The tough old pro Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) has now won four Grade I races, plus two more graded stakes over a career that began in 2018. There's been a lot of highlights, but for his co-owner Lee Einsidler, one stands out, and it is last Saturday's win at Saratoga in the GI Fourstardave H. To get the inside story on this year's Fourstardave and the remarkable career of Casa Creed, Lee Einsidler joined us this week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast sponsored by Keeneland. He was the Green Group Guest of the week.
“You're running in a Grade I at Saratoga on national TV defending your title with a 7-year-old in an important race,” Einsidler said. “During the running of the race everything went against him. He had every reason to lose. He had every reason to run a good second. Annapolis was in front of us. He got the jump, which we knew that he would. We tracked him. He opened up three and it didn't look good. But Casa Creed has the heart of a champion and just ran him down and got there by a length, not by an inch. So I have to say, what we did on Saturday was the best. The best so far. As a 7-year-old to win back-to-back Fourstardaves and get his fourth Grade I under very unfavorable conditions, that's why it was the best one.”
Einsidler has so enjoyed the years he has owned Casa Creed along with partner Mike Francesca that he is looking to race him next year as an 8-year-old. But the decision may revolve around whether or not Einsidler can work out a stallion deal for Casa Creed. As good as he is, turf horses are not in high demand in this country when it comes to being welcomed as stallions.
“We know that some folks from Japan are very interested in standing Casa Creed,” Einsidler said. “And I think we'll have some other people interested in him. There are few farms in Kentucky that are starting to really think about it, especially after what happened this past Saturday. It's just hard to ignore what this horse has done. There's the longevity, the wins, sprint wins, distance wins. We'll get that figured out.”
Einsidler is the CEO of Casamigos, a premium tequila. He was hired by Casamigos' founders George Clooney and Rande Gerber. You would think that Clooney would have too much else going on to pay any attention to Casa Creed, but Einsidler said that's far from the case and is optimistic that the A-List actor will attend this year's Breeders' Cup as his guest.
“George loves the game,” Einsidler said, noting that Clooney was born in Lexington and once walked hots at Keeneland. “He sent me a text message after the race Saturday and it said, 'Jesus Christ, Lee, when are you going to get this horse to win from the front? He's going to give me a damn heart attack.'”
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms, Lane's End and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Bill Finley, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman discussed the latest developments concerning the Triple Crown. The Stronach Group says it wants to move the GI Preakness S. to four weeks after the GI Kentucky Derby, but the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has said it has no plans to move the date of the GI Belmont S. All three agreed that the Preakness should be moved and called on NYRA to fall in line and push back the date of the Belmont.
Two of the most exciting performances over the weekend came in 2-year-old races as Rhyme Schemes (Ghostzapper) romped in the GII Saratoga Special S. and Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) was sensational in the GIII Best Pal S. for trainer Bob Baffert. The group looked at both races, said it liked both horses, but agreed that Prince of Monaco looks like the one who could become a superstar.
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