Oceanport, N.J.- Stealcase has worked himself into the
45th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational this
Sunday at Monmouth
Park.
“He breezed so well at Saratoga yesterday (July
22) that afterward we decided we’ll be there,” said trainer Mark Casse on Monday
morning.
Stealcase, a son of dual Grade 1 winner
Lawyer Ron and the Cat Thief mare Steal the Show, breezed five furlongs over
Saratoga’s main
track in 1:01.92. Casse will name Shaun Bridgmohan as the rider when entries are
taken on Thursday.
While the field is still taking shape,
Kentucky Derby third place finisher Dullahan, Belmont Stakes runner-up Paynter,
Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes winner Le Bernardin, Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes winner
Nonios and California invader Handsome Mike will also contest the mile and an
eighth event on the main track. Possible runners include Wood Memorial Stakes
winner Gemologist, 2011 Juvenile champion and Iowa Derby victor Hansen,
Long Branch
winner My Adonis, and several other top
three-year-olds.
Stealcase and Paynter are no strangers. They
met on April 28 in the Grade 3 Derby Trial on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs
and Stealcase was third, just a neck behind runner-up
Paynter.
“He should have beaten Paynter that day,”
said Casse while discussing why owner John C. Oxley and he decided Stealcase
deserves his chance to earn a Grade 1 victory. “He lugged in (in the stretch)
and right after the wire, was ahead of Paynter. Next out, he won an allowance
race at Churchill by four lengths. Last out (In the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at
Churchill) he got into all kinds of trouble and still finished second. With the
tough trip he had, I don’t even know how he managed to get
second.”
On Monday morning Nonios went through his
final serious Haskell preparation at Del Mar under jockey Corey Nakatani. The Jerry
Hollendorfer trainee went six furlongs handily in 1:15 on the all weather
surface.
Handsome Mike, who is trained by Doug
O’Neill and owned by J. Paul Reddam, will be ridden in the Haskell by Mario
Gutierrez. The Scat Daddy colt is scheduled to leave Southern California on
Tuesday on a flight to New
York and will be vanned to
Monmouth.
On Thursday, Zayat Stables Paynter, who is
trained by Bob Baffert, and G.B. Smith, Jr.’s Nonios will share a plane ride
from Southern California and arrive on the
grounds.
The Haskell is slated as the 13th
race on a 14-race program with an estimated post of 6:15 p.m. The Haskell Day
card will get underway at noon, with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. A limited
number of reserved seats are still available and can be purchased by calling
732-571-5563, visiting the ticket booth sales office on the second floor of the
Grandstand on any live race day or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.