After owning Thoroughbreds for nearly two decades, Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing secured what he considers to be his best victory to date with Casa Creed in Fourstardave (G1) Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, a “Win And You're In” qualifier for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland.
Casa Creed squared off against multiple Grade 1-winning mare Regal Glory, who was unbeaten in her last four starts, three at Grade 1 level, and was made the 1-2 favorite at post time. But the day belonged to Casa Creed, who settled at the rear of the five-horse field, made a wide sweeping move approaching the quarter pole and found his best stride in deep stretch, drawing away to a 1 1/2-length victory. He garnered a 103 Beyer Speed Figure for the win, which is his second highest figure.
Additionally, Casa Creed provided Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott with a record-extending fifth victory in the Fourstardave. He previously won the Fourstardave with Hap [2000], Silver Tree [2007], Seek Again [2014] and Tourist [2016], the latter of whom won that year's Breeders' Cup Mile.
“All wins are special at all levels. For a lot of reasons, I think for me, yesterday was the best win we've ever had,” Einsidler said. “The thing is before the race, everyone wanted to give the trophy to Regal Glory. I've learned betting on horses for 50 years and owning them for 20, whenever you're ready to award the trophy before they run the race, it never works out. It was very gratifying.”
Einsidler, who owns the multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire in partnership with Mike Francesa's JEH Racing Stable, said the Kentucky-bred son of Spendthrift Farm sire Jimmy Creed appears to be at his best at the ripe age of 6.
“Bill Mott and I were in his stall a few weeks ago and he said 'Lee, he's better today than he's ever been in his entire career.' He's just been flourishing,” Einsidler recalled. “They say a lot of horses are at their best at five. Yesterday was the best performance of his career and he's a 6-year-old. He's just amazing. I'd say right now, he's at the total top of his game.”
A veteran of 27 lifetime starts, including victories in the last two runnings of the Jaipur (G1) at Belmont Park, Casa Creed was also third in the previous two runnings of the Fourstardave. Showing versatility in both one-turn turf sprints and two-turn route races, Casa Creed earned his first career graded stakes victory during his sophomore campaign in Saratoga's National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G1) in August 2019.
Following a productive 5-year-old season, which saw victories in the Elusive Quality and Jaipur at Belmont, Casa Creed made his 2022 debut in the Group 3 1351 Turf Sprint Cup on February 26 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia. He was a hard fought second beaten a neck under Luis Saez, who has piloted the horse in all four of his starts this year.
“He went up here at a mile as a 3-year-old, so I never thought a mile was a problem for him. What we have learned the past couple of years is the jock has to be very patient,” Einsidler said. “You learn as you go, and the rider learns as you go. But if we could run some of the races over again, we would probably have taken him back a little more and been a little more patient to let him put in that amazing late kick that he has. We learned that when we sprinted him.
Luis Saez was very confident yesterday that if he took him back and waited when the filly made her move, we'd make our move,” Einsidler added. “We all felt that his kick in the Jaipur showed us that they would have a hard time holding him off yesterday and that's what happened.”
With victories in both this year's Fourstardave and Jaipur, Casa Creed received an automatic entry into both the Mile as well as the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Einsidler said Casa Creed will focus in on the Mile, a race he finished a respective 12th and eighth in the past two years.
“[The Turf Sprint] is only 5 1/2 [furlongs] sprinting at Keeneland, which is a little short for him,” Einsidler said. “From what we saw yesterday, if all goes according to plan, I'm sure we'll show up in the Mile as long as he's training great and feels great.”
A start between the Fourstardave and the Breeders' Cup has not been ruled out for Casa Creed. Should he race once in between, Einsidler said it would likely take place in the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) on October 8 at Keeneland. Casa Creed was a pacesetting fourth in the 2020 edition of that race.
“If he's telling us he has to run, we'll run him there which is fine because you got four weeks to the Breeders' Cup and a trip over the course,” Einsidler said. “He's run there before, but now he's much better today than he was then. So, I think the idea of running him over there makes all the sense in the world, but if Mott wants to wait and train him up to the Breeders' Cup, that's why he's in the Hall of Fame. He makes those decisions.”
Einsidler also welcomed the possibility of Casa Creed staying in training for a 2023 campaign.
“If he stays sound and he's doing great, we'll run him next year,” said Einsidler. “There's a stallion career somewhere for him, but I'm all about racing so that's what we're going to do.”
The post ‘Yesterday Was The Best Win We’ve Ever Had’: Casa Creed Provides Connections With Meaningful Victory In Fourstardave appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
