Trainer Mark Casse is photographed Sept 7 2011 during morning workouts at Woodbine Racetrack. Casse and Seaside Retreat , a Kentucky derby racer. Casse has four horses entered in Sunday’s Queen’s Plate in Toronto.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Indiana-raised, Florida-based Mark Casse dominates the racing scene in Canada, named outstanding trainer for five years running, winner of seven training titles overall. Self-described as "the most hated guy here" in a competitive business, Casse has loaded up Sunday in pursuit of the one trophy missing from his horse racing resume, the Queen's Plate.
On Sunday, Casse has four entrants in the 12-horse field for the 154th running of the Plate (CBC, post-time 5:38 p.m. EDT) at Woodbine Racetrack. Rain with possible thunderstorms is predicted.
"I've had a lot of time to think about that," said Casse, asked what race he'd most like to win, in his career. "I've won a lot of big races; we've been very fortunate. But if we were able to win the Queen's Plate I would put it No. 1."
Casse-trained/John Oxley-owned Dynamic Sky, the third seed at 4-1 odds, starts second from the rail and is to be ridden by North America's leading jockey, Joel Rosario, who guided the horse to victory from eight lengths back to win the Plate Trial on June 9.
The favorite at 2-1 morning-line odds is Up With the Birds, owned by Sam-Son Farms, a five-time winner of the Queen's Plate. Ernie Samuel founded the stable in the 1970s. After his death, his wife Liza and daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz managed the stable but they passed away suddenly in 2008. Today, Ernie's son Mark is CEO, and the trainer is Malcolm Pierce, of Newmarket, Ont. Sam-Son also fileds His Race to Win (10-1).
Second-seeded Nipissing (7-2), a filly, is trained by Rachel Halden, who would become the second female trainer to win a Plate. She served 10 years as Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield's assistant, and Attfield named Nipissing as his favourite Thursday at the draw. Nipissing drew the ninth post and will be ridden by Steve Bahen, looking for his first plate victory in 11 years. Nipissing is owned by Chiefswood Stable which is managed by Rob Landry who rode Nipissing's sire, Niigon, to victory in the 2004 Plate. Niigon had to be euthanized last year after breaking his femur in a stable accident.
Behan rode 82-1 longshot T J's Lucky Moon to victory in 2002, the longest-odds winner in race history. This time around, Rackman, ridden by Jim McAleney of Fort St. John, B.C., is the longshot at 50-1. He was also sired by Niigon.
"Nipissing, she's tough," Casse said. "If I could take one horse and eliminate it out of the race, it would be Nipissing."
Casse's four horses have three different owners, and his wife has a quarter-share in one of them, Kaigun. The horses are lined up in the 2-3-4-6 posts.
Oxley also owns Spring in the Air, at 10-1 odds in the fourth post. Jockey Gary Boulanger, a born-and-raised Albertan, returned to racing in February after an eight-year recovery from a spill that nearly killed him.
"If you put a gun to my head and say 'pick one [of the four],' I would say Spring in the Air because she's training the best," Casse said. "That being said, I've come into Queen's Plates thinking some of my horses weren't training well but I honestly can't say that, this time. They're all on top of their games right now. That's all as a trainer you can ask for, and then you've got to add a lot of luck."
Gabe Grossberg owns Jagger M (20-1) in the third post and Quintessential Racing Florida owns Kaigun, in the sixth. Obvious question: With many in the race wanting to hang back before a late spring, are his owners concerned that one of the Casse-trained horses may be designated as a sacrificial lamb in pre-race strategy?
"I would hope not," Casse said. "I have wonderful owners who I've trained for a long time. All of them know I would not do that. From a financial standpoint, Kaigun winning would be most beneficial to our family but that has no bearing. I just want to win. It's not about the money. It's about winning."
Winning is what Casse does best, known for his ability to assess a race horse's skill and place it advantageously in races.
"There's not a lot of love between the trainers," he said. "I go around as probably the most-hated guy here. It hurts me. I try to be a good person. I try to be friendly. What can I do?"
Casse bought all four entrants at auctions. He is among the many stunned by the Ontario government's decision to cancel the slots at tracks program, which returned a percentage of revenues to racetracks where the slot machines are placed.
"I concentrate on buying Canadian-breds and for me what's happened recently with the government was painful," he said. "We race all over North America, but the Canadian-breds had come so far, and they have been competing. We buy millions of dollars of Canadian-breds which comes back and goes through all the communities. It's killed the breeders, absolutely. It's going to be tough to repair but hopefully it will happen."
Last year at this time, Woodbine CEO Nick Eaves worried publicly that the government's decision may have resulted in the cancellation of the 154th race. Public hearings are to take place this coming week, regarding a panel's recommendations to restructure the industry in Ontario.