Catherinethegreat Aims for More Spa Success in Spinaway

Like any trainer with an abundance of prospects, there is no shortage of concerns racing through Mark Casse's mind as he readies for the final days of the Saratoga Race Course meet—not the least of which is the comforting wisdom from his late father.

In the times when the Canadian Hall of Famer would have his barn go through a slump, he could always count on the words of family patriarch Norman E. Casse to shore up his spirits with a timely dose of perspective and encouragement. Since starting off with a bang, the current Saratoga meet has offered its share of bumps for the Casse Racing team, which sports just two wins and 11 runner-up finishes from 54 starters at the Spa at the start of the Aug. 30 card. 

If his dad were here, he would no doubt remind Casse how quickly fortunes can change in racing, likely adding that it's not the stumble that defines you, but rather how well you recover from it.

"I remember he sent me a thing one day that said (Hall of Famer) Charlie Whittingham was once 0-for-42. And he said, 'If Charlie Whittingham can go 0-for-42, anyone can,'" Casse said. "I remember that and … I was just reflecting back on my father because he would be the one saying, 'Just hang in there, buddy.'"

Providing the Casse barn with a brilliant kickoff when she won the July 20 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) in nearly gate-to-wire fashion by 4 1/4 lengths on opening day at the Spa, John Oxley's Catherinethegreat will aim to record the first of a few potential high notes for her team to end the meet when she faces 11 other juvenile fillies, including 5-2 morning-line favorite Chasing Yesterday, in the $350,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) going seven furlongs Sept. 1.

There have been some obvious gut-punch results for Casse this year at Saratoga, most notably Wonder Gadot's last-place finish in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), but he also has had some tough beats, like Flameaway running second in the Jim Dandy Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2). When Catherinethegreat drew the rail in the Schuylerville and went the first quarter-mile in :21.78, her trainer was bracing himself for a potential hard-luck start to his time in upstate New York. Instead, the daughter of Uncaptured  showed that her 10 1/4-length maiden win June 23 at Gulfstream Park was no fluke as she kept going in the Schuylerville through a half-mile in :44.64 en route to covering the six furlongs in 1:09.98 over race favorite Nonna Madeline, also entered in the Spinaway.

"I was pretty confident, but my concern was the post position. Being in the 1-hole isn't easy, and then she went that first quarter so fast," Casse said of the Schuylerville. "This is the next step. These grade 1s aren't supposed to be easy.

"Last race, we had the 1-hole, and (jockey) Jose (Ortiz) said if she comes away from there running, he was going for it, but I think she's ratable too."

When Casse was putting yearlings on his short list at the 2017 Ocala Breeders' Sales October Yearling Sale, he was drawn to Catherinethegreat in part because he had conditioned her multiple graded stakes-winning sire for Oxley. The lack of black type in her female family contributed to her $170,000 price tag, but the conditioner was nonetheless confident his longtime client had just scored a bargain.

"Of course, everybody wanted to show me their Uncaptured (yearlings), and so I got to see a bunch of Uncaptureds," Casse said. "And I remember my wife, Tina, and I were together, and when I saw (Catherinethegreat), I said, 'This is Uncaptured, just a different color.' I called Mr. Oxley and I said, 'I know you're not going to be overly crazy about this family, but I know this is an exceptional filly, and I really think we need to buy her.' And that's how we got her."

Deemed the 7-2 second choice on the morning line, Catherinethegreat has two wins from three starts and will break from post 4 in the Spinaway field.

Summer Wind Equine's homebred Chasing Yesterday has had a following since the moment she hit the ground—the daughter of Tapit  is a half sister to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah . Like her famous brother, she is conditioned by Bob Baffert and—unlike her accomplished sibling—she made her career debut at Del Mar a victorious one when she took a 5 1/2-furlong maiden test by 4 1/4 lengths July 28 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

"She worked well for this and she shipped well, so we'll find out what she's made of," said Baffert. "We've loved her from day one. She's always shown that she's special. Hopefully she gets a nice, clean trip, and it sets her up for something in the future.

"She doesn't look like Pharoah. She probably looks more like her mother (Littleprincessemma), but I see a lot of Tapit in her, too," he added. "Her disposition is like Pharoah's, though. She's a sweetheart, very lovable, like Abel Tasman in that way. When she gets on the track, though, she's like Pharaoh—all racehorse. She just turns it on."

Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle a trio in the Spinaway in Virginia Eloise, Guacamole, and Nonna Madeline.

Virginia Eloise was a five-length debut winner July 4 at Belmont Park before she stepped to the stakes level last time out in the Aug. 11 Adirondack Stakes (G2). In that effort, the Curlin  filly didn't handle the kickback early under her Hall of Fame pilot Javier Castellano before being moved out wide, where she put in a late run to finish second by a half-length.

"She was a little too far back last time, and she was a little green when the dirt hit her in the face. She did like a lot of inexperienced horses will do, and she overreacted and backed up," said Pletcher. "She got on track a little too late, but she closed well. She's one that we feel like is bred to handle longer distances, so we are looking forward to stretching her out a little more. I think ultimately two turns will be her game."

Entries: Spinaway S. (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, September 01, 2018, Race 10

• Grade I
• 7f
• Dirt
• $350,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 6:13 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Cassies Dreamer (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Barclay Tagg	30/1
2	2Baby Nina (OH)	David Cohen	120	Anthony T. Quartarolo	30/1
3	3Virginia Eloise (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
4	4Catherinethegreat (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Mark E. Casse	7/2
5	5Nonna Madeline (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
6	6Sippican Harbor (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Gary C. Contessa	10/1
7	7Chasing Yesterday (KY)	Mike E. Smith	118	Bob Baffert	5/2
8	8Guacamole (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	20/1
9	9Bella Ciao (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	118	Antonio Sano	30/1
10	10Reflect (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	J. Keith Desormeaux	10/1
11	11Restless Rider (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	Kenneth G. McPeek	6/1
12	12Love My Honey (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Michael J. Maker	12/1