Tepin likely to start once at Keeneland before Breeders' Cup

Tepin came out of her half-length win Saturday in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile a little tired but in good condition and was headed by van Monday to Saratoga, where she will be stabled briefly before shipping to Keeneland, trainer Mark Casse said.

Making her first start since an historic victory June 14 in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in England, Tepin had to work a bit to win her eighth race in a row, a chain of victories that includes Grade 1 or Group 1 victories over males in the Queen Anne, the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and again on Saturday. Tepin got a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for running one mile over “good” turf in 1:34.13. Her rider, Julien Leparoux, said in post-race comments that Tepin had gotten tired late in the race, and Casse concurred.

“She was tired, but more so right after the race,” Casse said. “She’s bounced back to her usual feisty self again now.”

Tepin will stable at Saratoga until the Keeneland backstretch is cleared out following the massive September yearling sale there. Casse said Tepin will ship to Keeneland sometime next week. He also confirmed that Tepin is likely to race next month in a Grade 1 race at Keeneland, either the First Lady, a female-restricted race, or the Shadwell Turf Mile.

“She’s gotten so smart, she puts very little into her training, and that makes it difficult,” Casse said. “We find it’s much easier to just run her because she gets so much more out of it. For her to have her best chance of winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile, she probably needs to run again.”

Casse said he had “concerns” about Tepin going into Saturday’s race. The trip to England and her hard race over soft ground there had taken a toll on the mare, who was briefly pointed to a race at Saratoga in August before her handlers, not entirely pleased with the manner of her training, decided to back off a bit and wait.

“We found ourselves giving her time and then having to play some catch-up,” Casse said. “I know a little about Woodbine, and I’ve seen a lot of good horses go there and get beat.”

Meanwhile, the other Grade 1 winner on Saturday, The Pizza Man, traveled by van back to trainer Roger Brueggemann’s base at Arlington on Sunday after capturing the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes. Winning for the first time since the 2015 Arlington Million, The Pizza Man, with Flavien Prat riding for the first time, tracked a glacial pace in the Northern Dancer and won by a neck over Wake Forest. He got a 101 Beyer for running 1 1/2 miles in 2:31.75.

“I’m happy for the horse, happy for Roger,” said Rich Papiese, whose Midwest Thoroughbreds bred and owns The Pizza Man, one of the best Illinois-breds ever. “Coming in, I thought he had a good shot. He’s had a lot of little problems this year; not soundness, but his blood’s been off a few times. With a solid ride, I thought he’d be dangerous.”

Papiese said The Pizza Man had come out of his race in good order and was being pointed toward a return trip to Woodbine for the Grade 1 Canadian International. Papiese wouldn’t rule out a start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, in which The Pizza Man finished fifth last year, but a run there would come just three weeks after the International, and Papiese said the 7-year-old gelding “might need a little more time between races at his age.”