TORONTO – A prohibitive favorite to collect his second consecutive Sovereign Award as Canada’s Outstanding Trainer later this month, Mark Casse has a longshot chance to tie the record for most wins (by a conditioner) during a Woodbine season.
The Indianapolis native has scored on 83 occasions at the Toronto oval. The record is 89, which was set by Frank Passero Jr. in 1995.
With five racing days left before the curtain falls on the 2007 season, Team Casse would need to connect with six of its pupils to share the record.
Casse said he didn’t realize until last week that he was approaching the mark.
“We still have a lot of horses to run. It’s getting more and more difficult to get the horses in,” he said. “Of course, I would like to break it. Any time there’s something out there, you would like to win. Has it changed any way that I am doing anything? Not one bit. If it happens, it would be nice.”
Record or no record, Casse has spent the 2007 season establishing a new standard for himself.
The 46-year-old’s win total eclipses his previous high (69 in 2002) by 13. Casse’s 83 wins came in 345 attempts – which translates into a 24 per cent strike rate. Casse’s Woodbine starters haven’t scored at a clip that high since 1999, when he was 40-for-163.
Casse, who is 47 victories from the 1,000 plateau, is also enjoying a career year in two other key categories. He’s saddled the winner of 15 added-money races, including a sweep of the three events that comprise the Triple Tiara: the Labatt Woodbine Oaks, the Bison City and the Wonder Where, which were all captured by Sealy Hill.
This year, Casse’s starters have racked up over $5.7 million in earnings, well above his previous career-high of over $4.4 million, which came last year.
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