Harness: Cassar ready to start anew after yearlong absence

From a gambling standpoint, horseplayers tend to be a bit more wary when a horse has been idle for an extended period of time. Most recently, we noticed that Wiggle It Jiggleit took quite some time to regain winning form after a long absence. Take a look at the other side of the fence and we find a veteran trainer by the name of Darran Cassar getting back into action in recent weeks at The Meadowlands. The Australian native was given a year off by authorities and is now putting his life and stable back together simultaneously.

On Saturday Cassar sends out a pair of pacers he recently imported from Australia hoping they become the foundation for a resurgence. Cassar, before his forced vacation, had put together a solid stable that routinely finished at or above the seven-figure mark in annual earnings. Now with just 12 horses in his care, the trainer hopes to build up again.

"It was a raw deal," Cassar said of the year suspension he served. "I fought it as much as I could."

A positive test for morphine and another derivative of that drug were found in a horse in Cassar’s care back in 2014. The trainer and his legal team appealed the ruling and the suspension until late in 2018 when Cassar gave up the fight and took the time.

Cassar has put the past behind him and is concentrating on the present and future, and is more than grateful to those who stuck by him. "I really appreciate Windermere Stable (Frank Bruno) for sticking by me and purchasing these horses," said Cassar.

Windermere has two recent arrivals from Down Under that will make North American debuts this week. Italian Delight N drew post eight in race six on Saturday night, a conditioned event for non-winners of $10,000 in last five starts. "He’s a horse that I think over time will fit well in the mid to higher conditioned classes at Yonkers," Cassar said. "I don’t think he has the same high speed that Effronte A does but I think he’ll finish strongly no matter what the pace."

Cassar had been looking to purchase Italian Delight N for quite some time after a race he watched from a few years back. “I saw him sit behind Seaswift Joy N and get by her in the stretch,” Cassar said, recalling the race. “He was a bit too expensive to buy back then so we waited.”

Italian Delight N is a son of Bettor’s Delight that qualified decently for his debut on Saturday but may not be ready for the horses he’s up against. "Primarily when these horses come over I like to race them from off the pace for a few starts," Cassar said.

In Effronte A, Cassar has a horse where it wasn’t in his interest to take off the gate in his debut. The 7-year-old by Rock N Roll Heaven finished second in his Meadowlands unveiling last Saturday after leaving the gate. "He’s got high speed but he’ll fight you if you try to take him back," said Cassar in explaining why Effronte A has been pointed forward in both qualifier and debut. "We’re trying to work with him to get him mentally right for this style of racing."

Effronte A likely gets his high speed in part from his dam’s side. “Andy’s brother Luke (McCarthy) brought Fleur De Lil A here and she was an Open mare,” Cassar said of the dam that raced in Open company in the U.S. back in 2009-10. “This was her first foal.”

Cassar will qualify the mare Darkrshadeofpale N this weekend. The 6-year-old daughter of Changeover was a 10-time winner Down Under and Cassar is hopeful she’ll fit in the middle to upper classes in the local area.

Cassar noted that he’d like to bring a few more horses to the States from his native land. "I like to wait until the weather’s a little warmer to bring them over," said Cassar.

In the past horses that arrived from New Zealand or Australia have taken time to get acclimated but that’s no longer the case. "Italian Delight N was on the plane six days after racing," said Cassar. "When I got him over here he was fit and I was able to get him right on the track." Essentially Italian Delight N was ready to race in just four weeks time.

Seems as if Cassar and his horses are primed and ready for a fresh start in 2020.