Pounce wins Lake George, caps big day for Casse

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Most trainers would probably be delighted to win six races in a month and four stakes (three graded) in a year. Mark Casse, amazingly, accomplished both those feats in a single afternoon, as his 3-year-old filly Pounce put a punctuation mark on a truly memorable day for the Hall of Fame horseman by rallying to a three-quarter-length victory over 2-1 favorite Oversubscribed in Saturday’s $175,000 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga.

The Grade 3 Lake George was the third graded stakes win on Saturday at three different venues for Casse, coming less than a half-hour after Get Smokin narrowly held off the closing surge of Grand Sonata to win the Grade 2 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park. Casse also won the Grade 3 Trillium, along with the Plate Trial, with Solo Album and My Boy Prince respectively, at Woodbine, plus an allowance race earlier on the Saratoga card with Full Screen and a maiden special weight event at Gulfstream Park with Aristotle.

Pounce was also the third of four victories on the card for jockey Dylan Davis, and gave Casse his sixth win over the first eight cards of the current meet.

Pounce launched his 3-year-old campaign with two victories this winter at Gulfstream Park, including the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride, before disappointing in finishing a tiring 11th as the tepid favorite in the Grade 2 Appalachian at Keeneland. In his most recent outing, Pounce finished third after setting the pace to midstretch in the Penn Oaks at Penn National.

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Casse said he told Davis to settle Pounce off the early leaders in the Lake George and his rider followed those instructions to perfection, rating his filly near midpack during the early going, about a half-dozen lengths off the pace set by Gavea and prompted from the outset by Manama Gold. Pounce had to briefly await room on the second turn, eased out for clearance at the top of the lane, responded when roused to overtake Gavea a sixteenth out before holding safe a final surge by Oversubscribe.

Oversubscribe was rated along just behind the winner while saving ground in the run down the backstretch, angled out three wide seeking clearance in early stretch, had to steady briefly off the heels of stablemate Sweet Rebecca near the furlong grounds, before finishing willingly from between horses at the end. Vive Veuve rallied from near the rear of the field during the early going to finish another neck farther back in third.

Pounce was originally owned in partnership by a group that included Casse before being purchased at public auction by John Stewart’s Resolute Stable following her 2024 debut. A daughter of Lookin At Lucky, Pounce completed the distance over a fast track in 1:35.84 seconds and paid $13.80. Pounce was given a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

Casse said he watched the Lake George on his I-pad along with his wife Tina as they were leaving Monmouth Park following Get Smokin’s narrow and exciting triumph in the United Nations just before embarking on the long drive back to Saratoga.

“I’ve got to get back, we’ve got bunch of horses to work up there in the morning,” Casse said. “It’s been a crazy day, a good day. We have a great crew. We got up to Saratoga a lot earlier this year, and I think that might be part of it.”

Casse admitted he was a bit disappointed in Pounce’s previous two performances, although he was expecting an improved showing on Saturday considering the way she had trained into the race.

“I told Dylan I’d like to see her settle, if she could, and he got her to do just that. He put up a great ride,” Casse said. “I said to my wife as we were watching the race on the Ipad that ‘she’s loaded, she’s loaded.’ And she certainly was.”

Pounce was so loaded, in fact, that Davis said he needed the outrider to help him pull the filly up after the race, that “she wasn’t finished yet.”

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