The trainer from Ocala fields two rivals in the hopes of winning his first derby.
When Mark Casse’s two Kentucky Derby entrants take to the starting gate at Churchill Downs recently, they had about double the racing experience they have now, he said.
However, things aren’t quite back to normal yet, as the fallout from last year’s COVID-19 shutdown appears to have had an effect on the 3-year-old unit. Maybe, just maybe, in this extraordinary year, three career attempts would be enough to win the Run for the Roses.
We haven’t seen their best yet, said Ocala’s Casse, who qualified for the 20-horse field with Tampa Bay Derby champion Helium and Florida Derby second-place finisher Soup and Sandwich.
“A number of the horses you’ll see are running as well as they possibly can. They are on their own level. Both of our horses, in my opinion, can and will improve.”
At least four other Derby entrants have direct connections to the state of Florida. Medina Spirit was bred at Gail Rice’s tiny Ocala enterprise and sold twice through OBS Sales before landing under Bob Baffert’s care at Zedan Racing Stables.
The OBS Sales ring in Ocala also saw Sainthood, Like the King and Brooklyn Strong.
Each one of Casse’s entries are long shots, with Soup and Sandwich opening at 21-1 and Helium at 35-1 as of midday Friday. But that’s where the lack of prior success may come as a shock.
When Casse sent War of Will to the Derby post two years ago, he had eight starts under his belt. Classic Empire had seven two years prior.
Even among the favorites this year, Essential Quality receives five stars and Known Agenda receives six.
Helium had not raced in 4 1/2 months when he entered the Tampa Bay Derby, having spent the previous year dormant in Canada. That wasn’t the only disadvantage he faced. He’d never run on dirt before — he ran on synthetics in Canada — and he’d never run more than 7 furlongs.
Casse, who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 2020, said, “You add those three factors, and he’s not expected to win.”
Despite a longer trip on the outside, Helium won by three-quarters of a length to stay unbeaten.
“His victory in the Tampa Bay Derby was the most remarkable win I’ve ever had out of a horse in my 40 years as a trainer,” Casse said.
Helium, on the other hand, hasn’t raced in eight weeks. Since 1929, no Derby champion has had a layoff of more than seven weeks.
“He won after a four-and-a-half-month layoff,” Casse said. “How come he can’t win (being) off for two months?”
Meanwhile, Soup and Sandwich did not race until January. He was bred at Ocala’s Live Oak Stud and may become just the second Derby winner without a 2-year-old start since the 1800s.
Soup and Sandwich raced near the front of the Florida Derby, but were passed by Known Agenda as they approached the finish line.
“It shocked him when (Known Agenda) moved up beyond him,” Casse speculated. “You must realize that he has only run twice in his life and lacks the necessary experience. So, he wobbled when he saw him.”
He also noticed that Soup and Sandwich did not switch leads as they approached the final turn, and that remaining on his left lead might have cost him time.
Casse’s Hall of Fame portfolio is missing one big item: the Kentucky Derby. He’s won five Breeders’ Cup races, including the 2019 Preakness Stakes (War of Will) and the 2019 Belmont Stakes (Sir Winston), as well as top races in Canada, England and other countries.
At Churchill Downs, he came close to War of Will, who was at the heart of the Derby’s only off-the-board finish.
War of Will, who was advancing to the front at the top of the homestretch, was pushed off stride by a drifting Maximum Security, who collided with another horse and forced jockey Tyler Gaffalione to check up briefly.
Maximum Security was the first to reach the finish line, but stewards relegated him to eighth place. War of Will came in seventh place.
Classic Empire was Casse’s Derby favorite in 2017, but a shaky start saw the bay colt knocked heavily at the end of a chain reaction. Classic Empire came in fourth place.
“Getting into the Derby is an honor,” Casse said, “but I’m ready to win one.”
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun
