Conquest, Casse Seek Another Summer Score

Conquest Stables and trainer Mark Casse and will seek a third straight score in the Summer Stakes (Can-IIT) with two entrants Sept. 12 at Woodbine.



After winning the Summer in 2013 and 2014 with My Conquestadory and Conquest Typhoon, the owner/trainer combo will try stakes-placed Conquest Daddyo and first-time starter Conquest Enforcer in this year's edition of the mile turf event for 2-year-olds, a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT).



Conquest Daddyo, a Scat Daddy   colt who broke his maiden at first asking in July going six furlongs on the Woodbine synthetic, ran second last time out in the Vandal Stakes on the same surface and at the same distance.



But Casse is most encouraged by Conquest Enforcer, an Into Mischief   colt. Both horses are listed with Patrick Husbands as jockey, but Casse says Husbands will stay on Conquest Enforcer as long as Woodbine's turf surface stays firm, with Luis Saez on Conquest Daddyo.



"The intention is this—if the turf is fine, Enforcer is going to run," Casse said. "If I'm not happy with the turf, I'll scratch Enforcer. It's difficult enough to run a first-time starter going a mile with winners, then throw in a yielding surface—that's just not what we want to do."



Conquest Enforcer has drilled four times at Woodbine since the beginning of August, including a bullet five furlongs in :59 flat over the synthetic Aug. 26. He also breezed over turf Aug. 13, covering five furlongs in :59 3/5.



"I try never to get too high before we run, but he's trained like he's a really good horse," Casse said. "We've won this race a few times. We think this horse is better, but you never know until you run them."



Another intriguing Summer runner is Terry Hamilton's Hammers Vision, a Brian Lynch trainee and the only entrant with graded experience. After breaking is maiden at first asking over the Belmont Park turf in July, the Court Vision   colt ran third in the Saratoga Special Stakes (gr. II) on dirt at Saratoga Race Course.



Hollywood Hideaway is the only stakes winner in the field; he won the Victoria Stakes in his June debut but was fourth last time out in the Colin Stakes behind fellow Summer runner The Zip Zip Man, who came in second.



Last-time-out maiden-breaking winners Sky Marshal, Manhattan Dan, and Gigantic Breeze, along with maidens Dragon Bay and Bear'sway, complete the field.