SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. – There was no catching front-running Classic Q in the Just a Game Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga. And there has been almost no stopping her trainer, Mark Casse, the last two days at Saratoga. Classic Q, a wisp of a gray 4-year-old filly, won her first Grade 1 in her first try. Casse won his third Grade 1 in two days. Casse runs a sprawling, successful stable, no doubt, but this? Unparalleled. Casse over the last year had one winner from 38 Grade 1 starters. Friday afternoon, he won the Acorn with Counting Stars, then the Ogden Phipps with Nitrogen, who ran one of the best races this year. Classic Q made it three straight Grade 1s. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save big on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “To be able to accomplish this, this weekend, it’s amazing,” Casse said. Saturday’s Grade 1 winner knows only one way to go about life – full speed, barely willing to compromise – and that includes her racing style. Walking over from the stables to race Saturday afternoon, a military plane flew over at the end of the national anthem. “She went crazy,” Casse said. “Then she got out on the track and wouldn’t move.” The psychological side of being an equine athlete has proved a challenge, and Classic Q’s path to Grade 1 success, Casse said, only began after she underwent double ankle surgery. Since making the races, she has proven extremely durable - light-framed, light on her feet, and always ready to run. That eagerness has worked against her at times, but John Velazquez rode the filly for the third straight time in the Just a Game and has figured her out. “When she breaks, you can’t rush her or she’ll run off,” Casse said. “Johnny gets along with her. She’s got to show her speed, but if you cluck to her, bye-bye.” Velazquez must have kept quiet, because Classic Q, breaking alertly from post 1, was entirely willing to ration her early speed. The connections of 9-5 favorite Segesta must have respected Classic Q, because Flavien Prat hustled her out of the gate to go up and contest the lead, and going into the first turn, Segesta raced neck and neck with the slight gray filly. But Classic Q’s just a more athletic horse, quicker, and coming out of the bend and onto the backstretch, she and Velazquez had taken control. Behind her, French shipper Mandanaba, the 5-2 second choice, had broken flat-footed, rushing up into the pocket and becoming a somewhat rank. Sandtrap, the 4-1 third choice, was trying to run off with jockey Manny Franco, who had to take a powerful hold just to get her back. Classic Q laid down a 22.92 second quarter, the wind at her back, and hit the half in 47.17 still on a clear lead. Segesta kept the leader in her sites around the far turn as Mandanaba stoked up for a run from the pocket. Neither those two nor anyone else came close to catching Classic Q, who laid down an 11.19 furlong after turning for home, followed it with an 11.57 for a final quarter-mile in 22.75 and a 1 1/4-length win. Mandanaba’s jockey, Clement Lecoeuvre, said his filly seemed a little hesitant going around tighter turns than she runs overseas. She finished well for second, a half-length ahead of Segesta, but not quite well enough. Fourth-place Deep Satin came from last of eight and turned in the fastest final quarter-mile by more than a half-second, missing third by three-quarters of a length. And One More Time was fifth, Sandtrap a flat sixth after failing to settle, Fast Market seventh, and Buttercream Babe last. Classic Q clocked 1:32.84 over a firm course (99 Beyer Speed Figure) and paid $14.44. Classic Q is by Classic Empire, who Casse trained, and out of Lovely Em, by Scat Daddy, a broodmare sire Casse admires. Casse paid $40,000 at a yearling sale, buying the filly for his wife, Tina Casse, and an old friend, Hugh Daily, whose nom de course is Blue Crevalle Racing. After Classic Q showed early talent, Casse sold his share in the horse, and Classic Q now campaigns for Gary Barber, Blue Crevalle, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Casse, 56, grew up in racing, breeding, and sales, the son of Ocala Breeders’ Sales founder Norman Casse. He said he’s been coming to Saratoga since he was 10, pointing from the winner’s circle up to the grandstand. “I used to stand up there, because we didn’t have a box, so I would stand for races and races just to watch,” he said. Friday, Casse watched two horses he trains win important Grade 1s. Saturday, Classic Q gave him a third. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.