Tepin Posts Final Work Ahead of Woodbine Mile

Robert Masterson's Tepin put in her final work for the Sept. 17 Ricoh Woodbine Mile (gr. IT) Sept. 12, covering four furlongs in :49.71 on the turf training track at Saratoga Race Course.

"Today was an easy half-mile. All her big works have been completed and this was just a maintenance-type work. We didn't put her in company. Her regular exercise rider worked her," said assistant trainer Norm Casse. "It was a typical work for Tepin. She went off a little slow and we asked her to finish around the quarter pole. She flew home and got the last quarter in :23 flat. From the wire to the 3/4-pole, I got her in :12 and change, so she was actually galloping out better than she was working. I was really encouraged by the work."

Tepin, a five-time grade I winner and champion mare known as the "Queen of the Turf," brings a seven-race win streak into the Woodbine Mile.

The daughter of Bernstein will van north to the Toronto track after morning training at Saratoga Sept. 14. Most recently Tepin captured the group I Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

 

"It's going to be hard to replace the feeling we had when she won at Royal Ascot," Casse said. "Once she started getting closer to going over there and she got that international mandate, I realized how exciting it was going to be and how much of a star she was becoming overseas and how important horse racing was there.  

"To go over there and win one of their most important races was special. The only way we could ever top that feeling again would be to win the Kentucky Derby. It's one of those fleeting moments. It's like an out-of-body experience and I wish we could bottle up the feeling we had when she won at Royal Ascot."

Casse, a graduate of Bellarmine University in Louisville, took out his assistant trainer's license in 2006 and spent a number of years at Woodbine before moving on to train his Hall of Fame father Mark Casse's horses in the U.S. at Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream Park, Keeneland, and Saratoga.  

He'll be returning to Woodbine for the first time since 2011 to make final preparations for Saturday's $1 million test.

"I'm really excited about the possibility of winning the Woodbine Mile. It's a race that has eluded Dad so far," Casse said. "When we brought her back this year, one of our main goals was to come back and win what I think is Woodbine's marquee race. I'm really looking forward to running her there."

Tepin is certain to go to post as the favorite in the expected eight-horse field as she tries to join the ranks of past superstars who have captured the Woodbine Mile including Wise Dan, Leroidesanimaux, and Ventura. The latter is the only filly to have won the prestigious event.

Wise Dan, sent to post as the prohibitive 1-5 favorite in the 2013 edition of the Woodbine Mile, zipped to victory in a track record time of 1:31.75 with John Velazquez on board.  

"I don't know if we're out there to break a track record. She's ready to run her race and I think she's going to be tough to beat," Casse said. "When she brings her 'A' game, she's always tough to beat. We want this one and then we're looking forward to the Breeders' Cup after that."

Tepin will certainly attract the attention of both fans and media when she arrives at Woodbine Wednesday.

"She's a superstar and she embraces it," Casse said. "She soaks up the media attention and likes the fans to come and see her. She was anointed the 'Queen of the Turf' by Travis Stone when she won at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day. You'll see when she arrives. She knows she's the queen."