Casse Hopes for Early Pace to Benefit Trio in Nearctic

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said his best chance to win the Oct. 17 CA$250,000 Nearctic Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine will come if there's a hot pace that falls apart late in the six-furlong race on the E. P. Taylor Turf Course.

"All three of my horses are come-from-behind horses," Casse said of Olympic Runner  (post 3, Rafael Hernandez, 6-1), Turned Aside  (post 6, Kazushi Kimura, 20-1), and Lucky Curlin  (post 7, Irad Ortiz Jr., 10-1). 

Casse said "the old pro" Olympic Runner and "up-and-coming horse" Lucky Curlin, "need some pace and I think there's going to be some pace. There's some quick horses in there. If we get some pace and it falls apart, both of those horses will come running."

The Nearctic has drawn 10 horses and will go as race 10 on Sunday, two races after the card's main event, the CA$600,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1T).

Brandon Greer trainee Town Cruise  (post 9, Daisuke Fukumoto, 2-1) is the morning-line favorite, followed by Admiralty Pier  (post 1, Antonio Gallardo, 7-2), White Flag  (post 4, Emma-Jayne Wilson, 5-1), and then Olympic Runner. 

Casse said 4-year-old Lucky Curlin has run well in his two starts this year—a victory Aug. 22 at Woodbine in an allowance optional claiming race and a second to Pink Lloyd Sept. 25 in the Bold Venture Stakes (G3), also at Woodbine. Lucky Curlin (by Curlin  ) has a record of 3-3-3 in 14 starts and earnings of $188,362. 

"Irad Ortiz (Jr.) is going to ride him for us," Casse said. "He's coming in to ride in the E.P. Taylor, so he's going to ride him for us. (Lucky Curlin) belongs to Gary Barber ... He won on the turf and then came back and was second in the stakes to Pink Lloyd. But he's actually pretty good on the grass. There's supposed to be some rain and I'm hoping there's a little cut in the ground and it maybe brings some of his speed back. He'll be running late." 

Casse said Olympic Runner "had kind of a tough trip last time" in the $1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) Sept. 18, finishing eighth in a race won by Town Cruise. Yet, it's been a productive year for Olympic Runner, a 5-year-old son of Gio Ponti   also owned by Barber. Olympic Runner is 2-2-0 in eight starts in 2021. Olympic Runner won the $175,000 King Edward Stakes (G2T) Aug. 15 at Woodbine, was second in the $175,000 Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) July 18 at Woodbine, and was second in the $125,000 Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 27. Last year, he was fourth in the Nearctic won by Silent Poet.

As for Casse's 20-1 longshot, Turned Aside, the trainer said the 5-year-old son of American Pharoah   has been a disappointment. 

"He was a really talented horse last year. We've got him this year and he's been very disappointing. He's training well. It's a tough spot, but I'm going to give it a try," Casse said.

Last year Turned Aside won the Quick Call Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course. 

The Nearctic field is completed with Reconfigure , Avie's Flatter , Momos , and Jolie Olimpica .

Entries: Nearctic S. (G2T)

Woodbine, Sunday, October 17, 2021, Race 10

• Grade IIT
• 6f
• Turf
• $250,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:44 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Admiralty Pier (KY)	Antonio A. Gallardo	121	Barbara J. Minshall	7/2
2	2Reconfigure (KY)	Eswan Flores	121	Robert P. Tiller	20/1
3	3Olympic Runner (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	124	Mark E. Casse	6/1
4	4White Flag (KY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	121	Roger L. Attfield	5/1
5	5Avie's Flatter (ON)	Luis Contreras	124	Josie Carroll	8/1
6	6Turned Aside (KY)	Kazushi Kimura	121	Mark E. Casse	20/1
7	7Lucky Curlin (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Mark E. Casse	10/1
8	8Momos (KY)	Patrick Husbands	118	Michael J. Trombetta	20/1
9	9Town Cruise (ON)	Daisuke Fukumoto	126	Brandon Evan Greer	2/1
10	10Jolie Olimpica (BRZ)	Joel Rosario	121	Josie Carroll	12/1