Casse sweeps turf stakes with My Boy Prince, Creed’s Gold
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On the day Tampa Bay Downs celebrated its 100th anniversary, trainer Mark Casse celebrated his 65th birthday in style by sweeping the two $100,000 turf stakes at the Oldsmar, Fla., track.
My Boy Prince, ridden by Samuel Marin, came with a strong rally along the rail and outfinished Rezasrolex to win the $100,000 Turf Dash by a neck. While My Boy Prince won his eighth career race – and seventh in a stakes – Rezasrolex had his nine-race winning streak snapped.
“You want to win, you feel bad killing that horse’s win streak that horse of Joe Orseno’s has been unbelievable,” said Casse, who was planning to be at Tampa Saturday but ultimately watched the races from his office at his farm in Ocala, Fla.
Earlier on the card, Casse won the $100,000 Lightning City Stakes with Creed’s Gold, who came off a seven-month layoff to win by two lengths.
Earlier in the week, Casse had talked about how Tampa Bay Downs had played in an important role in his career. He recounted how he attended the races as a young teenager when his father trained horses and won races at the track.
Going into the two stakes on Saturday, Casse thought the five-furlong distance might work against both of his horses. It didn’t.
“They’re just really good horses,” Casse said.
My Boy Prince sat an inside trip while Reszarolex, under Edgard Zayas, chased the rapid pace of 21.12 seconds and 43.40 set by Speed Figures and Jose Ferrer. In the stretch, My Boy Prince rallied inside of Speed Figures while Rezasrolex was rallying outside of that one. My Boy Prince just got to the wire first. It was a head back to And Uwish in third. The second- and third-place finishers were both trained by Orseno.
Rezasrolex was sent off the 8-5 favorite in what was by far his toughest race.
“That was tough,” Orseno said of Rezarolex’s win streak ending. “It’s a split second decision but if we go through the inside instead of going around we win the race. The agony of defeat.The truth of the matter is the horse doesn’t know he lost, the horse thinks he won.”
My Boy Prince, a 5-year-old gelding by Cairo Prince, covered the five furlongs in 55.44 seconds and returned $5.80 as the second choice.
Creed’s Gold takes Lightning City
Creed’s Gold, unraced since winning a sprint stakes over Woodbine’s synthetic surface last July, returned from that eight-month layoff a winner in the Lighting City, rallying through a large opening along the rail in the stretch to win by two lengths.
Love Appeals, who got bumped at the break, rallied between horses in the stretch to get second by a head over Demar’s Legacy, who was a nose better than Eturian.
The victory was the fifth from 12 starts for Creed’s Gold, a 5-year-old daughter of Jimmy Creed owned by Kristin Meldahl.
Casse said before the race he had stopped on Creed’s Gold after her victory in the Grade 3 Hendrie last July 5 because he didn’t like how the filly was doing after the race. He gave her plenty of time, handful of works and she was ready to fire off the bench.
Creed’s Gold benefitted from a ground saving trip under Sonny Leon, who had the mare abut three lengths back behind Demar’s Legacy, who set fractions of 21.22 seconds for the quarter and a half-mile in 43.84.
Leon never had to leave the rail and Creed’s Gold took over in mid-stretch and edged clear. Creed’s Gold covered the five furlongs in 56.02 seconds and returned $5.60 as the second choice.
“I was a little worried because she came from a layoff, plus she was winning races at six furlongs, 6 1/2 [furlongs], now we got five-eighths and like I said coming back from the layoff,” Leon said in an interview broadcast on America’s Day at the Races. “I warmed her up sharp before the race. I had such a nice trip, I saved ground and that’s the main thing on this surface.”
Love Appeals, ridden by Samy Camacho ran very well to be second after horses from the outside came down on her and she got bumped.
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