Once again, Casa Creed beat Annapolis to the finish and became a two-time winner of the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
This time, the 7-year-old Casa Creed caught Annapolis in deep stretch for a three-quarter length win that earned him an automatic berth, all fees-paid, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
Photo by Coglianese Photo
In the Kelso (G3) on July 15 at the Spa, Casa Creed held off Annapolis and won by a length. This time, it was Annapolis who held the lead late before Casa Creed, under Luis Saez, completed the Fourstardave double.
Three other horses have won this race twice, most recently Got Stormy in 2019 and 2021; the others are Wise Dan (2012-13) and Fourstardave (when the race was called the Daryl’s Joy) in 1990-91.
“You set yourself up for anything. It’s his second race here, it’s a hot day, you just never know,’’ winning trainer Bill Mott said after his sixth Fourstardave win. “You prefer to give him a little more time in between races, but he handled it well.
“He ran his rear end off. He gives it to you. He digs in and gives it to you. Not much more to say than that.”
Stunning Victory at Saratoga: Casa Creed Triumphs Amidst Fierce Competition
Casa Creed has now won five times in eight starts at the Spa and improved his career mark to 33-9-5-5 with earnings of $2,460,308.
Sent off as the 9-5 second choice behind Todd Petcher-trained Annapolis, Casa Creed returned $5.70 on a $2 win bet. Ice Chocolat was third in the field of seven. Winning time for the mile was 1:34.20
Casa Creeds trainer Billy Mott
“We knew he (Annapolis) was going to try and get first run on us today. I knew they were going to try and get away a little better; they did, and they got first run, but it didn’t matter,’’ Mott said.
My Sea Cottage was fourth, followed by Emmanuel, Full Screen, and So High.
“He had a good break – he broke right there. I know the other top horse (Annapolis), he was tough to beat, but my second decision was to try to follow him, because I know he’s going to (sit off) the pace and he doesn’t want us to be right on top of him,’’ Saez said. “So, I just let him go and I was right behind him pretty close. When we came to the top of the stretch, I (knew we had it).”
On the undercard, Norm Casse-trained Rhyme Schemes won the $200,000 Saratoga Special (G2) for 2-year-olds, a small step on a path that could lead to the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1).
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
