Justin Casse Sharing Limelight With Brother

There aren’t many weekends that go by in North American racing without the Casse name figuring prominently in the outcomes of major stakes, mainly due to the success of the large stable operated by Mark Casse and his son and assistant, Norman.

But over Keeneland's FallStars Weekend of Oct. 7-9, Justin Casse shared  the limelight with his older brother as two horses he had either purchased or sold at  auction won graded stakes at the Lexington oval.

Highlighting the opening day card was the impressive Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) victory of Dancing Rags, a filly purchased by Phyllis Wyeth’s Chadds Ford Stable for $210,000 from the Casse Sales consignment to this year’s Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Two days later, Gary Barber’s Keep Quiet, bought by Justin Casse for €37,000 ($45,455) at the 2014 Arqana December sale in France won the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (gr. IIIT).

With their respective victories the two graded stakes winners earned expenses-paid trips to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships since both races were “Win and You’re In” Challenge series events.

While graded stakes wins are commonplace for Mark Casse, for the younger Justin they’re indicative of the increased prominence of the agent’s work as he continues to elevate his program of buying and selling Thoroughbreds.

Mark, 55, and Justin, 35, are both sons of the late Norman Casse, the veteran horseman who was among the leaders of the Florida horse industry that helped move OBS into a successful sales and racing company. Another brother, John, is in the equine insurance business, presently associated with Jerry Parks Equine Insurance in Ocala, Fla.

“I get to know what it feels like to be my brother for a weekend,” Justin said jokingly of his Keeneland successes.

Dancing Rags was sold by Justin on behalf of the Steinbrenner family’s Kinsman Stud, a long-time client which had purchased Union Rags colt for $80,000 from the Lane’s End consignment to last year’s Keeneland September yearling sale. Chadds Ford raced Union Rags, who now has two grade I winners from his first crop of foals to race. Bred in Maryland by David DiPietro, the filly is out of winning grade III-placed Home Court, a Storm Cat mare who has also produced grade II winner Coup de Grace.

Casse said Jessica Steinbrenner selected Dancing Rags for purchase at auction and then he prepared her for the 2-year-old sale.

“She was slightly plain,” the agent said. “She had a nice shoulder, but was a bit of a choppy walker. I’ve seen horses like that who don’t walk that well. But they don’t walk around the track (in a race). She was a beautiful mover. At the end of the day, Mrs. Wyeth, along with Russell Jones, saw her just a few minutes before she sold and ended up buying her. I never assumed she would the type we’d be talking about winning the Alcibiades because I thought there might be distance limitations. But she was in the right hands and brought along carefully.

Although Keep Quiet was bred in France, the son of Elusive City has quality American black type up close in his pedigree.  The first of 14 foals from his winning dam, British-bred Luminosity, was grade II San Clemente Handicap winner Little Treasure, who produced grade II winner More Chocolate.

“The horse had all the right parts,” Casse said of the Bourbon winner. “I called Gary (Barber) and told him this is a nice horse and he may not cost that much. We don’t spend that much for colts. We try to bring fillies from Europe and if we buy colts we don’t spend too much.”

After being brought stateside, Keep Quiet was prepped for racing by Jimbo and Tori Gladwell of Top Line Sales before being sent to Mark Casse.

Justin Casse said the success of Keep Quiet is especially satisfying since he has traveled to Europe in an effort to carve out a niche within the marketplace, which is increasingly more competitive in the U.S. While some U.S. professionals would not be inclined to expand abroad, he found it easier since he had traveled to Europe with his father when he was younger and also attended college overseas for a semester.

“It’s hard to get an edge with what we do,” Casse said. “One of the ways I thought was to travel to Europe. There is just not enough room to play in the top end of the market in America. You have to play on the worldly level across three continents."

Naturally, considering that they both have high-profile roles within the industry, the worlds of Mark and Justin sometimes collide, especially at sales where both are representing different interests but are after the same horses. The brothers also find themselves sometimes collaborating with a successful result, such as with Keep Quiet.

Justin credits his older brother—it is not unusual for the younger Casse to be mistakenly identified as Mark’s son—with helping him during his career. Justin has said previously he was considering a career in diplomacy when he was inspired to become involved in the horse industry as a result of his brother's early success.

“A lot of the advice he has given me has set me in the right direction,” Justin said. “Early on he was a mentor and still is. But as I’ve traveled around, I’ve learned from many people in the process. Now we work together some but end bidding against each some when we like the same horses. So it’s friendly competition.

“Between Mark, Norman, and my dad, there was always competition. You always want your family to do well. Sometimes, you’re envious, but our family has been so blessed with prosperity there is enough to go around. Mark and Norman’s racetrack success is incredible.”

Dancing Rags is the sixth grade I winner that Justin has either bought, sold, or been associated with as an agent. The colt, Keep Quiet, and Haveyougoneaway are the three Breeders’ Cup contenders with whom Casse has been involved. The agent purchased part interest in Haveyougoneaway on behalf of Barber after the mare won the Honorable Miss Stakes (gr. II). She stamped her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup by winning Saratoga's Ballerina Stakes (gr. I).