War of Will

Even back when Tap It to Win (Tapit) lost the GI Clairborne Breeders' Futurity by 43 1/2 lengths and the Street Sense S. by 21 1/4 lengths, Mark Casse was telling owner Charlotte Weber and anyone else who would listen that the horse was special. On Saturday, the trainer could be proven right. After some twists and turns in his 2-year-old year, Tap It to Win has won his only two starts this year and doesn't look to be in over his head in Saturday's GI Belmont S., this year's...

Taking advantage of a scorching pace in front of him, Peter Brant's Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) produced a slingshot, wide move on the far turn and kept on going to dominate the GI Shoemaker Mile S. Monday at Santa Anita, the first Grade I event at the Arcadia oval since it reopened for racing. The victory in the Win & You're In event punched Raging Bull's ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. Winning four of six to start his career as a 3-year-old, including victories in the...

River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) seeks his third straight victory Monday in the GI Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, but he won't have it easy with 10 other talented runners signed on. Winner of the GIII La Jolla H. in 2018 and runner-up in this even last year, the dark bay had been knocking at the door of another stakes victory for some time, hitting the board in seven black-type events. He finally broke through Feb. 8 in the GIII Thunder Road S. going a mile over the local...

His thoughts, on Wednesday, turned naturally to his late father. How could they not? Mark Casse was only 11 or 12 when he toured the Hall of Fame in Saratoga with the man whose passion for the Thoroughbred was already lighting a path for his whole future. "I'm going to be in here someday," the boy announced. Most fathers think they know how to respond to a remark like that. "Sure you will. You'll be the janitor." But Norman E. Casse was different. As usual, they were camping in their...

At this time last year Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway) was starting over, re-learning the lessons that had enabled him to become a standout 3-year-old turf runner in 2017. Though he was nine months removed from career-saving surgery performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., there was no guarantee that he would be able to regain the brilliance. While sport is littered with tales of athletes who never could make a full comeback from injury, Bricks and Mortar is an unqualified success story....