showing a hint of self-pity.

Amid the emotion, Santa Anita horn blower Jay Cohen, in traditional fox hunt regalia, gave Abrams his final call to the post.

Huey Barnes, an 87-year-old African American who came to California to work as an exercise rider for Charlie Whittingham in the 1950s when racial discrimination was still a sty in America's eye, with public restrooms and drinking fountains for “Colored Only,” delivered an impromptu and moving eulogy.

Barnes is still going strong today working at Santa Anita as an assistant starter.

Abrams was born of Jewish ancestry in Russia where his father, Lev, earned his living as a butcher, but a darker skin pigment and a disparate faith didn't prevent Huey and Barry from becoming fast friends, each an ardent fan of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Their relationship was based on what matters most: character, values, loyalty, honesty, trust and respect, not skin color and religion.

In his final years when it was no longer safe for Barry to drive, Barnes picked him up at home and drove them to Laker games.

“When they were over Barry would always find some hole-in-the-wall spot to eat, one I never heard of, and I been out here for a long time,” Barnes said.

“Then next game he'd take me to another spot and I'd ask him, 'Where do you keep finding these places?' He loved horses, the Lakers and food, and it made him feel good when he could share them with me.

“I loved that man.”

Common interests and an absence of prejudice nurtured their uncharacteristic and unyielding bonding of more than four decades, this black man from Brooklyn and this white man from Russia.

Race was never an issue.

The word only came up when Barry had a horse running in one.

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