Casse trio set for Juvenile Fillies

Mark Casse is willing to concede a slight advantage to the California-based contingent that will oppose his trio of 2-year-old fillies Saturday in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

“They don’t have to ship as far, and they’ve also gotten experience around two turns,” he said.

Nonetheless, Casse likes his position with Heavenly Love, Gio Game, and Wonder Gadot, all big winners at 1 1/16 miles in their last races.

“All of ours have been around two turns also, which can’t be said for the New York fillies,” said Casse.

Two of the Casse fillies won on the Oct. 6 fall opener at Keeneland, with Heavenly Love capturing the Grade 1 Alcibiades by 5 1/2 lengths some four hours after Gio Game won a maiden race by nine lengths. Wonder Gadot, unraced on dirt, was a six-length winner of the Grade 3 Mazarine on Woodbine’s Tapeta synthetic surface.

Casse sent out the runner-up in the 2016 BC Juvenile Fillies in Valadorna, who also was coming off a two-turn maiden win at Keeneland. “She won the exact same maiden race on opening day, I do believe,” he said.

:: Breeders' Cup PPs, Clocker Reports, and more

The California crew for the Juvenile Fillies is led this year by Moonshine Memories, Alluring Star, and Piedi Bianchi, the respective 1-2-3 finishers in the Grade 1 Chandelier on Sept. 30 at Santa Anita.

Huge longshots have won the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies in three of the last four runnings, with Ria Antonia (32-1 in 2013), Take Charge Brandi (61-1 in 2014), and Champagne Room (33-1 in 2016) being sandwiched around Songbird, a 3-5 winner in 2015.