Mark Casse: Breeders' Cup Trainer Profile

For Mark Casse, racing runs in the family: his father, Norman Casse, was a stakes-winning trainer, and his son, Norm Casse, is also a graded stakes-winning trainer. He has built an excellent legacy to pass on, as a leading trainer in both the United States and at Woodbine Racetrack in Canada. He has earned 15 Sovereign Awards for outstanding trainer in Canada, and is a member of both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the American Hall of Fame.

Casse has seen success in the Triple Crown series in both countries. In the United States, he has won both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, and may have had a better chance in the Kentucky Derby with eventual Preakness winner War of Will if not for the interference that led to Maximum Security’s disqualification in 2019. He has had even more success in the Canadian Triple Crown: he has won the Queen’s Plate twice, the Prince of Wales four times, and the Breeders’ Stakes three times.

Casse is expected to start seven horses in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup on November 3 and 4 at host track Santa Anita Park. Though Casse started the first of his 65 horses in the Breeders’ Cup in 2001, his success has come more recently. He has won Breeders’ Cup races six times, with all of those victories coming between 2015 and 2022. Three of those victories have come on grass: twice in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and once in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Three others came on the main track: he has won the Juvenile, the Juvenile Fillies, and the Filly & Mare Sprint.

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Breeders’ Cup Turf

Though Casse has been a regular presence in other grass races at the Breeders’ Cup, he has never started a horse in the Breeders’ Cup Turf before.

Get Smokin

A constant presence in the Grade 2 and Grade 3 levels over the last several years, this six-year-old will try his first race at the Breeders’ Cup in 2023. His best weapon has always been his early speed, and he can get very brave when left alone on the front end. Sure enough, that is how he earned his Breeders’ Cup bid: he bounced to the lead in the Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) at Kentucky Downs and led gate to wire. It showed he could stay 1 ½ miles given the right circumstances, though this level of class is a new frontier.

Breeders’ Cup Mile

The Breeders’ Cup Mile has been one of Mark Casse’s better races. From just seven starters, he has won the race twice and finished second two more times. He won in 2015 with the great mare Tepin, and again two years later with the popular gray World Approval. Tepin also finished second in 2016; another mare, Got Stormy, finished second in 2019.

Lucky Score

As of the pre-entries, Lucky Score is three deep in the reserve list for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. However, with three horses in the main field who have first preference in a different race, Lucky Score will probably get a spot in the main field.

A solid sprinter-miler on the turf at Woodbine Racetrack this year, his only win in six starts this year came in the six-furlong Highlander (G2), but he has hit the board in all those outings. He comes in off a good second in the Nearctic (G2) last out, but the concern is that his form is better in sprints than in miles. His pace versatility is an asset; in two third-place finishes in mile races this year, he closed into a fast pace once and tracked a slower pace in another outing. But, he is a horse without a great Breeders’ Cup spot: the five-furlong sprint distance this year is probably too short, but the mile is probably too long.

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Casse has not frequently run in the Filly & Mare Turf. In fact, he has only run in the race twice. One of them hit the board: Canadian great Sealy Hill defied her 48-1 odds to finish a close second behind Forever Together.

Fev Rover

She was good last year, winning the Canadian (G2) and finishing a close fourth in the E. P. Taylor (G1). She has been even better this year: she has won three of five starts, including the E. P. Taylor, and one of those losses was just a half-length defeat behind Whitebeam and In Italian in the Diana (G1). She is versatile enough to set the pace, stalk, or even come from well off the running if she needs to. Her class and consistency make Fev Rover one of the leading North American hopes in the Filly and Mare Turf.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

Casse has started 14 horses in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, though it has not been one of his more fruitful spots so far. He has yet to win the race, and only one of the runners has thus far hit the board. His best performer was Airoforce, who parlayed a victory in the 2015 Bourbon (G3) at Keeneland into a second-place finish, just a neck behind Hit It a Bomb.

Can Group

He finished a well-beaten third in each of his two starts, both on dirt. A switch to turf brought a whole new Can Group. He finished with a flourish to win a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Kentucky Downs, then defied 27-1 odds to win the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland by a nose over Noted. He needs a step up in terms of speed figures to be a major threat in the Breeders’ Cup, but he is proven over two turns, and if the pace gets hot, he will be coming home well.

My Boy Prince

Whether it’s turf or Tapeta, My Boy Prince has yet to run a bad race in five starts. He started his career on the Tapeta, only trying grass for the first time in his fourth start, the Summer (G1). He set an honest pace and finished second to late-running Carson’s Run. He got a little more seasoning on the grass after that, posting an easy frontrunning score against fellow Canada-breds in the Cup and Saucer. Given the composition of the field, he might just go to the front and play a successful game of catch-me-if-you-can.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

From six starters in this race, only one has hit the board. Catch a Glimpse, who came in off of a victory in the Natalma (G2), beat classy Aidan O’Brien runner Alice Springs to win. Woodbine Racetrack has now named the local prep for the Natalma after Catch a Glimpse.

Go With Gusto

Go With Gusto drew into the main field of the Juvenile Fillies, but is on the top of the reserve list for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and that is her first preference. You don’t always run a maiden in a $1 million Breeders’ Cup race, but she is a special case. She was disqualified from first to fifth in her maiden special weight debut in a two-turn mile on the inner turf at Woodbine, then finished a solid third over the one-turn outer turf mile against males in the Summer. She should benefit from the switch back to a two-turn configuration, and should be able to get a spot where she can get the jump on the truly deep closers.

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