For Tepin, it's on to Royal Ascot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After some indecision that spiked then subsided over the weekend, Tepin will soon be on her way to England for the June 14 Queen Anne Stakes.

Trainer Mark Casse raised the question of whether Tepin will be at too much of a disadvantage in the Group 1 Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, but after discussions with owner Robert Masterson, he said, “We’re all set.”

Casse already knew Tepin would not be able to race on Lasix – the anti-bleeding medication with which she has been treated for all 19 career races – but until about a week ago, he had been unaware that she also wouldn’t be permitted to compete with a nasal strip, with which she regularly races.

“She’s a heavy breather,” Casse said Saturday, when he was considering withdrawing the champion mare from the Queen Anne.

But cooler heads ultimately prevailed.

“It’s something Mr. Masterson wants to do,” Casse said Monday. “After going over everything Saturday night, there wasn’t really anything to stop us from going. I really don’t want to make a big deal about the nasal strip because actually there were a lot of other little considerations involved. But Mr. Masterson has had his heart set on this, and it’s one reason he brought her back to run at 5.”

Tepin will breeze Friday at Churchill Downs, then leave Monday for Keeneland, where she will be in quarantine for several hours before being vanned to Indianapolis. From there, she will be on a direct flight to Stansted Airport, just north of London, with arrival scheduled for early Tuesday evening, London time. Miss Temple City, the winner of the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile in April at Keeneland, is among the other horses booked on the flight.

Tepin, the winner of the 2015 Eclipse Award for top female turf runner, has won her last six starts and nine of her last 11, with the two losses being in tight photos. She will face male rivals in the Queen Anne, which is run as a straightaway mile.

Tepin likely would have been the second choice in the Queen Anne to Solow, but with his defection, Tepin now figures to be favored.