Casse has sharp pair for Silverbulletday

NEW ORLEANS – Blonde Bomber finished third in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Fillies last Nov. 4 at Del Mar. Wonder Gadot was sixth in the race, while Heavenly Love clunked home 11th.

The three fillies are likely to meet again Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes, and bettors are likely to dig deeper than their raw Breeders’ Cup finishing positions.

There’s little doubt the Del Mar main track was biased toward outside closers and against inside speed on Nov. 4. Heavenly Love broke from the rail, contested the pace on the inside, and stopped. Wonder Gadot raced from mid-pack while a few paths off the fence and was making a decent move when she was checked at the eighth pole, losing momentum and costing her at least a couple of placings

Blonde Bomber? The 30-1 shot coasted along at the back as the leaders set an intemperate pace, and when she began closing, it was out in the middle of the track. Given the circumstances, she caught an ideal trip, and Blonde Bomber rates as no better than third choice in the Silverbulletday, the first local step this year toward the Fair Grounds Oaks in March.

Mark Casse trains both Heavenly Love and Wonder Gadot, and in the interest of keeping the horses apart, he and Wonder Gadot’s owner Gary Barber entered her in the Lecomte Stakes. That race came up tough, though, and Casse said barring major Lecomte scratches Wonder Gadot will run in the Silverbulletday.

Wonder Gadot debuted with a sharp Woodbine grass win, was third as the favorite there in the Grade 1 Natalma on turf, then romped in the Grade 3 Mazarine on Woodbine’s synthetic track. After her troubled trip at Del Mar, she showed so much energy back at Casse’s farm in Florida that he sent her to Aqueduct, where Wonder Gadot won the Grade 2 Demoiselle by 3 3/4 lengths. Patrick Husbands rode Wonder Gadot in her first four starts, but John Velazquez took over in the Demoiselle and is aboard again Saturday.

“Patrick said from the beginning that turf was her least preferred surface,” said Casse. “Everyone wanted to say they ran slow in the Demoiselle, but I think the track was a little funny. I think Johnny’s presence on Saturday tells you what he thinks.”

Casse sent Wonder Gadot back to Florida intending to give her a break, but the filly had other ideas.

“She was so high on herself,” he said. “She loves, loves to train.”

Wonder Gadot shipped to Fair Grounds just a couple of weeks ago and, overseen by assistant trainer David Carroll, worked a half-mile with Heavenly Love, who has been here longer. Before her BC flop, which came with no physical excuse Casse could find, Heavenly Love was a sharp winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland.

“David had her at Keeneland and knows her very well, and he’s been absolutely thrilled with how she’s been training,” said Casse.

Blonde Bomber, who breaks from the rail under Jose Lezcano, ships from Florida for trainer Stanley Gold. She was back on the work tab at Gulfstream just 23 days after the Breeders’ Cup and has since breezed steadily.

America’s Tale won an off-turf two-turn allowance race here in her last start, but her front-running style could be compromised by several other early pace factors.

Prolific winners in Krantz

Somebody’s winning streak is going to end in the $75,000 Marie Krantz Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for fillies and mares.

Inveniam Viam and Mom’s On Strike each has won two races in a row, while likely favorite Giada Vegas enters the Krantz on a four-race winning streak, including a last-out score here in the Blushing K.D. Stakes.

“I believe in confidence, and she’s a prime example of it,” trainer Mark Casse said of Giada Vegas’s improvement. “I also believe running makes horses better, and we’ve run her a lot. She’s learned to settle a little and do some things.”

Mom’s On Strike has knocked out first- and second-level allowance races, and before a long layoff was a strong second in the $200,000 Pebbles Stakes at Belmont.

“She’s back a little quicker than I like, but she’s doing great, and she’s proven she can handle this kind,” said trainer Joe Sharp.

Inveniam Viam, a Louisiana-bred mare, never has been worse than third in 10 Fair Grounds grass starts.