Casse savoring first win in G1 Alabama pres. by Keeneland Sales with Nitrogen

• Casse savoring first win in G1 Alabama pres. by Keeneland Sales with Nitrogen
• Magnitude breezes for G1 DraftKings Travers
• Good Cheer and Margie’s Intention earn G1 placings in Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales
• Bobrovsky lands 80 BSF for Skidmore victory
• It’s Our Time wins by 17 3/4-lengths in sparkling Spa debut

Dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse surveyed the shedrow of his barn at Saratoga Race Course on Sunday morning, sitting just across from the railing that held up the flower blanket and special cooler sheet awarded to the winner of the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales.

Those accoutrements made their way to the Casse barn on Saturday evening thanks to a stalk-and-pounce score by D.J. Stable’s Nitrogen in the prestigious 10-furlong route for sophomore fillies, providing Casse with his first win in a race he said he has dreamed of winning since he was a boy.

Nitrogen, who finished 14 lengths ahead of her fourth-place pacesetting stablemate La Cara, was met with plenty of treats from stable-hands and fans alike on Sunday morning. Casse tried his best to unwind as well after a busy Saturday saw him start horses at four racetracks in two countries, including a pair of contenders in Woodbine Racetrack’s King’s Plate.

“Nitrogen’s great and she’s eaten like 40 mints this morning,” Casse said, with a laugh. “Yesterday was exhausting. I had so much going on in so many places. I was nervous yesterday, and I don’t get nervous normally. I felt really confident that we were going to win, but I wasn’t sure which one.”

Nitrogen proved the one to do it thanks to the stalking trip engineered by regular pilot Jose Ortiz, who angled his charge wide in the first turn to take up second position behind the Dylan Davis-piloted La Cara as she marked splits of 24.94 seconds, 49.70 and 1:13.24 over the fast main track. Ortiz made his move in the turn and swept to the lead at the mile call, extending their margin to two lengths at the top of the stretch. The only threat came from an all-out Good Cheer – winner of the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks - who did make up some ground in the stretch but ultimately could not collar a meandering Nitrogen as she finished 1 1/2 lengths in front in a final time of 2:03.31.

Casse said he was not concerned about Nitrogen being wide early.

“Jose was just trying to get her to settle, I knew what he was doing,” Casse said. “She probably could have went to the lead then, but then we would have ended up in a speed duel with them battling. That was Jose’s way of trying to get her to settle.”

Nitrogen is now at the forefront of conversations about the leading sophomore fillies, showing her versatility as she adds to previous graded success this year on turf in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs, the Grade 2 Appalachian at Keeneland and Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill Downs. New doors opened for her on June 7 when the talented filly romped to a 17-length victory in an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Wonder Again in a field of three.

Casse said he is unsure where Nitrogen will run next, but mentioned a handful of dirt options, including the nine-furlong Grade 1 Spinster on October 5 at Keeneland, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 1 at Del Mar. He ruled out a start in the Grade 1 Cotillion on September 20 at Parx.

“It’s a good question,” Casse said of where her next start will be. “I don’t think she’s going to go to the Cotillion. I’d like to run her one more time before the Distaff. She may make her next start at Churchill in a listed stake against straight 3-year-old fillies, or maybe she could go to the Spinster at Keeneland.”

As for Tracy Farmer’s La Cara, Casse said the dual Grade 1-winner was likely hindered by missing the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 19 here after a quarantine for suspected strangles was placed on the barn she was stabled in.

“I don’t think La Cara came with her ‘A’ game, possibly from missing that time with the quarantine,” Casse said. “I think it’s hard to tell [about the distance] – she was never in the race from the beginning, and they went a half in 49 and three. Dylan said she wasn’t taking him there, and usually she does. She did that in the Breeders’ Cup. She was just a little rusty.”

Nitrogen, a Kentucky homebred for D.J. Stable, brought her impressive record to 10-6-2-2 and banked $330,000 in victory while returning $6.10 on a $2 win ticket. She is 6-for-7 this year, her only loss a nose second to Fionn in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational over turf in her start prior to the Alabama.

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Magnitude breezes for G1 DraftKings Travers

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Magnitude breezed a half-mile in 50.22 seconds, according to NYRA clockers, on Sunday over the Oklahoma dirt training track as he prepares for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers, a 1 1/4-mile test for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Magnitude was a runaway gate-to-wire winner in his past two starts. The Not This Time bay was a 2 3/4-length sixth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds to kick off his current campaign, but improved markedly when stretched out to nine furlongs at the Louisiana oval for a frontrunning 9 3/4-length romp in the Grade 2 Risen Star on February 15.

Magnitude missed the Triple Crown series with an ankle chip but returned victorious last out on July 5 with a 9 1/4-length frontrunning score in the Listed Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows over good going.

“He worked good,” said Scott Blasi, assistant trainer to Asmussen on-site for the work. “They [the instructions] were just to go a half-mile. We feel like he’s really fit. We were just letting him stretch his legs over the track and he’s doing well.”

Magnitude won 2-of-5 starts as a juvenile, taking an optional-claimer in November at Churchill Downs ahead of a distant second in the Listed Gun Runner in December at Fair Grounds.

Out of the Bernardini mare Rockadelic, Magnitude was a $450,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His second dam is dual Grade 1 winner Octave, who notched top-flight victories on the NYRA circuit in 2007 in the Mother Goose at Belmont Park and Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.

Asmussen and Winchell Thoroughbreds captured the 2022 Travers with Epicenter, also by Not This Time.
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Good Cheer and Margie’s Intention earn G1 placings in Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox reported the runners-up from Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales at Saratoga Race Course – Good Cheer and Margie’s Intention – exited their efforts in good order.

Godolphin’s Kentucky-homebred Good Cheer won her first seven starts, culminating in a victory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs where she toppled a 13-horse field.

The Medaglia d’Oro bay exited the Oaks to finish an uncharacteristic fifth in the Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn here over sloppy and sealed footing in June during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. She returned to form on Saturday with a strong performance in the 10-furlong Alabama, tracking a moderate tempo in the six-horse field and chasing the victorious Nitrogen all the way to the wire to finish a 1 1/2-length second.

“She came out good and cooled out well last night. I'm happy with the way she looked this morning,” Cox said. “Obviously, it's demanding any time you run a 3-year-old filly a mile and a quarter here on a track like that, but she's very tough. I'm not sure where we're going moving forward but I was proud of the effort. We were confident we were going to get a good effort out of her.”

Good Cheer has banked in excess of $1.8 million via a 9-7-1-0 record.

WinStar Farm and Tom Mueller’s Margie’s Intention stepped into Grade 1 company for the first time and tracked from fourth position before tipping out and closing to finish a 7 1/2-length third.

The Honor A.P. dark bay made her first five starts for trainer Brendan Walsh and made the grade in her first outing for Cox by taking the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan by three-quarter-lengths in May at Pimlico Race Course.

“She's super solid. A Grade 1-placing is big for her pedigree. We'll re-group with her, but she came out of it in good order,” Cox said.

Cox said he had no immediate plans for Margie’s Intention, who has banked $421,880 through an 8-3-3-1 ledger.
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Bobrovsky lands 80 BSF for Skidmore victory

Trainer Dale Romans and Steve Berg’s Bobrovsky scored a career-best 80 Beyer Speed Figure for a strong 1 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Skidmore, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for juveniles, at Saratoga Race Course.

“He looks good this morning,” Romans said. “I don’t know where we go from here, but it’s nice to come here and win two races with a horse.”

Piloted by Junior Alvarado, the bay son of Daredevil stalked the pace set by Monster, tracking in second three lengths back through the first three-eighths before commencing a bid and wearing down the pacesetter in the stretch to post the victory in a final time of 1:02.75.

Romans said he was most impressed with the colt’s ability to rate after a pacesetting romp to graduate at second asking on July 24 here. 

“That was the best part about the race was he showed he’ll sit off of a horse, so he’s not one-dimensional,” Romans said. “When you run in those races, everyone is fast, so you’ve got to be able to change up every once in a while.”

The Skidmore was Bobrovsky’s first time on grass in either the morning or the afternoon after a planned workout over the turf was scrapped due to strong gallops in the days leading up to the work. Bobrovsky is out of the Cairo Prince mare Hay Flo, a half-sister to turf graded stakes-winners Significant Form and Hay Dakota.

“He’s always trained well and came out of the race pretty sharp,” Romans said. “I always wanted to get him on the grass and see what he could do – the family is all grass. It worked out.”

Romans added he is still deciding on future plans, which could include the $1 million [$500K KTDF] Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint going 6 1/2-furlongs on August 31.
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It’s Our Time wins by 17 3/4-lengths in sparkling Spa debut

Trainer and NYRA TV analyst Tom Amoss said he was emotional on Saturday as he watched his 2-year-old colt It’s Our Time win by a geared-down 17 3/4-lengths in a powerful performance sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

It’s Our Time, sent to post at odds of 5-1 under Luis Saez, exited alertly from post 4-of-9 and tracked from second position as 3/4-favorite Hero Declared shot to the lead through a quarter-mile in 21.99 seconds and a half-mile in 44.78. It’s Our Time advanced without asking through the turn, opening up by 10 lengths at the stretch call and drew away from his rivals with each and every stride to win in a final time of 1:15.63. The winning effort registered a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

“When the favorite went straight to the front with ease and we were in chase mode, I thought, well, maybe next time,” Amoss said. “But things changed half way through the race. Down the lane, I had a tear in my eye because it's really a beautiful thing to see something like that and know you were a part of getting the horse there. I bought him as a yearling for some new clients. This is their first go-around in horse racing and the second start of their lives in terms of horses they own, and they got to win an amazing race at Saratoga. You couldn't have written a better script.”

The Virginia-bred son of Not This Time is campaigned by Double Down Horse Racing, the nom de course of Elza and Alex Mitchum, a father-and-son outfit also from Virginia. Their first starter, a 2-year-old Munnings filly named Nelson’s Penny, ran fifth on August 13 here at 18-1.

“Elza called me out of the blue last August and said he'd been following my career, and he enjoyed my commentary on Saratoga Live and wanted to know if I would be interested in going to the sale to buy a yearling,” Amoss said. “That conversation led to us buying five yearlings. It's a great start and I'm so happy for them. I don't know if they realize how special that race was yesterday, but they know it was good.”

The $425,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is a out of the multiple stakes-winning Summer Front mare Shea D Summer. His third dam, Circle of Gold, is a full-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Flanders – the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly of 1994.

“When I saw him at the sale, I thought he was very athletic and I'm a big fan of Not This Time,” Amoss said. “The fact that he's Virginia-bred probably helped us afford him. Had he been a Kentucky-bred, he would have been more expensive.”

Amoss said he was a little concerned about how his charge stacked up against a field with a collective sales purchase price in excess of $3.8 million that included $975,000 yearling Renegade [3rd] and $575,000 OBS March purchase Hero Declared [2nd].

“He didn't really grow that much, so when we got in the paddock and looking at him versus the group, I thought this is David versus Goliath and it was just one of those deals - David showed up,” said Amoss, with a laugh.

It’s Our Time has exited the race in good order and there are no current plans yet other than to bask in the glow of a memorable win.

Amoss said the victory reminded him of a trip to Saratoga just after graduating from Louisiana State University in 1983 when a future Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, bred in Maryland by E.P. Taylor, won his debut by 7 1/2-lengths for Hall of Fame connections in jockey Eddie Maple and trainer Woody Stephens.

“Before I started working full time at the track, I came to Saratoga and I saw Devil’s Bag break his maiden in 1983 and it never left me, it was so impressive,” Amoss said. “I'm hopeful that this horse can continue on and be the type of horse people remember when he broke his maiden.”