Alpyland brings long form cycle into Secretariat

A horse named Alpyland debuted on June 29, 2025, at Churchill Downs. He lost, lost again Aug. 11 at Ellis Park, and again on Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs, where Alpyland did improve with a move to turf.

On Oct. 12, he cleared the maiden ranks at Keeneland, and Dec. 7 at Gulfstream Park, Alpyland won his second straight. He aced his stakes debut on Jan. 1, ran third in another stakes 30 days later, and on March 7 won the Columbia at Tampa Bay Downs by two lengths.

And so, after he checked in a tepid fourth May 1 in the American Turf at Churchill, nine starts into his career, with no real respite between races, many trainers would have given Alpyland a break. Trainer Mark Casse ran Alpyland back 25 days later, and the gelding aired in the Penn Mile. He scored an equally easy victory June 27 in the American Derby at Churchill, and on Saturday at Colonial Downs, Alpyland will make the 12th start of his first and only form cycle as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat Stakes.

“I suppose he could regress. I don’t really see why he would,” Casse said.

Fair point, and if Alpyland holds onto the best form of his busy career, he’ll take all manner of beating in the 3-year-old restricted Secretariat, now contested at 1 1/16 miles in rural Virginia after being run in its original iteration over 1 1/4 miles at Arlington Park. Alpyland, barring scratches, faces eight foes, all of whom are drawn inside him. Javier Castellano has a return call, and Alpyland has resided with Casse’s Colonial string since a few days after the American Derby. He has breezed once between starts, going a half mile on turf July 24.

“We knew what our target was, we have a division at Colonial, and just decided it would be good to get him down there,” said Casse, who runs his horses more frequently than most top trainers of this era. “You get them in a good pattern, get them healthy, and in many cases it’s about confidence. He’s got a lot of confidence.”

Alpyland can press or stalk, and probably will find himself somewhat farther off the pace than in the American Derby, where he sat a perfect trip a length or so behind a solid tempo.

The Secretariat features four serious pace players – Conducted, Infiltrate, Street Beast, and Redland Rebels.

Street Beast hasn’t raced since May 2, when beaten nearly 30 lengths in the American Turf, and shows only one official workout – on July 12 – since that start. Cross-entered this weekend at Ellis, he runs at Colonial, said trainer Ben Colebrook, who gave Street Beast a two-minute lick rather than work him into this start. Street Beast, Colebrook, said, puts a lot into his gallops, as well.

Conducted makes his first start since Oct. 31, the first since being purchased at auction in April, and first for trainer Jose D’Angelo, who is 1 for 16 this year in stakes races outside Florida. Conducted has posted fast workouts at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, but there’s no publicly available video of those breezes.

Bettors can view one relatively recent work for Infiltrate, his July 1 gate drill at Keeneland, where Infiltrate obliterated a pair of workmates. Infiltrate, trainer Brendan Walsh said, has since more than held his own breezing in good company at Churchill, but makes his turf debut and hasn’t been out since Nov. 21.

Redland Rebels beat Alpyland in January, then finished a good fourth on dirt in the Tampa Bay Derby but since has sputtered.

Cross-entered Fuzzbuster runs in the Secretariat, not at Ellis, trainer Vickie Oliver said. Turf Star has gotten only incrementally better through four starts at 3 than he was as a 2-year-old.

That leaves Supercharger, whom trainer Cherie DeVaux pointed toward this race shortly after he captured a first-level allowance June 18 at Churchill.

Supercharger possesses about as much gate speed as an overweight golden retriever, but once he revs up, look out. He went last to first winning a May 9 Churchill turf maiden, beating 11 foes, and last to first June 18, when he defeated 10 in that allowance race. Both starts came over 1 1/8 miles, but jockey Jose Ortiz – who rides Saturday at Saratoga and cedes the mount to Manny Franco – told DeVaux that Supercharger ought to handle 1 1/16 miles.

A fast pace aided both his wins, but Supercharger should get another one Saturday, and if he does, even Alpyland might not hold him off.