King's review: Casino Dan lives up to pedigree

The other ‘Dan’ scores

Casino Dan, a half-brother to elite runners Wise Dan and Successful Dan, scored Thursday at Churchill Downs in a first-level allowance, carrying the familiar silks of owner-breeder Mort Fink.

A chestnut 6-year-old gelding, Casino Dan won the seventh race under conditions that reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan adores: running a mile on the turf. And he won in the same style of Wise Dan, stalking the pace before drawing off in the stretch.

To be clear, Casino Dan is not remotely in the league of Wise Dan, an 18-time stakes winner and earner of more than $6.8 million. He’s not anywhere near the class of Successful Dan, either – as the latter is a four-time stakes winner of nearly $1 million.

But he is a solid allowance horse, one that has never seen a tag in his 13-race career, and a potential next-out contender in a second-level grass allowance. He earned an 83 Beyer for his victory Thursday.

Casino Dan, by Mutakddim out of Lisa Danielle, who was honored in 2013 as the Broodmare of the Year, shares the same trainer as his famous siblings: Charlie LoPresti.

A winning 2-year-old combination

In cards, a tell is a change in player’s behavior or demeanor, maybe a twitch or another nervous reaction, that can “tip the hand” – thereby alerting others of the quality of cards he is holding.

Trainers can have tells, too – though it is not reflecting in nervousness but rather in their decision making.

In the case of Steve Asmussen, one of his tells is when he rides Rosie Napravnik on a 2-year-old at Churchill Downs. He tends to put her on his better 2-year-old stock, which was notably reflected last year when eventual Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable debuted and was successful under Napravnik.

So when he named Napravnik on Tapitsphere in race 6 Thursday at Churchill, he was all but announcing to horseplayers the colt was a runner, and the horse delivered with a powerful stretch surge to catch Mercer Mill Mae on the line for a head victory.

His winning time wasn’t much, 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:06.18, but the manner in which he won – gaining seven lengths in the final furlong – was indicative of a promising young horse. He paid $7.40.

With the victory from Tapitsphere, Asmussen’s record with debuting juveniles at Churchill in 2013-2014 with Napravnik up improved to 8 for 11.

Horse to Watch

First Beach
Trainer: Charlie LoPresti
Last race: June 12, 9th
Finish: 4th by 5 1/4
Beyer: 63

Racing in a maiden $50,000 grass race on the turf, he was boxed in for much of the running, only getting clear in the final sixteenth, when it was far too late. He was keen to run earlier in the race and should fare much better in his next start if he can get a trip in the clear.