For Casa Creed, should it be BC Turf Sprint, or BC Mile?

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There were discussions prior to Casa Creed’s impressive victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Fourstardave and there will inevitably be plenty more in the days and weeks to come about what path to take regarding his 2022 Breeders’ Cup status. But immediately after Casa Creed’s last-to-first triumph in the one-mile Fourstardave at Saratoga, those talks were tabled to allow the connections to just celebrate.

“We really haven’t had any serious discussions about it, although naturally we’d like to wind up in the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Bill Mott said in his office shortly after training hours here Sunday. “My owners just wanted to enjoy themselves last night.”

The key question regarding Casa Creed is whether to run him in the 5 1/2-furlong Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, or to try him in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in light of his performance here Saturday. Casa Creed has earned automatic, expenses-paid berths into both races with his back-to-back victories in the Jaipur and Fourstardave.

“The only thing I did bring up were the negatives about going to the Breeders’ Cup, one of them being Keeneland in November, where you can get a soggy racetrack that changes the game around completely,” Mott continued, referring to the fact that in his opinion Casa Creed probably prefers firmer ground.

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Mott said when the topic came up on Friday, it seemed like the ownership group, the partnership of Lee Einsidler and Mike Francesa, might have been leaning toward the Turf Sprint.

“Before his race yesterday, we were talking about how maybe 5 1/2 furlongs would be good for him at Keeneland,” Mott noted. “Six to seven furlongs is probably his best distance, he’s somewhere in between a sprinter and a miler. But after the way he just ran, I think I would probably be more interested in a mile. The bottom line is you can’t make any mistakes at either distance in those kinds of races. It’s got to go perfect. Boom, boom. They are just too competitive.”

Fortunately, there were no mistakes and everything went perfectly in the Fourstardave. Jockey Luis Saez orchestrated a perfect trip sitting back at the rear of the field for nearly seven furlongs, at which point the red-hot Casa Creed exploded down the middle of the course to run by the odds-on favorite Regal Glory to win going away. The performance earned Casa Creed a 103 Beyer Speed Figure, one point higher than the number he posted when successfully defending his title in the Grade 1 Jaipur at Belmont Park nine weeks earlier.

The other decision that needs to be made is whether to run Casa Creed once more or train him up to the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5. The most likely option now for another start would be the $1 million, Grade 1 Coolmore Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 8. Mott explained that the problem with waiting is the question mark regarding potential course conditions at Keeneland, where there could be firm ground for the Coolmore but not ideal conditions four weeks later on Breeders’ Cup Day.

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“You’d be kicking yourself if you passed it (Coolmore Mile) up because you wanted to be fresh for the Breeders’ Cup,” Mott said.

Mott also said that the 8-year-old Channel Maker, coming off a game and popular victory in the 12-furlong Grand Couturier last month at Belmont Park, will make his next appearance in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on Aug. 27. It will mark the fifth consecutive appearance in the Sword Dancer for Channel Maker, who won the event by 5 3/4 lengths here two years ago.

Mott also confirmed Sunday that Olympiad, a disappointing fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney here last week, would return in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 3.