BY BROCK SHERIDAN

It’s Witchcraft (#7 inside) – ©Coady Media

Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse won his 4,000th career race when It’s Witchcraft eked out a nose victory ahead of runner-up and 8-5 favorite Ambaya in Race 11 at Colonial Downs Thursday. With jockey Antonio Gallardo aboard in the $72,000 allowance race, It’s Witchcraft won as the 5-2 second choice after covering a mile on the grass in 1:37.48. She’s A Swede was third.

Assistant Nick Tomlinson saddled It’s Witchcraft with Casse at his Saratoga Race Course base where he had two horses entered Thursday. At press time, Charlottesuniverse had finished fourth in a maiden special weight at Saratoga.
“That was a close one. It’s unbelievable to me to be honest. 4,000 that’s a lot of wins and I joked that that means I lost a lot [of races], too,” Casse said from Saratoga. “For someone like me, who has spent my entire life – this is all I’ve ever done, this is the cherry on top. I told my wife I’d retire if hit 5,000 – she doesn’t believe me, so I said maybe 6,000.”
A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Casse, 64, is a longtime resident of Ocala, Fla., where he and wife Tina maintain their Casse Training Center. 
 
He took out his trainer’s license in Massachusetts at age 17 and won his first race as a trainer with Joe’s Coming at Keeneland Race Course, on April 14, 1979.
 

Casse was named to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2016 and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2020.

He won his first training title at Churchill Downs during the 1988 spring meet and has since earned 16 Sovereign Awards as Canada’s outstanding trainer and 19 training titles at Woodbine. He is currently leads in the Woodbine standings in pursuit of his twentieth title at the Toronto track.

He has trained Canada’s Horse of the Year six times including Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch a Glimpse (2015), Wonder Gadot (2018) and Fev Rover (2013).

He won his first American Triple Crown race with War of Will in the 2019 Preakness (G1) and then three weeks later won the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Sir Winston.

He has trained six winners of Breeders’ Cup races including Catch a Glimpse in the 2014 Juvenile Fillie Turf  (G1), Classic Empire in the 2016 Juvenile (G1), Shamrock Rose in the 2018 Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), Tepin in the 2015 Mile (G1), Wonder Wheel in the 2022 Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Florida-bred World Approval in the 2017 Mile (G1).

 

He won the King’s Plate three times (known and the Queen Plate in 2014 and 2018) with Lexie Lou 2014, Wonder Gadot in 2018 and with Paramount Prince in 2023.

Other top horses include multiple graded stakes winner Got Stormy, an earner of more than $2.4 million; Grade 1-winner Sandman, an earner of more $1.4 million; multiple graded stakes-winner Get Smokin, who banked more than $2.1 million; and multiple graded stakes-winner Noble Bird, who has more than $1.3 million to his credit.

Tepin was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2022 and was the Eclipse Award Champion Grass Mare in 2015 and 2016. World Approval was the Eclipse Award Champion Turf Male in 2017.

Casse is the son of the late Norman Casse, founder of Cardinal Hill Stable in Ocala and co-founder and 28-year chairman of Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company; and brother to bloodstock agent Justin Casse. His son, Norman Casse, was his longtime assistant and currently maintains a stable of his own.

Casse served on the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owner’s Association board of directors from 2015-2018.

Return to the July 17 issue of Wire to Wire

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