World Approval struggling to regain championship form

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Only a few lengths separate the best turf milers from the also-rans. World Approval earned a divisional Eclipse Award last fall after winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile, but now the gray 6-year-old gelding is in no man’s land following two subpar starts.

World Approval was beaten 3 1/2 lengths when finishing sixth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Wise Dan on a sultry Saturday night at Churchill Downs, a performance that essentially mimicked his prior start, a 3 3/4-length defeat in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile on March 10 at Santa Anita. Mark Casse, who trains World Approval for the Live Oak Stud of owner and breeder Charlotte Weber, said he is at a loss to explain the downturn in form.

“It’s kind of a mystery,” Casse said this week from his Ocala, Fla., base. “Going into the Wise Dan, I don’t think he could’ve been doing any better than he was.”

Casse said that John Velazquez, who rode World Approval in the Wise Dan, told him he felt the gelding did not seem comfortable over the Churchill turf.

“I hate to make excuses,” said Casse. “It was about as hot as I’ve ever seen it, and Johnny said the horse was throwing up divots as big as his head. But everybody else had to run in the heat and over the same track.

“When Johnny came back, I told him, ‘Well, maybe age is catching up with him,’ and he said, ‘No, no, he really didn’t handle it. Take this race and throw it out.’ He was adamant. So, we’ll take it easy with the horse for now and send him with our string to Saratoga the first week of July and see how he trains and probably point him to the Fourstardave,” a Grade 1 race on Aug. 11.

Casse said the back-to-back mediocre efforts for a reigning champion who has earned more than $3 million are “a concern, a serious concern,” and he will closely monitor how World Approval trains in the coming weeks.

“If he shows us he’s not what he used to be, we’ll have some tough decisions to make,” he said. “He’s been awfully good to us.”

Meanwhile, Casse said Valadorna will move over to turf after finishing sixth as the second choice Saturday night in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on dirt. A runner-up finish in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies remains the most notable effort for the 4-year-old filly.

“I didn’t see a lot of excuses for her,” said Casse. “When she first was sent to me as a baby by Niall Brennan, he said he thought she’d love the turf, so it’s definitely something we’ll consider. If she has any upside, it’s got to be on the turf.”