Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
CUSTOM FIT
WORLD APPROVAL SHOULD HIT HIS STRIDE IN MILE,
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – After winning the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 12, World Approval will look to give trainer Mark Casse his second consecutive win in the Grade 1, $800,000 Woodbine Mile on Saturday.
Casse won last year’s Woodbine Mile with Tepin. Like Tepin, World Approval trained at Saratoga for the race before shipping up to Woodbine. He arrived here Tuesday and trained here Wednesday.
World Approval was cut back to a mile in the Fourstardave following a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf at Belmont Park on June 10. Casse said he believes World Approval’s running style is better suited to a mile.
“He loves a target,” he said. “The problem is when you run him farther, the pace isn’t as fast. A lot of times, we ended up on the lead, and we feel that’s not the way he wants to run.”
Casse said Breeders’ Cup considerations also played a part in the decision to cut back in distance.
“We think he’s a nice horse going a mile and a half, but we didn’t feel like he was good enough to be a Breeders’ Cup contender at a mile and a half,” he said. “We thought we’d switch it up a little and try him at a mile. So far, it looks good. Our feeling is that if he continues this form, he could be a major horse in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.”
The Woodbine Mile (race 12, post time 6:34 p.m. Eastern) is the final leg of a 20-cent all-turf pick five offered in partnership with Belmont Park. The sequence includes the Grade 2 Canadian (race 8 at Woodbine), followed by a turf allowance at
Watch Saturday’s card live on DRF.com Belmont (race 7), the Grade 1 Northern Dancer at Woodbine (race 10), and the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont (race 9). The wager will be hosted by Woodbine, listed as XC Pick 5, and have a 15 percent takeout rate.
KEY CONTENDERS
World Approval, by Northern Afleet Last 3 Beyers: 108-102-106
◗ World Approval is familiar with the Woodbine turf course, having run here last fall in a pair of 1 1/2-mile stakes, the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf and the Grade 1 Canadian International.
Deauville, by Galileo Last 3 Beyers: 100-N/A-N/A
◗ One of two horses in the field trained by Aidan O’Brien, Deauville will shorten up in distance after running third over 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 1 Arlington Million at Arlington Park on Aug. 12.
◗ The best race of his career, according to Timeform ratings, came in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting in June, when he was third behind Ribchester and Mutakayyef.
Lancaster Bomber, by War Front Last 3 Beyers: N/A-N/A-N/A
◗ Deauville’s younger stablemate is making his second trip to North America for the Woodbine Mile, having finished second to Oscar Performance in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita.
◗ He’s the likely pacesetter and could carry his speed to the wire. He finished second, beaten just a length, after setting the pace in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes against 3-yearolds at the Royal Ascot meeting.
Dutch Connection, by Dutch Art Last 3 Beyers: N/A-N/A-N/A
◗ He finished sixth, behind Deauville in the Queen Anne Stakes, while making his first start of the year. He enters off a win in the Group 3 Weatherbys Racing Bank Supreme Stakes over seven furlongs at Goodwood on Aug. 27.
◗ He’s made two starts in North America, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland in 2015 and 12th in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Tower of Texas, by Street Sense Last 3 Beyers: 96-96-103
◗ If Lancaster Bomber goes out too quickly, it should benefit Tower of Texas. He closed strongly into a quick pace to win his seasonal debut in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup over seven furlongs on June 3.
◗ In his last two starts, he’s come up short while trying to close into slow paces in the Grade 2 King Edward and Grade 2 Play the King stakes. He was blocked in the stretch in the Play the King on Aug. 19, but rallied to be fourth and was just two lengths behind winner Conquest Panthera.
Mondialiste, by Galileo Last 3 Beyers: N/A-N/A-N/A
◗ His most recent victory came in last year’s Arlington Million over 1 1/4 miles. He won the 2015 Woodbine Mile.