Florida Derby: Casse giving Pappacap another chance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mark Casse doesn’t know what went wrong for Pappacap in last month’s Grade 2 Risen Star where the Grade 1 stakes-placed horse finished eighth, 14 1/4 lengths behind Epicenter. What Casse does know is to do what most trainers do in such instances when there’s no evident excuse – draw a line through the race and try again.

Thus, Casse will return Pappacap to the site of his first victory – Gulfstream Park – and run him in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby, a last-ditch effort to make the Kentucky Derby.

“He’s 1 for 1 at Gulfstream so we’re going to go for 2 for 2,” Casse said.

Casse is even going to reunite him with the rider of that maiden win, Edwin Gonzalez.

Pappacap, a son of Gun Runner, began his career 2 for 2 with a maiden win at Gulfstream last May followed by the Grade 2 Best Pal at Del Mar in August. After a fourth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, Pappacap finished second to Corniche in both the Grade 1 American Pharoah and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The form of the Breeders’ Cup has not held up well. While Corniche has yet to run back, those that have are a combined 1 for 16 out of the Juvenile. Pinehurst, who dead-heated for fifth in the Juvenile, won the Group 3 Saudi Derby but finished last in Saturday’s UAE Derby.

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Pappacap began his 3-year-old campaign with a decent third in the Lecomte, three-quarters of a length behind Call Me Midnight and Epicenter. After the Risen Star, Casse shipped Pappcap out of Fair Grounds to his training center in Ocala, Fla.

“I have no idea why he ran the way he did,” Casse said. “We thought we wanted to get him somewhere new.”

What Casse has seen from Pappcap in the mornings has him wanting to give the horse another shot at a big race.

“He’s training as good as a horse can train,” Casse said. “If he had run and Epicenter had beat him a couple of lengths or something like that, I would have said maybe he’s just not good enough. He ran just a real clunker. I don’t know.

“Everything that he shows me and does is that he’s a good horse,” Casse added “I’ll be the first to tell you I’ve been really disappointed in his performances. I thought he was pretty ready for the Lecomte and as it turned out, Epicenter may be just that good. I thought coming back in the Risen Star. I thought we could beat him and again I was wrong.”

Epicenter was an eye-catching winner of Saturday’s Louisiana Derby, stamping himself as one of the top choices for the May 7 Kentucky Derby.

Saturday’s Florida Derby will determine whether Pappacap deserves the right to take on Epicenter again.

Rivalry continues

Hard-knocking 7-year-olds Brasstown and Trappezoid renew acquaintances Thursday at Gulfstream in one of three starter optional claiming races sprinkled throughout the eight-race card.

Going back 14 months, Brasstown and Trappezoid have faced each other six times, the pair splitting those meetings.

On Feb. 2, Trappezoid, trained by Jorge Delgado, beat Brasstown by 1 3/4 lengths. Trappezoid has since run – and lost – twice including a neck defeat at Tampa Bay Downs on March 11.

Brasstown, trained by Antonio Sano, came out of that Feb. 2 race to win a similar conditioned race as this on March 3. He is drawn nicely on the outside and has the meet’s leading rider, Luis Saez, aboard.