Connections roll the dice with Conquest Curlinate

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Mark Casse believes he tried to push some horses to make the Kentucky Derby over the last few years, and he made a promise to himself this year that he wasn’t going to do that anymore.

By the time the two closings for Triple Crown nominations came around Jan. 17 and March 23, Casse didn’t envision Conquest Curlinate as a Kentucky Derby horse. But after solid second-place performances in the Illinois Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, Conquest Curlinate has proven to Casse and his owners that he is worthy of a Triple Crown race.

Thus, the Conquest Stables of Ernie Semersky and Dory Newell is putting up $75,000 to supplement Conquest Curlinate to the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 6. Add in entry and starter fees, and it will cost $105,000 for Conquest Curlinate to run in the Belmont. The winner’s share of the Belmont is $800,000. A fourth-place finish would net $100,000.

Where Casse admits he erred was not thinking about the Preakness or the Belmont Stakes for this gray son of Curlin.

“It was a mistake on my part,” Casse said. “If you are in this game, especially at the level Conquest is in it, they’re gamblers. If we run well, the world will know. If we run bad, nobody will care.”

By Jan. 17, it would have cost $600 to nominate Conquest Curlinate to the Triple Crown. At that point, the horse was a maiden, having finished fifth last November in his sprint debut over the synthetic surface at Woodbine.

From Jan. 18 to March 23, it would have cost $6,000 to nominate Conquest Curlinate to the Triple Crown. By that point, the horse had won a maiden race – impressively rallying from last after a slow break – and finished third in an allowance race.

“After he broke his maiden, if he came back and won again, we would have [nominated],” Casse said. “But he finished third, and it didn’t look like he was that kind of horse.”

Casse also had the Queen’s Plate on July 5 in mind for Conquest Curlinate, a Canadian-bred. He still will be pointed to that race after the Belmont.

Conquest Curlinate didn’t run again for two months after his allowance loss. In the Grade 3 Illinois Derby on April 18, Conquest Curlinate rallied six wide and was defeated a nose by Whiskey Ticket. Three weeks later, he was beaten a length by Madefromlucky in the Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park.

“He ran a big race in the Illinois Derby, but the two questions were how good was the Illinois Derby, and could he repeat that effort?” Casse said. “The Peter Pan made you think he can do this. He’s done it twice now.”

In some years, paying $75,000 to run in the Belmont Stakes might not seem out of line. After all, there have been years when the race has come up lacking talent or depth. That does not appear to be the case this year.

Not only is American Pharoah seeking to become the 12th Triple Crown winner after impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, the race also includes Grade 1 winners Materiality, Frosted, and perhaps Carpe Diem, as well as Madefromlucky and UAE Derby winner Mubtaahij.

While Casse acknowledges the brilliance of American Pharoah, he feels Conquest Curlinate fits with the remainder of the field. Toward that end, he is employing a lesson he learned from the late Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.

“Never stay out of a race because of one horse,” said Casse, who added that when he was 12, he got a bet down on the Jerkens-trained Onion when he beat Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney at Saratoga. “Allen won a lot of big races that way. There’s one standout. If you take American Pharoah out, we have as good a shot as anybody else.”

American Pharoah sticks to routine

Not that he minds – at all – but American Pharoah was greeted with a wet track at Churchill Downs on Monday morning, the first for the special 8:30-8:45 Eastern training session. The colt went through another quick routine, galloping perhaps a tad farther than he has the last few days, going 1 1/4 miles before heading back to Barn 33 in a span of just seven minutes.

Of course, everybody knows American Pharoah relishes a wet track, as evidenced by how easily the colt won both the Rebel Stakes and Preakness.

American Pharoah was scheduled to breeze once before he leaves for Belmont Park, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Pletcher has his trio gallop

At Belmont Park on Monday, the Todd Pletcher-trained trio of Carpe Diem, Materiality, and Madefromlucky all had routine gallops. Carpe Diem went to the training track while the other two galloped over the main track.

Tale of Verve, the Preakness runner-up, also galloped Monday morning at Belmont Park.

Mubtaahij had a walk day after working five furlongs in 1:01.83 on Sunday over the main track in company with Umgiyo. It was the third work for Mubtaahij in eight days, and he is expected to work again Wednesday, possibly with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard.

– additional reporting by Marty McGee