Casse points trio to Display Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – With the Woodbine meet set to close this weekend, future stars could emerge with three 2-year-old stakes on tap, including the $150,000 Ontario Lassie and the $125,000 Kingarvie on Saturday and the $125,000 Display Stakes on Sunday.

The Display, an open 2-year-old stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Polytrack, likely will draw three from the barn of leading trainer Mark Casse, including the multiple stakes-placed Tizzarunner and the maiden winner Greatest Game. Both horses exit the same optional-claiming race Nov. 8, when they finished second and third as a coupled entry.

Monster Bea will be the third Casse entrant in the race and will make his Woodbine debut after being privately purchased by Casse and Gary Barber in August. Casse said Monster Bea’s win over Conquest Windycity in a maiden race Aug. 8 at Saratoga caught his attention.

“I was impressed with him. Plus, he beat a colt of ours in the race that we think a lot of,” he said. “We think [Conquest Windycity] is a Kentucky Derby prospect.”

Monster Bea ran fifth in the Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga in his first start for his new connections Sept. 2 and stumbled and lost the rider in his next start in the Awad Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 30.

While his start in the Display will be his first on Polytrack, Casse said Monster Bea has handled the surface well in the morning.

“He’s been training extremely well on the Polytrack,” he said. “The reason I sent him to New York was because there was nothing for him on the Polytrack. I didn’t hesitate to bring him back because of the way he’s trained on it.”