Catch a Thrill steps down in class for turf allowance

ELMONT, N.Y. – The victory by Sir Winston in the Belmont Stakes on June 8 certainly was thrilling for trainer Mark Casse and owner Tracy Farmer. On Friday at Belmont Park, Casse and Farmer will look for a similar feeling when they send out Catch a Thrill in a first-level allowance race for fillies and mares scheduled for six furlongs on the turf.

Catch a Thrill, a 3-year-old daughter of City Zip, won her career debut at Gulfstream in January and then finished second in the Melody of Colors Stakes, also at Gulfstream. In April, Catch a Thrill jumped into graded company, finishing seventh in the Grade 2 Appalachian at Keeneland.

“She didn’t want to rate at all, and the turf was soft,” Casse said. “I was looking for a straight 3-year-old race, but we have to run against older. I don’t like doing that right now.”

Other 3-year-olds who look like contenders in this field include Brooke Marie, second in this condition here in May, and Golconda, who makes her first start for Jason Servis after running sixth and fourth for Chad Brown in a pair of stakes.