Casse Riding Wave of Success After Remarkable Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga
The spotlight during Belmont Stakes week understandably belonged to Cherie DeVaux and Belmont Stakes hero Golden Tempo, but few horsemen left Saratoga with a bigger smile than Mark Casse.
Fresh off one of the most productive weeks of his Hall of Fame career, Casse watched his stable collect three Grade 1 victories, four stakes wins, and five overall victories during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. It was the kind of run trainers dream about, even at a place where success is never easy to come by.
“If someone said you’d win one Grade 1 I’d have said, ‘I’m good with that,'” Casse said Monday. “It’s like it’s not even real.”
The fireworks began Friday when Counting Stars captured the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Just 77 minutes later, stablemate Nitrogen delivered one of the most eye-catching performances of the entire meet, crushing the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps by 12 3/4 lengths.
Casse completed the Grade 1 hat trick Saturday when Classic Q dug in gamely to take the Just a Game Stakes. Earlier in the week, Mi Bago had opened the festival with a victory in the Kingston Stakes, and on Sunday New York Special capped the run with a maiden triumph on the turf.
Among the standout performances, Nitrogen’s victory in the Phipps may have been the most impressive. Traditionally known for her closing kick, she displayed a new weapon by taking control early and never looking back over a fast track that favored speed.
The mare stopped the clock for 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.93, just 0.29 seconds shy of the Saratoga track record established by Lawyer Ron in the 2007 Whitney Stakes. Her effort was rewarded with a 113 Beyer Speed Figure.
Nitrogen’s affinity for Saratoga is becoming impossible to ignore. She is now a perfect 3-for-3 over the local dirt surface, adding the Phipps to victories in last year’s Grade 1 Alabama and the Wonder Again, which was transferred off the turf. In that Wonder Again, she dominated by 17 lengths over a sloppy track.
With that record in mind, Casse intends to keep her right where she thrives.
“I don’t want to take her out of Saratoga, she loves it there,” Casse said. “I got to try and figure out the best way to get to the Breeders’ Cup.”
The current roadmap calls for Nitrogen to return in the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 24 before targeting the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 29.
Counting Stars also appears poised for a productive Saratoga summer. After finishing third in the Kentucky Oaks, she rebounded in emphatic fashion by running down Oaks winner Always a Runner and scoring by 3 3/4 lengths in the Acorn.
“I’d been waiting on that,” said Casse, who captured last year’s Acorn with La Cara. “She’s pretty good.”
Her likely summer targets include the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 18 and the Grade 1 Alabama on Aug. 22.
Classic Q could face a new challenge after already winning two graded stakes at one mile against fillies and mares this season. With limited opportunities for female milers later in the Saratoga meet, Casse said the Grade 1 Fourstardave on Aug. 8 against males is a possibility.
The trainer has traveled that road successfully before, saddling the mare Got Stormy to victories in the Fourstardave in both 2019 and 2021.
“I could see that happening,” Casse said.
Mi Bago, victorious in the Kingston for New York-breds on June 3, faces a lengthy wait for the next state-bred route turf stakes, the West Point on Aug. 28. In the meantime, the Grade 3 Kelso at one mile on July 5 remains under consideration.
Meanwhile, New York Special gave her connections plenty to think about after rallying to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden race Sunday. The 3-year-old New York-bred daughter of Curlin is also a half-sister to Saratoga favorite Casa Creed, and her maiden breakthrough opens several possible summer options.
Casse’s Saratoga plans extend beyond the horses that raced during Belmont week.
Bring Theband Home, a two-time sprint stakes winner at Saratoga last summer who has not yet started in 2026, returned to the work tab Friday. Casse indicated the Grade 2 Troy Stakes on Aug. 9 is the likely objective.
Another horse worth watching is Silent Tactic. The Grade 3 Southwest Stakes winner was forced to miss the Kentucky Derby after suffering a bruised foot, but he has now recorded two workouts at Saratoga.
While no firm schedule has been established, Casse said the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on Aug. 1 is under consideration. That race is also expected to serve as the next steppingstone for Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo.
After a week that produced elite-level victories and positioned several stable stars for major summer campaigns, Casse will gladly keep the momentum rolling at Saratoga, a place that suddenly looks very much like home for many of his top runners.
