Casa Creed

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), who had been scheduled to run in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse Feb. 24, didn't make Tuesday's flight overseas after a fever last week forced him to miss a workout, reports the DRF. Owned by Lee Einsidler and Mike Francesa, the multiple Grade I winner finished runner-up in the race in 2022-23. "He's been under tack for some light exercise, but his bloodwork wasn't completely normal yet," Mott told DRF Tuesday. "It was just a week ago that he developed a fever....

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has released the names of the 1162 entries--including 41 Grade I/Group 1 winners--from no fewer than 15 racing jurisdictions around the world for the US$33.5 million Saudi Cup meeting to be held at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Prize money is up by $2.25 million as compared to the 2023 renewal, reflecting the upgrades of the Neom Turf Cup (2100mT) and 1351 Turf Sprint to international Group 2 status. One of the two races for Purebred Arabians--the Al Mneefah...

Somehow this is a real sweet spot in the market. For a stallion farm, the $10,000 cover is a particular pitch: you're a cent away from offering a horse at four figures, but you feel that dropping him into a low-rent neighborhood might be beneath his dignity. You're offering a very accessible fee, but you're not going to let him look cheap. That makes this a surprisingly congested zone, ample for separate assessment. And since clinging to a five-figure fee somewhat represents a show of faith, some of these sires...

The nominees for the 2023 Secretariat Vox Populi Award are: Arcangelo, winner of the GI Belmont and Travers S. and the first horse to win a Triple Crown race with a female trainer; Casa Creed, the seasoned 7-year-old turf veteran who has continued to thrill fans while demonstrating both heart and resilience in winning the GI Fourstardave H.; Cody's Wish, 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi recipient whose four wins in five starts this year as a 5-year-old included the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and who shared an endearing and enduring connection with his namesake, the late Cody Dorman; Echo...

Under normal circumstances, drawing the outside gate in a one-mile race, on turf, going two turns is a kiss of death. At Santa Anita, well, maybe not so much. Sent off as the 33-10 second betting favorite behind Japan's superstar miler Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Godolphin's Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) produced a stunning late burst of speed to run down the commonly owned Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), whose half-brother Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was victorious in last year's Mile at Keeneland and in that...

Lee Einsidler, the owner of fan favorite Casa Creed, joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the 7-year-old's win in the GI Fourstardave.

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...

The ageless Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) became the fourth two-time winner of Saratoga's GI Fourstardave H.--a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile--with a thrilling 3/4-of-a-length victory over 'TDN Rising Star' Annapolis (War Front). The LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable colorbearer joins the race's namesake 'The Sultan of Saratoga' Fourstardave, who won the 1990-91 renewals (previously contested as the GIII Daryl's Joy S.); two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who won in consecutive years in 2012-13; and the popular racemare Got Stormy, who defeated males...

Not many people have heard of Thirty Year Farm--yet. Kristen Esler hopes that someday soon, it will be a different story. Six years ago, Esler decided that after years of corporate life, she was ready to try something different. She and her husband Matt began looking for a piece of property in Saratoga. They found a farm located just off Fish Creek, less than five miles from the racetrack, and it was love at first sight. On the couple's thirtieth wedding anniversary, they signed the paperwork on their new property...

He came, he saw, he conquered. Thursday's TDN featured a story on Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who brought a barn littered with high-class stakes winners to Saratoga this year. CASA CREED (h, 7, Jimmy Creed--Achalaya, by Bellamy Road) certainly did his part as both Mott's first stakes entrant of the meet and first stakes winner of the meet, taking the GIII Kelso S.--formerly the Forbidden Apple--with ease in his first visit to the winner's circle since last year's GI Fourstardave S. over course and distance. "It's very rewarding," said...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When three veteran turf writers approached him at his Saratoga barn last week, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott impishly decided to reverse roles. Before the journalists were able to offer more than a hello, Mott started asking pretty much the same questions he knew were coming his way. For several seconds, the interviewee was the light-hearted interviewer. Mott knows the drill. He has been training horses since he was a teenager in Mobridge, South Dakota, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of...

How good is Caravel (m, 6, Mizzen Mast-Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats)? The defending GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner skipped the upcoming G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot and instead stayed closer to home in the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park, once again plundering the turf sprint division over males. The $400,000, six-furlong Jaipur is a 'Win and You're In' race for the Turf Sprint and a title defense in the Nov. 4 Santa Anita edition is in the cards for Caravel, said Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, Chairman...