Monday, January 28, 2013

Mark Casse: “You’re Only as Good as Your Players”

The top three finalists in each category for the Sovereign Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Eclipse Awards, were revealed this past week and it comes as no surprise that Mark Casse is up for leading trainer. With all due respect to top horsemen Reade Baker and Troy Taylor, Casse’s name is already engraved on the trophy.

If he isn’t called up on stage when the big night rolls around in Ontario in April, somebody better check the recent stamps on the passports of the guys involved with those infamous hanging chads after the 2000 presidential balloting in Florida.

This would be election-rigging not seen since the era of Louisiana Senator Huey “Kingfish” Long back in the 1930s.
Casse is coming off his career best year in 2012, when he ranked fifth among all North American trainers in the number of graded stakes wins (14), winning 20 stakes at Woodbine and another 11 in the U.S., including Keeneland's Grade 1 Alcibiades. His horses racked up over $10.2 million in earnings.

His numbers far surpass his 2011 total when those he sent postward bankrolled $7.8 million, or like in 2007, when his stakes total numbered 16.

His record at Woodbine, where he consistently runs away with titles, was ridiculous: 93 wins and $6.8 million in purses. Nobody else came close.

I suppose you could consider Casse the Canadian Todd Pletcher, who has four Eclipse Awards in his trophy case earned in four consecutive years from 2004 to 2007. Casse already has three Sovereigns, winning those back-to-back-to-back from 2006 to 2008.

Casse has yet to win the Kentucky Derby or a Breeders’ Cup race, but did train a Canadian Filly Triple Crown winner, Sealy Hill and has won dual classics north of the border and doesn’t have anywhere near the number of horses in training as Pletcher
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He doesn’t operate as many different strings either. His main assistant is his son, Norman.

This winter, Mark has 32 stalls at Palm Meadows and another eight or so at Gulfstream. Llike Pletcher, he does get some really talented young horses to train, thanks to principal owners John Oxley, Bill Farish and Gary Barber, the latter a relative newcomer on the scene.

“So much of what’s going on in my life has to do with Bill,” said Casse, who saddled five runners in the last Breeders’ Cup including Farish’s Pool Play, his first Classic contender.

“I was kind of just going along [until] Bill gave me the opportunity to go out and buy some horses and show what I could do. Then others took notice so I owe a lot to Bill.”

Those words were part of a one-on-one interview that Mark gave me while covering his contingent at the recent Breeders’ Cup. It was made clear that Mark fully recognized that horse racing is like any other sport when it comes to reaching the pinnacle.

“It’s no different than a good college basketball or football team. When you’re successful, it builds more success. It’s easier to recruit, and recruiting is everything,” he said. “To me, of all of the things that I do, the number one thing is going out and finding the horses because it doesn’t matter if you’re Todd Pletcher or Bob Baffert, you’re only as good as your players.

“We’re fortunate that we have some wonderful owners who have faith in us and are letting us go out and spend their money. Hopefully, it will be a snowball effect; it seems to be that way.”

While no head coach, or trainer, ever admits looking too far down the road, I bet that Casse and Oxley will be making their reservations for Louisville around the first Saturday in May.

A trifecta of 3-year-olds: Uncaptured, Dynamic Sky and Indiano Jones are among the current leaders in the new Kentucky Derby points system. The multiple graded stakes winning Uncaptured, who took five stakes among his six wins in seven starts last year, is ranked in the top ten. Star Contender, also wearing Oxley’s gold-and-blue colors, has potential as well.

But first come the Sovereign Awards. I have never met Troy Taylor but have covered Reade Baker; each are worthy of high praise and consideration. But nobody deserves the honor for their work in 2012 more than Mark Casse.

Moreover, I expect that as many as five of his runners: Uncaptured (juvenile colt); Spring in the Air or Spring Venture (juvenile filly category); Dixie Strike (3-year-old filly); Delegation (3-year-old colt) and Roxy Gap (in the older female, turf female or female sprinting divisions) will be presented with Sovereigns as well.. Uncaptured is odds-on to be named Canada's Horse of the Year.

A fourth Sovereign Award for Mark Casse would be well deserved. “In this business, I never take anything for granted,” said Casse.

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Monday, January 21, 2013

Indelible Moments

Anyone who doesn’t think that Paynter’s miraculous comeback from death’s door didn’t deserve to win the “NTRA Moment of the Year” doesn’t have a heart and can’t have a soul.

I’m among those who rooted wholeheartedly for Paynter, and rode the emotional roller coaster throughout his five arduous months of recovery, and I agree with the selection by the racing public. But I can’t call it my all-time favorite.

Recalling all of the past 13 Moment of the Year winners, I have to go with Drosslemeyer’s big Breeders’ Cup upset, capping off a Ladies Classic-Classic double for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Mike Smith in 2011..

Drosslemeyer?

Seriously??

It’s purely selfish: I bet on the big chestnut to win, even though he hadn’t done much of anything since his Belmont victory the year before. My fingers had been singed at the windows all that weekend, and that one wager on Drosslemeyer made me whole for two days of Breeders’ Cup.

There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Drosslemeyer.

Over the years there have been moments far more emotional, of course, and significantly better at capturing the majesty of the sport and epitomizing why Thoroughbred racing is the great game.

Could you ever forget the gut-wrenching and heart-breaking scene involving Charismatic and jockey Chris Antley following the 1999 Belmont Stakes?

At the time I was the communications director at Rockingham Park and had left the track after a day of live racing to join my ex at a local bar and watch the race on network television. When Charismatic, who was surely going to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, broke down inside the eighth pole and faded to finish third, the sight of Antley heroically jumping off and holding the horse’s badly broken leg was so tender and caring that I cried.

Then I got sick to my stomach because it was apparent that most of the guys in the bar only seemed to care that the 2-1 favorite wasn’t going to pay off. They were actually angry with Charismatic.
I’m glad that Antley saved the horse’s life and still sad that the talented jockey couldn’t save his own.

In 2006, the voting public chose Barbaro’s gallant struggle to recover from his catastrophic Preakness injury. Tragically, he couldn’t beat the complications of laminitis as Paynter did. The Barbaro story is a worthy recipient of the award and another that still makes me teary every time I think of this wonderful race horse.

Am I sentimental, with a tendency to over-dramatize? When it comes to the suffering of a Thoroughbred and the resulting grief and overwhelming sadness experienced by those who around love them, you betcha.

For me, ranked among the very best are those magical moments when females beat males in the most important races and on the biggest stages. OK; it’s a girl thing.

The following year, the winning Moment was Rags to Riches’ dramatic and historic victory over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes.

I saw the crowning moment after another live racing day at The Rock, racing home so I could watch the final leg of the Triple Crown on HDTV with no distractions. I could never forget that dramatic stretch duel. It were as though someone had placed a full length mirror on the track as the two chestnuts with the white striped-faces dug in nose-to-nose, ear-to-ear, chest-to-chest and fetlock-to-fetlock all the way down the lane.

I stood in my living room screaming at the TV: “C’mon girl, C’mon girl, C’mon girl,” urging Rags to Riches to get a whisker in front at the wire. As much respect and admiration as I had for Curlin, and would have been rooting for him if the field were all colts and geldings, I had to support the filly.

In 2009, the fans selected the inimitable Zenyatta’s exhilarating late run to beat a world class field of males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. I’ll always cherish the moment—from the moment she entered the paddock to the rousing cheers from her hometown racing fans.

I was standing close to the winner’s circle when she came out onto the track, spied the row of photographers snapping her picture, tossed her gorgeous head, bowed her neck, and went right into her patented dance in the post parade.

She was a bigger attraction than any movie star at that moment and she knew it. She proved it by coming from far back to the delight the Southern California crowd.I turned to look up into the stands and gauge the crowd’s reaction. The emotion and outpouring of love from 55,000 people was electric; it was also extraordinary. Grown men had tears streaming down their faces as did I. I never had seen anything like it before or since. What a magnificent moment!

The following year belonged to Zenyatta again. She came from what felt like 50 lengths back with that furious stretch drive down Churchill Downs lane but Blame dug in deep and held her off. Watching from the rail, the collective soul of about 70,000 fans was willing her to keep swallowing up ground with each stride. When she lost--just barely—the sense that oxygen was getting sucked out of the entire track was palpable.

The darkness that descended on Louisville fell on cue, the perfect backdrop for the mood.

And, so, let’s rank my top five NTRA Moments: Drosselmeyer; Zenyatta; Rags to Riches; Charismatic and Paynter. Sitting right at the cusp of the Top Five would have to be Rachel Alexandra's victory over males in Saratoga that helped her earn Horse of the Year recognition.

Can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

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Friday, January 18, 2013

The Envelopes, Please

Even if I can’t be in the house when the Eclipse Awards are bestowed on Saturday night at Gulfstream Park, my presence will be felt. Count me as one of the 268 voters for this year’s champions.

But choosing from among the very best in Thoroughbred racing is a little like trying to pick the top three in the Miss Universe pageant. They’re all gorgeous, and whether Miss Sweden, Miss Venezuela or Miss India is the most breath-taking in a bikini usually comes down to the judges’ personal standard of beauty.

Since I was tasked with deciding who was best on the track, I could only rely upon my standards of equine excellence. As this is no beauty contest, even though Royal Delta is an especially good-looking mare, numbers don’t lie and neither do the PP’s. So here are my votes in each of the categories, and instead of winding up for the big finish with Horse of the Year, that’s where I’ll start. As you read through, you’ll see why.

HORSE OF THE YEAR: WISE DAN. I know, I know. He never ran on dirt and he’s a turf miler. But who ever decreed the best horse has to be a main track performer? Or win a route race? Wise Dan simply was The Man all year long.

He did everything asked of him, and brilliantly. He started six times and ran a triple digit Beyer in each, won five of those races, and as Daily Racing Form’s Jay Hovdey wrote in a recent column, he was only a head away from being flawless.

He didn’t just beat an international field that included Excelebration in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, he did it in stakes and course record time in a blazing 1:31.78. So what if the lawn at Santa Anita that day was- shall we say- super firm? He still ran faster than the glorious Goldikova, who three-peated in the Mile, and the exquisite dual winner, Miesque, And Lure, the best American turf miler of his day and another dual winner and the regal Royal Heroine. And all won Eclipse Awards.

Wise Dan also set a stakes record when he won the Ben Ali at Keeneland by 10 ½ lengths on Polytrack no less, crushed a tough international field in the Woodbine Mile and also took the Shadwell Turf Mile and the Fourstardave. He shipped everywhere and triumphed. He very nearly proved best in the Stephen Foster on Churchill’s main track, but gave weight to every other horse and had the trip from Hell.

Simply put, Wise Dan is one hell of a horse. If he were mine (apologies to Morton Fink) I’d formally adopt him.

2-YEAR-OLD MALE: SHANGHAI BOBBY. His resume reads 5-for-5 with a Grade 2 and two Grade 1’s, including that gutsy performance when he had to find another gear in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile without running on Lasix for the first time. Case closed. The tremendous work that Jack and Laurie Wolf of Starlight Stable do for Thoroughbred aftercare, a cause very dear to me, and other worthwhile industry charities didn’t even factor into the decision.

2-YEAR-OLD FILLY: BEHOLDER. She showed up on Breeders’ Cup Day while showing grit-in beating -without Lasix for the first time- EXECUTIVEPRIVILEGE. The latter’s clunker in the Hollywood Starlet five weeks later reinforced my decision.

3-YEAR-OLD MALE: I’LL HAVE ANOTHER. It’s not his fault he was hurt before the Belmont. If winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in a year when no other sophomore stepped up isn’t good enough for you, there’s nothing else I can say.

3-YEAR-OLD FILLY: MY MISS AURELIA. I should have waited until after her LaBrea Stakes ho-hummer. But when I voted I figured her head victory over Questing in the Cotillion, which was one of the most exciting races in any division in 2012, and besting older girls to be second to Royal Delta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic made her the choice.

OLDER MALE: WISE DAN. I repeat, nowhere is it carved in stone the best guy has to win on dirt. Honorable mention: FT. LARNED.

OLDER FEMALE: ROYAL DELTA. The choice could not have been easier or quicker, and it’s not because I still have my Delta Delta Delta sorority pin from college. Her Majesty rules this division. (GRACE HALL, who I have been absolutely in love with since I first got to pet her when she was 2, gets my personal special achievement award).

MALE SPRINTER: TRINNIBERG. As much as I adore The Shack, Trinniberg showed up on the day it counted. When you win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and three other graded stakes, you get the trophy.

FEMALE SPRINTER: GROUPIE DOLL. Just because I got to rub her neck, kiss her nose and feed her peppermints on the Santa Anita backstretch during Breeders’ Cup week doesn’t mean she deserves this honor. She earned it, winning five graded stakes and three Grade 1 wins including her knock-out performance in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint--arguably the most dominating performance of the entire event. Indeed, she was still my second choice for Horse of the Year.

MALE TURF: WISE DAN. There was plenty of teeth grinding over this very tough choice because Little Mike was amazing all year with three major Grade 1 victories over a distance of ground. (I still think Point of Entry was the best horse going into that race, and it’s not just because I am a huge Shug McGaughey fan; the trip did him in). In the end, though, Wise Dan was the best overall guy on grass.

FEMALE TURF: ZAGORA. When you win three Grade 1’s and beat a tough international field in the Breeders’ Cup F&M Turf, you get to wear the crown. Parenthetically, if they got to go around again, MARKETING MIX might have won for my old friend, trainer Tommy Proctor, but I had to make her second best.

STEEPLECHASE: PIERROT LUNAIRE, DEMONSTRATIVE, ARCADIUS. (I’m just grateful they all got home safely after jumping over those hurdles).

TRAINER: DALE ROMANS. Let’s recap some of his grade 1 wins in 2012: Blue Grass, Woodford Reserve, Met Mile, Arlington Million, Pacific Classic, First Lady, Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Clark Handicap. If that isn’t good enough for you, you’re following the wrong sport. Speaking of sport, Dale also won the Turf Publicists Big Sport of Turfdom award this year. Great guy/great trainer gets my vote every time. TODD PLETCHER was our runnerup with BOB BAFFERT next.

JOCKEY: JOHN VELAZQUEZ. In the toughest category, you could make a compelling case for three guys who just killed it out there day after day and won the big races when it counted most. But they wouldn’t let me spilt my vote three ways so it’s Johnny V on the basis of most Grade 1 victories, in a photo over RAMON DOMINGUEZ and JAVIER CASTELLANO. That’s one pretty damn fine trifecta.

OWNER: GODOLPHN RACING, MIDWEST THOROUGHBREDS, and JOHN OXLEY, in that order, the latter getting a strong shout-out along with his trainer, MARK CASSE, for a sensational year. They are odds-on to win Sovereign Awards as Canada’s best; deservedly so.

BREEDER: DARLEY STABLE, BRERETON C. JONES, ADENA SPRINGS.

APPRENTICE JOCKEY: IRAD ORTIZ, JR., JOSE MONTANO, ANGEL SUAREZ.

No matter which horses and humans take home statues on Saturday night, all are winners. In retrospect, we didn’t get to see I’ll Have Another and his young jockey Mario Gutierrez win a Triple Crown, but 2012 was an extraordinary year of racing. Mazel Tov, one and all.

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