Casse Sends Out Pair for Farmer in Mazarine

To date in 2018, trainer Mark Casse and owner Tracy Farmer have teamed for some big wins, including the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Sir Winston and the Spinaway Stakes (G1) with Perfect Alibi, who will aim for more grade 1 success Oct. 4 when she starts in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

But Perfect Alibi isn't the only talented juvenile filly for Farmer and Casse. On Oct. 5 they'll send out Skygaze and Special Honor, each making their stakes debut, in the $125,000 Mazarine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine. Skygaze, an American Pharoah  filly, enters Saturday's 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-old fillies off a seven-length score in her second start, a seven-furlong test Aug. 30 on the synthetic track at Woodbine in which Special Honor finished third.

"I thought her last race was tremendous," Casse said of Skygaze. "She had a big Beyer (speed figure), but more importantly, she's come back and trained extremely well. We think a lot of her. We liked her a lot (before the win), but our feeling is that she's progressed even more since then. We're excited about her."

Special Honor, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Honor Code , was making her debut in that Aug. 30 race. She then finished second to Merveilleux in her second race, a one-mile and 70-yard maiden event Sept. 28 at Woodbine. Merveilleux had finished second in the Aug. 30 maiden race. 

Casse has won five of the past seven editions of the Mazarine and also will send out Gary Barber's Roman d'Oro, who registered a front-running victory in a six-furlong maiden race Sept. 15 at Woodbine.