Got Stormy Turns Casse's Luck Around at Saratoga Meet

Trainer Mark Casse was all smiles the morning of Aug. 15 at Saratoga Race Course after securing his first grade 1 victory as a newly enshrined Hall of Famer when Got Stormy  bested males to win the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) for the second time a day earlier. 

Got Stormy set a course record in 2019 on the inner turf in capturing the Fourstardave in a time of 1:32 with Ricardo Santana, Jr. up. After finishing second in last year's running to pacesetting Halladay , the 6-year-old chestnut daughter of 2010 Fourstardave victor Get Stormy   vindicated herself Saturday with a sharp 1 1/2-length triumph under Tyler Gaffalione. 

The victory included a Breeders' Cup challenge berth to the Nov. 6 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) at Del Mar.

Despite last week's Hall of Fame induction, the summer campaign had been a frustrating one for Casse, who was winless in 20 previous starts at the current Saratoga meet before Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse Stable's Got Stormy won the Fourstardave.

"It's been a rough meet, but my wife (Tina) said it best: 'It's been gloomy in Saratoga until the storm blew through,'" Casse said. 

Got Stormy arrived at the Fourstardave off two fifth-place finishes in graded stakes after making her seasonal bow a winning one in the Honey Fox Stakes (G3T) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park. 

Although she was sent off at 12-1 odds Saturday, Casse said he nevertheless felt confident in his mare because of her demeanor in the paddock. 

"It's her. She just gets happy," Casse said. "She was walking around after I had saddled her and I told Tyler, 'She's got her game face on today, they better be ready.' I could tell she just wanted to go out there and do it."

Casse said Got Stormy, a seven-time graded stakes winner with graded scores at six different tracks, will appreciate a return to Del Mar, where she captured the Matriarch Stakes (G1T) in her final start of 2019.

"The good news for us is she's 1-for-1 at Del Mar," Casse said. "We should have hard and fast (turf) there, and the turns aren't quite as tight as they are here but they're sharp. I want to get one race into her, I just haven't figured out where I want to do that yet.

"She just loves training here so much. Most horses do," Casse added regarding Got Stormy's affinity for Saratoga. "She enjoys the tight turns. She can run around a turn like most horses can't, so that helps." 

Casse mentioned the possibility of attempting a dual conquest in the Sept. 11 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs. 

"I can go to Kentucky Downs just as a prep, run her at 6 1/2 (furlongs) and we don't care about the weather," Casse said. "If it rains, it's OK. Where the soft ground hurts us is when she's trying to get a mile."

Previously owned by Gary Barber, Got Stormy was purchased for $2.75 million by Spendthrift Farm last fall out of Bluewater Sales' consignment to The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected breeding stock sale in Lexington.

Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm, said he was delighted to see the superstar mare secure a grade 1 victory when sporting Spendthrift's orange and purple silks. 

"Mark was very confident. He said she was doing so well," Toffey recalled. "I think clearly, she really likes Saratoga. It was just great to see. This was so gratifying because when (Spendthrift founder) Mr. (B. Wayne) Hughes decided to get involved with MyRacehorse, he really believed that this was something that would be successful, but what they need are really good horses.

"She didn't appear to have lost any steps yesterday so that was great to see," Toffey continued. "She's such a gutsy, hard-trying mare. You just love to see that kind do well."

Toffey felt gratified to be able to provide the multiple MyRacehorse partners a prestigious victory at Saratoga. 

"To get a grade 1 and to be able to see a project like this come full circle, work out this way, and have a bunch of enthusiastic MyRacehorse fans to be there and share it with us was a great feeling," Toffey said. 

Speaking of his other contenders, Casse added that maiden Volcanic , a two-time starting son of Violence   owned by Breeze Easy, could race back in the Sept. 6 Hopeful Stakes (G1). The $230,000 purchase out of South Point Sales Agency's consignment to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale finished third last out in a six-furlong maiden event July 24 at the Spa. 

The Hall of Fame trainer said Live Oak Plantation's July 10 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) winner Souper Sensational , who finished second in the Aug. 7 Longines Test Stakes (G1), could start next in the Sept. 4 Prioress Stakes (G2) at the Spa.