Stephen Foster Handicap 2011 winner - Pool Play to make a possible start in Breeder’s Cup for trainer Mark Casse
Pool Play’s trainer, Mark Casse did not make any err in his judgement when he sent Pool Play to the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap and there the colt turned his trainer’s dream into a reality by winning his first start on dirt.
Now his next possible target is the Breeder’s Cup Classic. He will have to face rivalry from experienced dirt runners in the November 5, 2011 event. Breeder’s Cup Classic has a purse of $ 5 million and will be held in Louisville.
Mark Casse, the Kentucky based trainer, is again taking a calculated risk when he intends to race the six year old son of Silver Deputy in the Breeder’s Cup Classic.
Pool Play made a show of brilliance when he won the race after being sent at winning odds of 36-1. Stephen Foster Handicap has a purse of $561,300. His trainer also commented on his superb performance by saying, “A mile and a quarter is his game”.
His statement makes it clear that Pool Play is very much capable of racing in the 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Casse believes that as the distance increases the horse’s stamina and vitality increases along with it. To prove this hypothesis he sent Pool Play to the Stephen Foster Handicap Presented by Abu Dhabi (Grade 1).
The race was being run for the 30th time. After getting hold of his winner’s share of $ 327,127, Pool Play boosted his career earnings to $909, 556. Pool Play earlier had made 28 starts. He was bred in Canada.
Casse analyzed the surface difference in the surface of the tracks at Woodbine’s manufactured footing in Canada and Mother Nature’s dirt at Churchill.
He was quoted saying:
“I was out there (on the Churchill dirt) this morning watching horses train and you can see they get into the ground only about two inches, at most, If you walk across Churchill Downs and you walk across Woodbine’s racetrack, that’s how much they penetrate
the surface. It’s almost identical”.
Pool Play is owned by W.S. Farish Jr, Bill Farish, and, may be a prodigy among horses as he races well on three different types of surfaces, i.e. the turf, dirt and Poly track.
The dark bay, or, brown colt entered the race after being winless in his three starts on turf this year. In 2010 he won two of his eleven starts, both of his wins were picked on the Woodbine Polytrack.
Woodbine also had him victorious in the Grade 3 Durham Cup on October 4, 2009, his only other graded stakes win. The Durham Cup (Can-3) had a purse of $138,555. Among other plans he also intends to give a shot to the Whitney Handicap at the Saratoga race
course on August 6, 2011.
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