Catch a Glimpse Gives Casse First BC Win

Catch a Glimpse had been touting herself in the mornings, training strongly over Keeneland's dirt track, and the City Zip   filly came through Oct. 30 at the Lexington oval, giving trainer Mark Casse his first Breeders' Cup win with a score in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT).

Casse was 0-for-25 coming into the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but Catch a Glimpse pressed the pace throughout and galloped clear under jockey Florent Geroux, who is now 2-for-2 in Breeders' Cup events after taking the 2014 Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) on Work All Week. It was also the first Breeders' Cup win for owners Gary Barber, Michael Ambler, and Jeff Begg of Windways Farm.

"It feels good. It feels really good," Casse said. "When this is all you've ever done for your entire life... this is my entire life. This is important."

Catch a Glimpse broke alertly and raced up eagerly with longshot Ruby Notion into the first turn, but then relaxed well and allowed Ruby Notion to carry on with the lead through splits of :24.34, :49.20, and 1:14.35.

"She broke very sharp," said Geroux. "The only speed in the race was the five horse (Ruby Notion) and I had to make sure to keep my position, but not go head-to-head with her. I was shut off and I had to steady a little bit in the first turn, but I took a hold and let (Ruby Notion) go. Then, when I was outside of her, (Catch a Glimpse) settled really nicely. In the stretch I had plenty left and I was pretty confident. She gave me a good run."

The eventual winner took over turning for home, running seven-eighths in 1:26.42 to finish three-quarters of a length clear of closing 5-2 favorite Alice Springs. Nemoralia was third behind a final time of 1:39.08 in the mile test over yielding ground.

"I kept telling everybody and nobody would listen to me; she's really good," Casse said. "She was a little rank in the early going, but we expected that. We've been trying and trying to get her to settle. We knew we weren't going to be able to make the lead. When I was going over the past performance, and I saw Wesley's (Ward) horse (Ruby Notion) I said 'Oh Boy,' and I knew it was going to be trouble and I was hoping she would clear. But she didn't and she got a little rough in the first turn, but then she settled and went on and ran her race." 

The chestnut filly came off a five-length victory in the Sept. 12 Natalma Stakes (Can-IIT) at Woodbine and paid $14.80, $7, and $5.80 at odds of 6-1. The Juvenile Fillies Turf was her third straight win; she took an Aug. 22 allowance event on the front end at Woodbine going seven furlongs by 1 3/4 lengths to break her maiden. Catch a Glimpse debuted at Saratoga Race Course July 30, but the race came off the grass and she floundered in the slop, finishing a well-beaten fifth in a 5 1/2 furlong sprint.

NOVAK: Catch a Glimpse Rolls to Natalma Score

"I thought when she won the Natalma prep, she was much better than it looked," Casse said. "We've won the Natalma (six) times, and I told a few people, 'This is the best Natalma winner that I've ever had.'"

Alice Springs paid $5.80 and $4 while Nemoralia brought $9.20. Completing the order of finish were Sapphire Kitten, Time and Motion, Illuminate, Harmonize, Mirage, Pricedtoperfection, Last Waltz, Thrilled, Gliding By, Ruby Notion, and Andreya's Reward.

Catch a Glimpse was bred in Kentucky by Branch Equine out of the Irish River mare Halo River, and was purchased for $75,000 Jeff Begg of Windways from the Warrendale Sales consignment at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale.

"I bought the filly last year at Keeneland, and it was funny, because actually I went to look at another filly at a consignment, and this filly was standing outside," Begg recalled. "I thought, whoa, that filly looks pretty sharp. I looked at the page. She was half sister to a horse called Old Forester, who stands in Canada, a very fast horse.

"I looked at her again. The second day, I went back and pulled her out with the other horse. Every day I looked at her, I liked her more. She wasn't a big horse, didn't have tons of bone, but she was very, very athletic, looked very quick... So I bought her... actually we had her kind of pegged to go to a 2-year-old sale... The plan changed a few times, but the partnership came out and it worked out, to say the least."