Trainers Mark Casse and Josie Carroll will both be well represented in the June 4 CA$175,000 Royal North Stakes (G2T), the first turf stakes race of the 2022 Woodbine season.
Casse sends out multiple graded stakes winner Amalfi Coast, graded stakes-placed Jeanie B, multiple graded stakes-placed La Libertee, and graded stakes winner Souper Sensational.
Multiple graded stakes winner Boardroom, Gidgetta, and stakes winner Lady War Machine comprise Carroll's talented trio.
Purchased for $475,000 by Tracy Farmer at the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Amalfi Coast will look to defend her Royal North title after a hard-fought nose win in last year's running.
Bred in Ontario by Terra Farms, the now 6-year-old daughter of Tapizar was feted as Canada's champion female sprinter in 2021 after a season in which she posted a mark of 2-1-2 from five starts. Her other victory last year came in the Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3).
Amalfi Coast, sporting a lifetime record of 7-3-4, will make her 20th career start on Saturday.
"We got her to Ocala and it took her a while to come around," Casse said. "She ran hard and had a very successful season last year. It took her some time to get her feet under her. I think she was tired. Between the racing and the sale—horse sales are extremely hard on horses, mentally and physically—it was a long year. But she's trained very well recently, and she usually comes with her A-game, and I would expect her to."
A 5-year-old daughter of Bated Breath, Jeanie B has missed a trip to the winner's circle by a nose and a neck in two of her past three stakes engagements.
Last year, the chestnut mare, bred in Great Britain by E & R Bastian, lost to Amalfi Coast in the Royal North. In her most recent effort, the April 16 Long Branch Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta event at Woodbine, she was collared late by Dreaming of Drew.
"That's twice (narrow losses) for her now. I kind of feel like Jeanie B is training better than ever. She tries hard. She does have a little advantage in that she has a couple of races under her belt this year."
Owned by CJ Thoroughbreds, Jeanie B is 4-5-2 from 16 starts.
La Libertee, bred and owned by Farmer, is chasing her first stakes win. The 4-year-old daughter of Constitution made her seasonal debut in March at Gulfstream Park, finishing fourth in the Captiva Island Stakes.
Souper Sensational, a 4-year-old daughter of Curlin , arrives at the Royal North off a fifth-place finish in the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland last October.
Woodbine, Saturday, June 4, 2022, Race 8Entries: Royal North S. (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Lady War Machine (KY) Luis Contreras 120 Josie Carroll 12/1 2 2In Good Spirits (KY) David Moran 122 Albert M. Stall, Jr. 4/1 3 3Jeanie B (GB) Antonio A. Gallardo 118 Mark E. Casse 6/1 4 4La Libertee (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 118 Mark E. Casse 20/1 5 5Boardroom (KY) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 122 Josie Carroll 2/1 6 6Amalfi Coast (ON) Justin Stein 124 Mark E. Casse 5/2 7 7Gidgetta (KY) Kazushi Kimura 118 Josie Carroll 12/1 8 8Souper Sensational (KY) Patrick Husbands 122 Mark E. Casse 8/1
