{"id":139126,"date":"2026-01-31T22:11:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/139126\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T22:11:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:11:43","slug":"casse-brings-top-contenders-to-graded-turf-races-at-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/139126\/","title":{"rendered":"Casse brings top contenders to graded turf races at Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Casse<\/p>\n

\n Photo:<\/p>\n

Woodbine \/ Michael Burns Photo<\/p>\n

Close calls abound at the racetrack, even when they don\u2019t happen on the track. Consider the case of Candy Quest, the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday\u2019s Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour Stakes<\/a>, to be run at a distance of 1 1\/16 miles on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs. The Endeavour is the ninth and final race on a Saturday card beginning at 12:25 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n

Two summers ago at Saratoga, Candy Quest was an unraced $225,000 yearling purchase preparing to launch her career. She was sent to the sidelines by a bizarre accident.<\/p>\n

Click here for Tampa Bay Downs entries and results<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe ran through the webbing of her stall and stuck a nail in her foot,\u201d recalled trainer Mark Casse. \u201cShe missed some time, but she\u2019s been very solid since she started racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 4-year-old filly, who broke her maiden in her career debut in her lone 2-year-old start on Oct. 3, 2024 at Belmont At The Big A, has crafted a 3-for-9 record with three seconds for Casse and owner Glassman Racing, including a victory last July in the Ontario Colleen (G3) at Woodbine. She will break from the rail under jockey Sonny Leon in a field of 11 older fillies and mares.<\/p>\n

After winning the Ontario Colleen, Candy Quest rallied from last place in the Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational on Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs, taking a short-lived lead in the stretch before succumbing by a half-length to Fionn. More recently, on Oct. 11 in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland, Candy Quest was fifth, a head behind Fionn and five lengths behind winner Lush Lips.<\/p>\n

Fionn returned from that start to win the Grade III Jockey Club Oaks on Nov. 15 at Aqueduct. Will Candy Quest match her?<\/p>\n

\u201cCandy Quest has always been very talented and has been training well, but she has to play with the big girls now,\u201d Casse said. \u201cShe was able to run all year against 3-year-olds, and now the water gets deeper. But I\u2019d say for the most part she was running against the best 3-year-olds around, so I don\u2019t think it will be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

No.
\nSilks
\nHorse \/ Sire
\nRating
\nTrainer \/ Jockey
\nLast Start \/ Next Start
\nML<\/p>\n

1
\n\"Horse
\nCandy Quest<\/a>
Connect<\/a>
\n7.03
\nMark E. Casse<\/a>
Sonny Leon<\/a>
\n5th (108), 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup G1<\/a>
\n3-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n5th (108), 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup G1<\/a><\/p>\n

2
\n\"Horse
\nDreaming of Abba<\/a>
Fast Anna<\/a>
\n0.00
\nKathleen O’Connell<\/a>
Antonio A. Gallardo<\/a>
\n1st (108), TAM AOC (01\/09\/2026-R5)
\n20-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n1st (108), TAM AOC (01\/09\/2026-R5)<\/p>\n

3
\n\"Horse
\nScythian<\/a>
Tiz the Law<\/a>
\n6.77
\nWilliam I. Mott<\/a>
Daniel E. Centeno<\/a>
\n4th (96), 2025 Jockey Club Oaks G3<\/a>
\n15-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n4th (96), 2025 Jockey Club Oaks G3<\/a><\/p>\n

4
\n\"Horse
\nAl Jafara<\/a>
Pinatubo<\/a>
\n0.00
\nChad C. Brown<\/a>
Samy Camacho<\/a>
\n1st (96), KEE ALW (04\/12\/2025-R8)
\n9-2<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n1st (96), KEE ALW (04\/12\/2025-R8)<\/p>\n

5
\n\"Horse
\nAussie Girl<\/a>
Starspangledbanner<\/a>
\n6.81
\nWilliam Walden<\/a>
Ben Curtis<\/a>
\n11th , 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a>
\n7-2<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n11th , 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a><\/p>\n

6
\n\"Horse
\nMadame Mischief<\/a>
Into Mischief<\/a>
\n6.07
\nJorge Delgado<\/a>
David Egan<\/a>
\n4th (115), 2025 Via Borghese LS<\/a>
\n15-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n4th (115), 2025 Via Borghese LS<\/a><\/p>\n

7
\n\"Horse
\nBelle Of Rights<\/a>
Constitution<\/a>
\n6.12
\nClaude R. McGaughey III<\/a>
Samuel Marin<\/a>
\n8th (108), 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a>
\n10-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n8th (108), 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a><\/p>\n

8
\n\"Horse
\nCharlie’s Wish<\/a>
First Dude<\/a>
\n4.12
\nDavid Fawkes<\/a>
Rafael Manuel Hernandez<\/a>
\n2nd (111), GP HCP (01\/01\/2026-R9)
\n15-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n2nd (111), GP HCP (01\/01\/2026-R9)<\/p>\n

9
\n\"Horse
\nLove You Anyway<\/a>
Tapit<\/a>
\n7.09
\nGeorge R. Arnold II<\/a>
Rajiv Maragh<\/a>
\n2nd (107), 2025 Pebbles G3<\/a>
\n8-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n2nd (107), 2025 Pebbles G3<\/a><\/p>\n

10
\n\"Horse
\nStarship Impulsive<\/a>
Improbable <\/a>
\n0.00
\nM. Anthony Ferraro<\/a>
Jesus Lopez Castanon<\/a>
\n7th (101), Cellars Shiraz S.
\n20-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n7th (101), Cellars Shiraz S.<\/p>\n

11
\n\"Horse
\nPublic Defender<\/a>
Constitution<\/a>
\n6.12
\nSaffie A. Joseph, Jr.<\/a>
Pablo Morales<\/a>
\n3rd (115), 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a>
\n5-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n3rd (115), 2025 Suwannee River LS<\/a><\/p>\n

Casse will also saddle the morning-line favorite for the $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes<\/a> (G3), Live Oak Plantation\u2019s 7-year-old gelding Win for the Money, regarded at opening odds of 7-5. Leon will also ride Win for the Money, who won the Woodbine Mile (G1) in September of 2024, in a field of eight older horses. Win for the Money starts from post 6.<\/p>\n

In the Tampa Bay Stakes, Win for the Money will be looking for his first victory since the Woodbine Mile, but the majority of his efforts have been encouraging. He finished third in the Kelso (G3) Stakes on July 5 at Saratoga and was third in the Fourstardave Stakes (G1) on Aug. 2, also at the Spa.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 27 at Gulfstream, he returned from a 3 1\/2-month layoff to finish second in an allowance\/optional claiming race at the Tampa Bay Stakes distance, beaten a half-length by Abrumar, who may have run a career best. \u201cHe (Win for the Money) had a troubled trip, and I think he should move forward off that race,\u201d Casse said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he gets the right set-up and gets a good trip, he can play with the big kids. So if he brings his \u2018A\u2019 game he should be extremely tough \u2013 and I don\u2019t see any reason he shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casse\u2019s full attention will be devoted to his Oldsmar runners after the postponement earlier this week of the Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas due to extreme weather conditions. The Southwest has been rescheduled for Friday and Casse still plans to start his duo of Strategic Risk and Silent Tactic.<\/p>\n

No.
\nSilks
\nHorse \/ Sire
\nRating
\nTrainer \/ Jockey
\nLast Start \/ Next Start
\nML<\/p>\n

1
\n\"Horse
\nSimulate<\/a>
Kitten’s Joy<\/a>
\n6.73
\nWilliam I. Mott<\/a>
Daniel E. Centeno<\/a>
\n4th (111), 2025 Tropical Park Derby LS<\/a>
\n6-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n4th (111), 2025 Tropical Park Derby LS<\/a><\/p>\n

2
\n\"Horse
\nInnately Good<\/a>
Good Samaritan<\/a>
\n0.00
\nNik G. Goodwin<\/a>
Jose C. Ferrer<\/a>
\n1st (115), TAM AOC (12\/05\/2025-R9)
\n30-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n1st (115), TAM AOC (12\/05\/2025-R9)<\/p>\n

3
\n\"Horse
\nQuatrocento<\/a>
War Front<\/a>
\n6.12
\nFausto Gutierrez<\/a>
Julien R. Leparoux<\/a>
\n6th (132), 2025 Fort Lauderdale G3<\/a>
\n5-2<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n6th (132), 2025 Fort Lauderdale G3<\/a><\/p>\n

4
\n\"Horse
\nDiscreet Dancer<\/a>
Tapit<\/a>
\n0.00
\nAntonio Sano<\/a>
David Egan<\/a>
\n3rd (105), GP AOC (01\/03\/2026-R11)
\n20-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n3rd (105), GP AOC (01\/03\/2026-R11)<\/p>\n

5
\n\"Horse
\nSpellcast<\/a>
Tourist<\/a>
\n0.00
\nTimothy E. Hamm<\/a>
Cipriano Gil<\/a>
\n2nd (108), MVR ALW (11\/06\/2025-R2)
\n15-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n2nd (108), MVR ALW (11\/06\/2025-R2)<\/p>\n

6
\n\"Horse
\nWin For The Money<\/a>
Mohaymen<\/a>
\n7.34
\nMark E. Casse<\/a>
Sonny Leon<\/a>
\n2nd (126), GP AOC (12\/27\/2025-R7)
\n7-5<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n2nd (126), GP AOC (12\/27\/2025-R7)<\/p>\n

7
\n\"Horse
\nTom’s Magic<\/a>
Justify <\/a>
\n7.55
\nMichael Stidham<\/a>
Rafael Manuel Hernandez<\/a>
\n2nd (100), 2025 Hollywood Derby G1<\/a>
\n3-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n2nd (100), 2025 Hollywood Derby G1<\/a><\/p>\n

8
\n\"Horse
\nBritain’s Kitten<\/a>
Big Blue Kitten<\/a>
\n4.79
\nKevin Rice<\/a>
Israel O. Rodriguez<\/a>
\n1st (103), TAM AOC (12\/24\/2025-R7)
\n20-1<\/p>\n

Last Race
\n1st (103), TAM AOC (12\/24\/2025-R7)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Woodbine \/ Michael Burns Photo Close calls abound at the racetrack, even when they don\u2019t happen on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-139126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-tampa","9":"tag-tampa-headlines","10":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}