Tepin will try to conquer Royal Ascot next

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Norm Casse admits he is running out of things to say about Tepin. But, he certainly doesn’t take her accomplishments for granted.

Tepin, last year’s female turf champion, won her sixth consecutive race Saturday when she easily dispatched of her six rivals in winning the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs by 3 1/2 lengths.

“Tepin was awesome again,” Casse, the Kentucky-based assistant to his father, Mark, said Sunday morning. “I have a hard time describing how it feels or what it means. She’s special though. Certainly never had anything like this before and we appreciate it.”

As has previously been stated, Tepin will take her talents to England next month to run in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting, where she will face some of the best male milers in Europe.

Norm Casse said shipping arrangements are still pending, but he would like to travel as close to the race as possible.

“We’re going to try to go as late as possible,” Casse said. “We’ve never done this so this is a new experience for us but in other races that’s what we’ve been successful with. She’s a horse that’s not rattled. We don’t feel like it’s necessary for her to get acclimated or anything because she just goes over there and does her thing.”

Tepin, a 5-year-old daughter of Bernstein, improved her record to 11 for 19 winning the Distaff Turf Mile for the second straight year. She earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance. While she has won six straight races, Tepin is a head and a nose away from having won 11 straight races. Both of those losses came in graded stakes at Saratoga last summer.

Tepin is not the only female turf horse in the Casse barn with a six-race winning streak. Catch a Glimpse made it six straight with a three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 3 Edgewood. She is undefeated on turf and 6 for 7 overall.

Casse said Catch a Glimpse came out of her race well and will likely move over to Keeneland to train “because she does better over there,” he said.

Casse said there are no immediate plans for Catch a Glimpse though he said the $1 million Belmont Oaks at Belmont Park on July 9 is the long-range goal. The Belmont Oaks is run at 1 1/4 miles. Catch a Glimpse has yet to run beyond 1 1/16 miles.

“She’s a horse that would never wow you working but I think her heart is what makes her good,” Casse said. “She gets in front and other horses come to her and she keeps going so maybe a mile and a quarter is within her scope. We don’t know until we try it.”

Should the Casses want to try Catch a Glimpse at 1 1/8 miles first, they could run her in the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont on June 5.

Catch a Glimpse was assigned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for the Edgewood.