Casino Drive |
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| Adam Coglianese/NYRA | |
2008 Prep Recap
| Date | Trk | Race | Chart | Distance | Time | BSF | Video |
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| 5/10 | BEL | Peter Pan (G2) | Chart | 1 1/8m | 1:47 | 101 |  |
Pedigree Profile (by Frank Mitchell)
Pedigree: A colt could scarcely be better pedigreed to win the Belmont Stakes. Casino Drive is by Horse of the Year Mineshaft, who is a son of A.P. Indy, who likewise was a Horse of the Year and a winner of the Belmont Stakes. The sire of A.P. Indy is Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew and the broodmare sire of A.P. Indy is Triple Crown winner Secretariat. Distinguished as those horses are, the dam of Casino Drive is Better Than Honour, the dam of the last two winners of the Belmont Stakes: Jazil and Rags to Riches.
Racing Type: A handsome, scopy horse with a visually impressive stride, Casino Drive appears to be an outstanding prospect to the stay the distance. And judging from his victory in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont, Casino Drive is progressing very nicely and races well on the surface at Belmont Park.
But the chestnut colt has had only two starts. Like Big Brown, Casino Drive is unbeaten, but unlike Big Brown, Casino Drive is untested in the crucible of American classic racing.
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Owners: Yamamoto Hidetoshi |
Analysis (by Paul Malecki)
Strengths: Casino Drive’s dam, Better Than Honour, is responsible for the last two Belmont Stakes winners – Jazil and the filly Rags to Riches. The undefeated Casino Drive will be ridden by Edgar Prado, who derailed the Triple Crown bids of War Emblem and Smarty Jones when piloting Sarava and Birdstone to victory in this classic. His Japanese-based connections have been pointing for the Belmont Stakes for quite some time. Casino Drive will go off as a distant second choice despite owning the best last Beyer.
Weaknesses: Lack of experience appears to be Casino Drive’s main drawback, even during a year when Big Brown captured the Kentucky Derby in just his fourth lifetime start. He impressed when winning the Grade 2 Peter Pan locally but that score came around one turn over a 2-for-7 opponent whose previous top Beyer was a mere 88. His works since that triumph have been unorthodox and the clockings slow, to say the least.
Strategy: Pace wouldn’t seem to be a major factor in a 12-furlong event but Prado probably doesn’t want to fall far behind the expected soft fractions in the Belmont. Ideally, Casino Drive likely wants to race four or five lengths off the lead, hoping someone makes Big Brown work at least a bit up front, before launching his rally off the sweeping far turn.
Value: The public will settle on Casino Drive as the main alternative to odds-on Big Brown, betting him to a 3-1 or so as the second choice. This will represent the highest price of his brief career, although many will not consider him a value play against an imposing individual poised to make history.