Hall of Fame trainer Casse seeking first Kentucky Derby victory with Enforceable

Mark Casse has nearly done it all in his standout career as a Thoroughbred trainer. The 59-year-old Indianapolis native has almost 2,700 career wins under his belt and in 2016 was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Casse has won the Sovereign Award for outstanding trainer in Canada 11 times and the leading trainer title at Woodbine Racetrack 14 times.

He has also had plenty of success on American soil, winning five Breeders’ Cup races since 2015. Last year, he won both the Preakness and Belmont with War of Will.

A victory in the Run for the Roses is just about the only thing missing from Casse’s résumé. He’ll seek to change that and complete his own personal Triple Crown on Saturday when he sends Enforceable to the starting gate in the 146th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Enforceable got off to a slow start in his career, but the son of three-time North American leading sire Tapit has come on strong during his 3-year-old campaign. He vaulted into Kentucky Derby contention with a victory in the Lecomte Stakes in January and followed that up with a second-place finish in the Risen Star in February. He has demonstrated stamina and a knack for closing late, which could serve him well on Saturday.

“I think he is really improving at this stage of his career,” Casse said Saturday after Enforceable’s last major workout ahead of the Derby. “He’s maturing; he’s ready to go.“

Jockey Adam Beschizza is set to steer Enforceable. It will be the first Kentucky Derby mount for Beschizza, and he likes his chances of winning his debut in the race aboard the gray colt.

“I like his consistency,” Beschizza said. “He is a light-framed horse and doesn’t need a lot to keep fit. He is going to have to be on his ‘A’ game. He needs pace and we know he is going to get it (in the Derby).”

Like Beschizza, Casse believes things are lining up nicely for Enforceable to make a run at racing immortality. Though he knows luck will likely play a major role in how the Derby unfolds, he’s confident Enforceable is as prepared as possible to meet Saturday’s opportunity.

“Where he fits in will depend a lot on who gets lucky, who doesn’t. And pace,” Casse said.“ But the only thing for us as a trainer we want is for a horse to be at the top of his game, and I feel like he’s there.”

Shuffling the deck

There was a major shakeup in the likely Kentucky Derby field over the weekend as four horses were removed from consideration and another unlikely contender moved in.

Caracaro was pulled on Friday after sustaining a ligament injury during a workout. On Saturday, Shirl’s Speight was reportedly removed because he developed a cough and Dr Post was pulled when his connections decided to instead enter him in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga. On Sunday, Rushie’s connections decided to bypass the Derby and enter him in the Pat Day Mile on Saturday’s undercard.

All that shuffling opened up an opportunity for Money Moves, a Todd Pletcher trainee who has never run in a stakes race. Money Moves has won twice in his career, a maiden and an allowance. But the unusual circumstances surrounding the Kentucky Derby this year mean that unless four horses with graded stakes earnings make a late entrance and bump him, Money Moves will make his stakes debut on the grandest stage in horse racing.

“Usually you wouldn’t even have the opportunity in a normal year,” Pletcher told Horse Racing Nation. “With an over-subscribed field and without having any (qualifying) points at all, you wouldn’t get in. But it’s 2020. Crazy things have been happening. Who knows? Maybe crazier things have happened.”

Draw set for Tuesday

The Kentucky Derby field and initial odds will be set on Tuesday when the post position draw takes place at Churchill Downs at 11 a.m. The draw will be televised live on FS2. Fans can also watch the draw live on KentuckyDerby.com, the official Kentucky Derby YouTube account, as well as the official Kentucky Derby Facebook account.

This story was originally published August 30, 2020 at 4:32 PM.

Josh Sullivan

Lexington Herald-Leader

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Josh Sullivan has worked at the Herald-Leader for more than 10 years in multiple capacities, including as a news assistant, page designer, copy editor and sports reporter. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and a Lexington native. Support my work with a digital subscription