Acorn features budding stars

Casual and Gamine both have raced just twice, neither in a stakes, yet the way in which they have won all their starts makes them appear as the formidable talent against five fillies with stakes experience in the Grade 1, $300,000 Acorn Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Belmont Park.

In addition to its Grade 1 status, the one-mile Acorn takes on added significance this year as a points-scoring race toward the rescheduled Kentucky Oaks, postponed four months to Sept. 4. The race offers 85 points overall, with 50 to the winner.

Casual won her debut at Oaklawn going six furlongs, then came back to win a sevenfurlong allowance at Churchill Downs, both times earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 while showing a sharp turn of foot indicative of a horse who will go on.

She has the pedigree to do so, as Casual is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin and out of multiple Grade 1 winner Lady Tak, both of whom were trained by Steve Asmussen, who trains Casual.

“This is a huge opportunity and a huge step up,” Amussen said Thursday. “She’s won like there’s more there. It’s time to find out how much more is there.”

Lady Tak, a compact filly, was effective going two turns – she won the Fair Grounds Oaks – but was far better around one turn. Her victories included the Test and Ballerina, and she just missed in the 2003 Acorn against that year’s Kentucky Oaks winner, Bird Town.

Casual has a chance to avenge her mother’s Acorn loss.

Gamine also is well traveled for her brief career. A $1.8 million purchase as a 2-yearold, Gamine, like Casual, was unraced at 2 and owns victories against maidens (at Santa Anita) and allowance company (at Oaklawn) to begin her career.

“I think she’ll like those big, wide turns,” her trainer, Bob Baffert, said of the layout at Belmont Park.

Gamine got a Beyer figure of 98 for her win at Oaklawn, tops among this field. The Oaklawn race was held on closing day of the meet, May 2. Bernie Hettel, state steward for the Arkansas Racing Commission, late last month said there were two “uncleared samples” from that card. One is known to be of Charlatan, winner of a division of the Arkansas Derby, also trained by Baffert. Asked if the second May 2 test needing confirmation was also a Baffert runner, Hettel said, “Draw your own conclusion.”

Baffert had three runners on that card. In addition to Charlatan and Gamine, he won the other division of the Arkansas Derby with Nadal. Nadal’s co-owner, George Bolton, last month said Nadal’s test came back clean.

Scott Hardin, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration – which oversees the racing commission – in an e-mail on Tuesday said, “We don’t anticipate any decisions will be issued this week” regarding potential confirmation of split samples from the May 2 card.

Lucrezia, second to Swiss Skydiver in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, and the comebacking Perfect Alibi, who won the Spinaway last summer, should attract support but will need career-best figs to beat Casual and Gamine.

Glass Ceiling, Pleasant Orb, and Water White complete the field.

The Acorn is race 8 on the 12-race card.