Mott Duo Faces Got Stormy in $1 Million Turf Sprint

In Casa Creed , Bill Mott has a rather versatile turf runner.

The son of Jimmy Creed   is a grade 1 winner at six furlongs, and at a mile he has a grade 2 victory and two placings in grade 1 affairs.

That affords the Hall of Fame trainer considerable leeway in picking out races for the 5-year-old horse owned by Lee Einsidler's LRE Racing and sports radio icon Mike Francesa's JEH Racing Stable, but there was something pretty magnetic about the Sept. 11 FanDuel Turf Sprint (G3T) at Kentucky Downs that prompted him to enter both Casa Creed and Chewing Gum .

In short, it's the only chance this year his horses will get to run for a $1 million purse at a friendly six-furlong distance.

"We ran Casa Creed a mile (in the Fourstardave Handicap, G1T) because we didn't like the post position we had in the  5 1/2-furlong stakes (post 12 in the Troy Stakes Presented by Horse Racing Ireland, G3T), so maybe the six will suit him," Mott said. "It's a big purse, so it's worth taking a shot."

With $1 million on the line for virtually all of the starters, the Turf Sprint has taken on the look of a Breeders' Cup race with a stellar field of 13, including one also-eligible entrant.

Both Casa Creed and Chewing Gum surely belong in the field as evidenced by the June 5 six-furlong Jackpocket Jaipur Stakes (G1T) when Casa Creed scored by two lengths over Chewing Gum. 

That victory earned Casa Creed a free spot in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T), which will also be up for grabs in Saturday's "Win and You're In" test at Kentucky Downs. Yet there's a hitch for Casa Creed. With the World Championships being held at Del Mar, the Sprint will be contested at five furlongs, a distance that would seem to be on the short side for the Kentucky-bred son of the Bellamy Road mare Achalaya bred by Silver Springs Stud.

The connections, however, should have some options in November. While the guaranteed spot applies only to the Turf Sprint, the starting fees can be applied to another Breeders' Cup race and with a first and third in grade 1 stakes and a second in grade 2 company this year he figures to have enough points to also qualify for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T).

Last time out in the Fourstardave, Casa Creed rallied wide and settled for third, two lengths behind the victorious mare Got Stormy , who will also be running in Saturday's stakes.

Casa Creed, a winner of five of 21 starts with earnings of $815,408, was bought by Einsidler for $105,000 from the Kelli Mitchell consignment at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is the first of five foals by Achalaya and a half brother to grade 3 winner Chess's Dream  (Jess's Dream  ). She also has a yearling colt by Distorted Humor   and an Omaha Beach   weanling colt.

Chewing Gum, owned by Wachtel Stable, Pantofel Stable, and Jerold Zaro, is coming off an eighth in the Troy, when he broke slowly and raced wide.

"The 5 1/2 furlongs is a different type of race and on a firm course they left him," Mott said. "He's doing well for Saturday's race."

Got Stormy is returning to Kentucky Downs in a familiar position. A year ago, she was second in the Fourstardave at her beloved Saratoga Race Course and then won the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes (G3T) by 3 1/4 lengths. This time around, she's coming off an impressive 1 1/2-length victory in the Fourstardave that earned her a free spot in the Mile.

Running against the guys is nothing new as this will be her 10th start in open company and in those nine previous tries she has two wins and four seconds all in grade 1 stakes.

Owned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, the runner-up in the 2019 Mile has 12 wins from 30 starts with hefty career earnings of $2.3 million.

"We've never backed down from a challenge," trainer Mark Casse said about the Kentucky-bred 6-year-old daughter of Get Stormy  .

For Imprimis , the race carries a much smaller financial reward. The son of Broken Vow   was bred in Florida and does not qualify for the stakes' $450,000 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund bonus, making it a $550,000 race for the lone non-Kentucky-bred in the field.

Owned by Breeze Easy and trained by Joe Orseno, it's been an eventful year for the 2020 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint winner. While running in the April 3 Shakertown Stakes (G2T), he broke through the starting gate and suffered a broken bone in his nose. He wound up finishing a gutsy second that day, losing, ironically enough, by a nose, but was given four months off until he returned with a fourth in the Troy.

"I backed off him after he broke his nose and took him to the Troy," Orseno said. "I thought I could get away with it, but he's a year older and that's tougher to do."

Since then, the 7-year-old gelding has been working brilliantly, including a bullet :58 4/5 move Aug. 24.

"He's doing great," Orseno said. "I wouldn't trade places with anyone."

The bulky field also includes Troy winner Fast Boat  (City Zip) and 2019 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) runner-up Diamond Oops  (Lookin At Lucky  ).

Entries: FanDuel Turf Sprint S. (G3T)

Kentucky Downs, Saturday, September 11, 2021, Race 8

• Grade IIIT
• 6f
• Turf
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:09 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Diamond Oops (KY)	Florent Geroux	121	Patrick L. Biancone	15/1
2	2Fast Boat (KY)	Joel Rosario	125	Joe Sharp	10/1
3	3Bombard (KY)	Flavien Prat	125	Richard E. Mandella	10/1
4	4Gear Jockey (KY)	Jose Lezcano	121	George R. Arnold, II	10/1
5	5Born Great (KY)	Adam Beschizza	121	Brendan P. Walsh	15/1
6	6Front Run the Fed (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	Caio Caramori	20/1
7	7Casa Creed (KY)	Junior Alvarado	125	William I. Mott	7/2
8	8Siem Riep (KY)	James Graham	121	Terry J. Brennan	20/1
9	9Got Stormy (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	122	Mark E. Casse	9/2
10	10Chewing Gum (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	121	William I. Mott	12/1
11	11Stubbins (KY)	Luis Saez	121	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
12	12Imprimis (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Joseph F. Orseno	6/1
13	13Johnny Unleashed (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	121	Eric N. Foster	20/1