Got Stormy will likely point to Ladies Sprint as next start

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Mark Casse does not see the ideal race for Got Stormy to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

He doesn’t believe Got Stormy can get a mile at Woodbine, so the Woodbine Mile is out. There is no turf at Churchill Downs this fall. The Keeneland turf course in the fall is usually softer than Got Stormy prefers, so the First Lady may not be an option.

So, Casse will likely cut Got Stormy back in distance to 6 1/2 furlongs and point to the $600,000 Ladies Sprint at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11.

“It’d be a nice race for her to practice her rating and it’s not a bad purse,” Casse said. “It’s back a little quick from this, but then it’s perfect to the next.”

The next would be the BC Mile at Del Mar. Got Stormy earned a fees-paid berth into the BC Mile by virtue of her 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap.

In 2019, Got Stormy won the Fourstardave and then finished second in the Woodbine Mile before running second in the BC Mile at Santa Anita.

Last year, Got Stormy, following a second-place finish in the Fourstardave, won the Ladies Turf Sprint by 3 1/2 lengths. She then won the Buffalo Trace Franklin County at Keeneland on Oct. 9 before running fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, run at 5 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland.

The BC Turf Sprint is run at five furlongs this year, a distance that Casse believes is too short for Got Stormy, so she will point to the Mile.

In the Fourstardave, Got Stormy ran a mile in 1:33.09, and earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought she won with a fair amount of ease,” said Casse, who won his first race of the meet after 20 losses in the Fourstardave.

Meanwhile, Set Piece ran a solid second in his first try against Grade 1 company, rallying from last under Florent Geroux.

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“When we brought him up here we kind of thought we would be up against it a little bit with his style on that course,” trainer Brad Cox said. “But I thought he ran extremely well and showed he was able to compete with the best turf milers in America, so it was big.”

Cox said Set Piece would likely make his next start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Keeneland Turf Mile on Oct. 9.

Casa Creed ran a respectable third in the Fourstardave after scratching out of the Grade 3 Troy at 5 1/2 furlongs a week earlier when he drew post 12. Trainer Bill Mott had no concrete plans for Casa Creed.

“I’m happy we made the choice we made,” Mott said. “I think his chances were better there than out of the 12-hole in the Troy."

- additional reporting by Mike Welsch