Catch a Glimpse faces males in Penn Mile

Trainer Mark Casse plans to run the filly Catch a Glimpse, a winner of six straight, and the colt Airoforce in the $500,000 Penn Mile on Saturday night at Penn National Race Course. Catch a Glimpse, the expected favorite in the seven-horse Penn Mile, will be facing males for the first time.

The Grade 3 Penn Mile, a turf race for 3-year-olds, is one of four stakes on the card. The stakes will be run as races 1 to 4 with a first post of 6:05 p.m. Eastern. Three of the four stakes are on grass and need to be completed before dark, as the Penn National turf course does not have lights.

The entire card will be streamed live on DRF.com.

On Wednesday, Casse said he was not concerned about running Catch a Glimpse against males.

"Our other options were to go in the filly race at Penn on Saturday or in the Wonder Again at Belmont Park," Casse said. "We think there are 500,000 reasons to go in the Penn Mile.”

The Penn Oaks and the Wonder Again both have purses of $200,000.

Casse said he thought Catch a Glimpse would be on or near the lead in the Penn Mile and that he wanted to see Airoforce come from off the pace.

Another top contender is Beach Patrol, who has been privately purchased since finishing second, beaten a head, in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. Previously owned by Gary and Mary West and trained by Phil D'Amato, Beach Patrol is now trained by Chad Brown and owned by Sheep Pond Partners and James Covello.

Beach Patrol won consecutive maiden and optional races on the Santa Anita turf prior to the American Turf.

Oscar Nominated, the winner of the Spiral Stakes on Polytrack at Turfway Park for Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker, will return to turf in the Penn Mile. He finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby in his last start.

Giant Run, trained by Tom Albertrani, has good speed and could end up on the front end with Catch a Glimpse. Giant Run won the Cutler Bay Stakes on turf at Gulfstream Park in March and most recently finished second in the English Channel at Gulfstream.

The other Penn Mile entrants are Unbridled Daddy, trained by Todd Pletcher, and Silent Waters, trained by John Pimental.

The others stakes are the Penn Oaks, at a mile on turf; the $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor's Cup, a five-furlong turf sprint; and the $200,000 Mountainview Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile dirt race.

In the Penn Oaks, Casse will send out Conquest Serenade, a Keeneland maiden winner who came back to win an optional race at Churchill. Although she has not raced on turf, Casse said she trained on grass several times over the winter in Ocala, Fla.

The seven-horse Oaks field also includes Grade 3 Sweetest Chant winner Pricedtoperfection, trained by Brown; Honey Ryder Stakes winner Sweet Victory, for Pletcher; and Involuntary, who is 2 for 2 for Arnaud Delacour.

In the Governor's Cup, Ben's Cat will try to improve his 10-year-old record to 3 for 3. He will be rematched against Spring to the Sky, whom he defeated by a neck in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico on May 20.

The Mountainview Handicap has drawn an evenly matched field of five. Top Billing, trained by Shug McGaughey, will add blinkers; Red Rifle will try to get untracked after two disappointing efforts this year for Pletcher; and S'Maverlous comes in off a fifth-place finish in the Charles Town Classic for Maker.