Tepin wins first Grade 1 in Just a Game

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tepin remained unbeaten on the season in the Grade 1, $700,000 Just a Game Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park, gunning down Discreet Marq in the lane and then holding off Filimbi in the final strides to capture the one-mile event on turf by half a length.

The 4-year-old filly, trained by Mark Casse, has established herself as a rising star in the female turf division despite a rocky beginning last year. In her first start on turf, she was checked in the stretch and finished eighth in a roughly run edition of the Grade 3 Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs.

She then headed to California, finishing a creditable second in the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap before running eighth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks. She emerged from that race with a physical issue that kept her on the sidelines until March, when she returned to win an optional-claiming event at Gulfstream Park. She then won the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

In Saturday's race, Discreet Marq, who has won five stakes at Belmont Park, was away from the gate best of all but was quickly joined by defending Just a Game winner Coffee Clique, and those two led the field through moderate fractions of 24.87 seconds and 49.44. Tepin ($11.20), who broke from post 9 under Julien Leparoux, drafted in third and on the outside behind those two early.

The filly won the Distaff Turf Mile on the lead, but Casse said he was unconcerned about her placement in the Just a Game. He was more concerned about the condition of the turf, which was officially rated good but had taken some water earlier in the day.

"We didn't think there was a lot of speed in there," Casse said. "My biggest concern was I thought the turf was pretty soft, when you saw the sprinters [in the Grade 3 Jaipur] go in 1:09 and change. In the paddock, I said to Julien, 'How soft is the turf?' and he said, 'It's soft.' So, I wasn't sure how she would handle that, but she'll rate. The only reason she was on the lead last time was [there was no other speed]. This time we thought [Discreet Marq] would show some speed. I was a little surprised to see Coffee Clique, but maybe they thought we stole it from them last time."

Discreet Marq held the lead through six furlongs in 1:12.57 and appeared headed to another score on her home course. But Leparoux kept Tepin outside the leader and asked for run, with the filly grimly forging her way to the lead. Filimbi came rallying into the moderate pace to pick up her third career Grade 1 placing, missing by half a length to Tepin and finishing three-quarters ahead of Discreet Marq.

The final time for the mile was 1:35.65.

"She's got a big heart," Leparoux said. "Every time I asked her, she was going, and she fought to the end. She kept digging and digging."

Casse said he will target the division's events this summer at Saratoga for Tepin.