Theogony tests affinity for dirt in Pippin Stakes
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Theogony opened up a whole new world of options for herself last year at 5, when the synthetic-track stakes winner ran one of the best races of her career in her dirt debut. She will remain on the dirt Sunday at Oaklawn Park for the $100,000 Pippin. The 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares is the first step on the road to the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap.
“We’ll take it one race at a time, but the hope is if she were to run really good she would [advance] to the Apple Blossom,” said Mark Casse, who trains Theogony for Conrad Farms.
Theogony will face eight others in the Pippin, among her rivals Cash Control, the winner of the $50,000 Tiffany Lass last month at Fair Grounds, and Cabana, a stakes winner this past summer at Indiana Grand.
KEY CONTENDERS
Theogony (Last 3 Beyers: 89-85-84)
◗ Casse long had dirt in the back of his mind for Theogony, he said, for both her pedigree and the manner in which she trained on the surface. She got her first shot at dirt Nov. 26, and ran second in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs.
“She had trained really well on the dirt, and never really got to run on it,” Casse said. “So we gave it a try, and I thought it was very good.”
◗ Casse said the Pippin then became the target for Theogony.
“We wanted to run her on the dirt, and I thought this was a good place to start the year,” he said.
◗ Theogony, a winner of 4 of 13 starts who has spent the bulk of her career racing at Woodbine, has a good deal of upside, said Casse.
“She’s very lightly raced,” he said. “She’s by Curlin, and they tend to get better [with age], and she seems to be getting better. If she runs better than she did last year, she will be a horse to be reckoned with.”
◗ Corey Nakatani has the mount from post 6.
“She’s pretty versatile,” said Casse.
Cash Control (Last 3 Beyers: 82-83-88)
◗ She is on top of her game right now, having won her last three starts, capped by the Tiffany Lass.
◗ Cash Control has shown versatility during her streak. She’s won on both dirt and turf, and also from both on and off the pace.
◗ Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount for trainer Brad Cox.