Casse Has Six Shots at Winner No. 3,000 Thursday

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Bernies Blog

MIAMI GARDENS - Souper Watson, who can provide trainer Mark Casse career win No. ,in Thursday’s Race 3 at Gulfstream Park West, is 10-1 in the morning line for the 7 ½-furlong maiden special weight race on turf. However, handicappers who put a lot of weight on last-out key races will give the Live Oak Plantation homebred a very long look.

Souper Watson will enter the race off a sixth-place finish at Gulfstream in an April 25 maiden special weight event that has turned out to be a mega key race. All eight of the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper’s rivals have gone on to graduate, including four next-out winners.

Victorious Venezuelan Hug won his next race at Gulfstream and went on to win an allowance race at Saratoga. Runner-up Shamrocket came back to graduate at Belmont Park in his next race and most recently finished third in the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs. Third-place finisher Mystery Bank graduated at Saratoga in his next start.

Freedom Force, Winter’s Wonder and Disturbin Bourbon – who finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively – all graduated two starts later. Seventh-place finisher Jealous Boyfriend won next time out at Gulfstream and last-place finisher Viper came back three races later to win the first of back-to-back victories.

On Thursday, Casse has six chances to get No. 3,000 - two horses at Gulfstream, two at Churchill Downs and two at Woodbine. Souper Watson is scheduled to be first-up. The Florida-bred gelding, who will race without blinkers for the first time, finished third, beaten by a half-length, in his turf debut at Gulfstream Feb. 13 before finishing fifth after a troubled start Mar. 4 and participating in the April 25 key race.

Should Souper Watson not become the fifth next-out winner from the April 25 race and Casse’s entrant in Churchill Downs’ Race 5 fails to win, the Hall of Famer will have a chance at the career milestone in Gulfstream’s Race 6. Gary Barber’s What a Beaut, who is 9-2 in the morning line, is scheduled to make her first start in the optional claiming allowance for Florida-bred fillies and mares since finishing a close second at Gulfstream Park West last Nov. 19.

Race 3 will kick off Thursday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence that will conclude in Race 8. The jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $250,000. The multi-race wager went unsolved for the 11th day today, and multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $9,668.58.