Gulfstream: Casse regroups after weekend disappointments

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Some 48 hours later, Mark Casse was still digesting the humble pie he was force-fed Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Seemingly loaded for bear, the Casse stable had a hugely disappointing day when stakes horses such as Conquest Big E, Conquest Bebop, and Conquest Daddyo all ran subpar races.

Casse did have minor excuses for some of his runners, including Conquest Bebop flipping at the gate before the Sweetest Chant and Conquest Big E overheating following the Holy Bull. As for Conquest Daddyo, last of six in the Kitten’s Joy, “I don’t know what happened there,” Casse said Monday from Ocala, Fla. “He was training so well and then didn’t run at all.”

In all, “it was just one of those weekends,” said Casse, a seven-time Sovereign Award winner in Canada. “We all have them. I guess I felt like Rocky in the fifth round. The good news is, there are 12 rounds, and we’re sure not giving up.”

◗ With three allowances here Wednesday and the big stakes program Saturday, there isn’t so much as one allowance on an 11-race Thursday card that starts at 12:35 p.m. Eastern. Back-to-back starter allowances, each worth $35,000, go as races 9 and 10.