BY BROCK SHERIDAN

When talking to Mark Casse about Florida-bred Bring Theband Home, the dual Hall of Fame trainer admits circumstances must fall into place for the 5-year-old gelding to perform at his best. But when Bring Theband Home runs to his potential, few are faster.

“He’s kind of a funny horse,” Casse said Thursday from Del Mar. “There are things he likes and things he doesn’t like. In a perfect storm, if he’s on his game, he can pretty well beat any turf sprinter in North America I would think. So we’re going to have to try to prove that on Saturday.”

Bring Theband Home will take on 11 rivals on Saturday sprinting five furlongs on the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club grass in the $1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (Grade 1).

Along with Florida-bred Reef Runner, Bring Theband Home will try join Golden Pal on the list of Florida-bred winners of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Golden Pal won Turf Sprint in 2021 at Del Mar.

“We’ve always thought of [Bring Theband Home] as a really good horse,” Casse said. “I thought he ran well on occasion and I thought he has under achieved on occasion.”

This summer at Saratoga, the Live Oak Plantation homebred had occasion to produce significantly well, running one of the fastest five-and-a-half-turf races in history when he dominated the $150,000 Harvey Pack (Listed) on July 5. With Javier Castellano aboard, Bring Theband Home led from wire to wire to win by four-and-a-half lengths in a blazing :59.90. The 109 Beyer Speed Figure assigned to the race ranks as the highest such number for any North American turf horse at any distance in 2025.

 

He and Cogburn are the only North American horses to ever clock sub 1:00 five-furlong turf events. Cogburn won the 2024 Jaipur at Saratoga at that distance in a track record time of :59.80. 

Bring Theband Home followed-up with another impressive stakes victory in his next out at the same distance, winning the Grade 2 Troy by a length-and-a-half in 1:00.38. But his next race was one of his under-achieving efforts when seventh in the Grade 2 Neartic at Woodbine.

Casse said he suspects the Woodbine turf may not be to Bring Theband Home’s liking.

“Javier [Castellano] and I have had conversations about the turf course,” Casse said. “We feel like the Gulfstream turf course [on which Bring Theband Home won in January] is a lot like Saratoga’s turf course and we feel like Del Mar is very similar to those two—unlike the turf course at Woodbine. So Javier really feels strongly that he’s going to run a big race. He really thinks he’ll like the [Del Mar] turf course as do I.”

In addition to different surfaces, Casse believes Bring Theband Home thrives in cooler weather. On a morning with a temperature in the 60s at Belmont Park on Oct. 19, Bring Theband Home worked a quick :47.11 four furlongs at Belmont Park, which was the third fastest of 122 works at the distance that morning. 

“I’m really happy with the way he’s trained up to this race,” Casse said. “He worked well at Belmont. He came back just full of energy. He likes a little bit cooler weather and it has been cooler [in Southern California this week]. So I think that’s a good thing. He’s doing great, full of energy. He’s quite happy right now.”

Bring Theband Home will again be ridden by Castellano Saturday, starting from post five. 

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Casse said of the draw. “That is perfect.

“I do have a strategy. We’re going to go as fast as we can for as far as we can.”

Bring Theband Home is by Into Mischief out of Tizatude, by Street Cry (Ire). He has won six of 14 career starts with three seconds and a third while banking $508,556. Tizatude sells as Hip 634 (Book 2, Session 3) at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale on Nov. 4-11.

A victory Saturday would mark a second Breeders’ Cup triumph that Casse has produced for Ms. Weber and her team at Live Oak Stud in Ocala. Casse trained Live Oak homebred World Approval, winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar. 

“She’s family and we love her to death,” Casse said of Ms. Weber. “It would be great for her and great for the Live Oak team. I would be great for Florida and Ocala. It would be a family affair.”

2025 Breeders’ Cup Florida-bred Contenders

Return to the October 31 issue of Wire to Wire