Catch a Glimpse (City Zip), a powerful front-running winner of the GII Natalma S. at Woodbine Sept. 12, remained perfect on the grass while showing a new dimension to fend off favored Alice Springs (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by 3/4 of a length in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. It was another head back to the fast-closing Nemoralia (More Than Ready) in third. “It feels good. It feels really good,” trainer Mark Casse said after celebrating his first Breeders' Cup victory. “When this is all you've ever done for your entire life–this is my entire life. This is important.”
Catch a Glimpse broke like a shot from her inside draw, but conceded the early advantage to longshot Ruby Notion (Great Notion) upon entering the first turn. Guided to the outside of that rival through an opening quarter in :24.34, jockey Florent Geroux had a fistful of horse entering the far turn. Catch a Glimpse took command as they straightened for home and kept on finding more while racing on her left lead to hold off a host of late pursuers.
“We've won the Natalma, I think, seven times,” Casse said. “And I told a few people that this is the best Natalma winner that I've ever had.” He continued, “As I said to somebody yesterday, this game is about dreams. So when you buy a horse, the dream is always the Breeders' Cup, the Kentucky Derby, those races.”
A debut well-beaten fifth in a sloppy off-the-turfer going 5 ½ furlongs at Saratoga July 30, the chestnut switched to the infield with a wire-to-wire score at seven furlongs at Woodbine Aug. 22. She really took her game to the next level with a five-length tour-de-force, good for a 91 Beyer, over subsequent GIII Mazarine S. victress and 'TDN Rising Star' Gamble's Ghost (Ghostzapper) in the aforementioned Natalma. Friday's contest at Keeneland was her first attempt around two turns.
“She was a little rank in the early going, but we expected that,” Casse said. “We've been trying and trying to get her to settle. We knew we weren't going to be able to make the lead. When I was going over the past performance, and I saw Wesley's [Ward] horse [Ruby Notion], I said 'Oh Boy,' and I knew it was going to be trouble and I was hoping she would clear. But she didn't and she got a little rough in the first turn, but then she settled and went on and ran her race. She's a good horse.”
Catch a Glimpse's dam Halo River, winner of Keeneland's 1998 Appalachian S. over this same turf course, was bred to Can the Man this season. Her most recent foal is Catch a Glimpse. The 20-year-old's second foal was 2006 GIII Cliff Hanger S. winner Old Forester (Forestry).
Catch a Glimpse is campaigned by a partnership headed by Gary Barber, the co-founder of CEO of Spyglass Entertainment, which produced the popular racing movie Seabiscuit.
Friday, Keeneland
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF-GI, $920,000, KEE, 10-30, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:39.08, yl.
1–&CATCH A GLIMPSE, 122, f, 2, by City Zip
1st Dam: Halo River (MSW, $107,525), by Irish River (Fr)
2nd Dam: All Hallows, by Halo
3rd Dam: Leap Lively, by Nijinsky II
($75,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Gary Barber, Michael James
Ambler & Windways Farm; B-Branch Equine, LLC (KY); T-Mark
E. Casse; J-Florent Geroux. $550,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0,
$677,352. *1/2 to Old Forester (Forestry), GSW, $462,632.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A.
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2–Alice Springs (Ire), 122, f, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Aleagueoftheirown
(Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (550,000gns Ylg '14 TATOCT).
O-Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier &Derrick Smith;
B-Lynch-Bages & Longfield Stud (Ire); T-Aidan P. O'Brien.
$180,000.
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3–Nemoralia, 122, f, 2, More Than Ready–Alina, by Came
Home. ($140,000 Wlg '13 KEENOV; $120,000 RNA Ylg '14
KEESEP; $170,000 2yo '15 OBSMAR). O-Terry Allan, James
Lovat & Charles Pigram; B-Alberta Davies (KY); T-Jeremy
Noseda. $100,000.
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Margins: 3/4, HD, HF. Odds: 6.40, 2.90, 14.10.
Also Ran: Sapphire Kitten, Time and Motion, Illuminate (Ire), Harmonize, Mirage (Ire), Pricedtoperfection, Last Waltz (Ire), Thrilled, Gliding By, Ruby Notion, Andreya's Reward. Scratched: Tin Type Gal.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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