Casse looks to close meet with juvenile Grade 1 stakes double

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Mark Casse closed out the Churchill Downs meet with victories in a pair of stakes for 2-year-olds.

Casse will hope to close out Saratoga with victories in this meet’s pair of Grade 1 juvenile stakes with Classic Empire in the Hopeful on Sept. 5 and Pretty City Dancer in the Spinaway next Saturday.

Both horses put in workouts early Saturday morning.

Classic Empire, a winner of both of his starts, including the Grade 3 Bashford Manor, went a half-mile in 48.20 seconds in company with Casses Story. The pair galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.90.

It looked as though Casses Story went the better of the two, but jockey Florent Geroux told Casse, “I could have had him anytime I wanted, all I had to do was say go,” Casse said.

A short while later, Pretty City Dancer, the Debutante winner, worked five furlongs in 1:02.14 in company with Conquest Reformo, who was scratched out of Saturday’s opener.

“I thought they both worked excellent,” Casse said. “We didn’t want to go too fast.”

Syndergaard, Hit It Once More may try open company

Two of the stars of Friday’s New York Showcase Day program were the 2-year-old Syndergaard and the 3-year-old Hit It Once More.

Syndergaard in his second start won the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes by 10 1/4 lengths. Granted, he only beat three horses, but one of them was the good-looking debut winner Bobby On Fleek. Syndergaard ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.75 and earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It’s hard to get a gauge on the day because it was sealed and sloppy when he ran and fast later in the day, but no matter how you slice it, it was a pretty impressive performance,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “Proud of the way he ran, and looks like he came out of it well.”

There are several New York-bred options for Syndergaard, but there is also the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont on Oct. 8 as a possible next spot.

Hit It Once More, owned by Bill Parcells, rolled to a 3 3/4-length victory in the $250,000 Albany Stakes. He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.38 and earned a 97 Beyer.

Trainer Gary Sciacca said that Hit It Once More will be pointed to the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 24.

“I think it’s worth a shot to take a look at,” Sciacca said.