Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse entered racing Sept. 14 at Woodbine as a seven-time winner of the Natalma Stakes (G1T).
Now make it eight—thanks to the appropriately named And One More Time , who outbattled stablemates Vixen and Nitrogen , giving Casse a 1-2-3 finish in the CA$502,500 race. Casse ran six of the 11 juveniles fillies that started in the one-mile grass race.
Chasing pacesetting Nitrogen early through fractions of :23.28, :46.57, and 1:10.79 over firm ground, And One More Time was joined down the stretch by Vixen, who surged on her outside. But that rival’s looming presence did not discourage And One More Time.
She grittily held off that oncoming rival as they overtook Nitrogen in the final sixteenth of the race, defeating the runner-up by a neck. The winner was clocked in 1:33.99 for the distance under Rafael Hernandez.
“She just ran wonderfully—a lot of heart,” said Casse’s assistant trainer, Kathryn Sullivan. “We knew from her race at Saratoga we had a special filly, but I think she really proved it today.”
Disappointing was favored Mountain Breeze , who never threatened to finish a wide eighth.
Coming out of two shorter races on dirt, first at Churchill Downs and later at Saratoga Race Course, where she broke her maiden in an off-the-turf maiden race in the mud going 5 1/2 furlongs, And One More Time slipped past the betting public, paying $35.40.
The winning dark bay or brown filly was a $750,000 yearling purchase at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s selected yearling sale, in 2023 by her owner, Live Oak Plantation. By leading second-crop sire Omaha Beach out of the Blame mare Complicated , she is her sire’s first grade 1 winner and her dam’s fourth stakes winner, third in graded company.
Omaha Beach, a multiple grade 1-winning son of War Front , stands at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington. His fee was $40,000 during the 2024 breeding season.
With the Natalma part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, And One More Time earned an automatic, paid berth in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
Video: Johnnie Walker Natalma S. (G1T)
Ascot Foes New Century, Al QUdra Best in Summer
Two hours later, two British-raced colts dominated the CA$503,000 Summer Stakes (G1T), outrunning the Casse-trained Dream On .
The duo of Godolphin’s Al Qudra and Qatar Racing’s New Century , 1-2 in the July 27 Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot, again completed the exacta, this time with the order of finish reversed. New Century, unable to catch Al Qudra at Ascot, outkicked him Saturday.
The Sahin Civaci-ridden Dream On, who finished third and drifted out in the lane, made contact with the William Buick-ridden Al Qudra, though the Andrew Balding-trained New Century always seemed to be finishing best under Oisin Murphy. The top two also appeared to make earlier contact.
New Century rallied from eighth to win by 1 1/4 lengths. He ran a mile on firm turf in 1:32.80, returning $8.10 to win as the second favorite behind Al Qudra.
“It was a brilliant performance,” Murphy said of the colt, who is out of the Street Cry mare Potent Embrace . “I’m delighted for his stallion, Kameko, his first group 1 winner.”
New Century outfinishes Al Qudra to win the Summer Stakes at Woodbine
The Summer was also a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifier, giving New Century paid entry into the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T).
Murphy praised the Qatar Racing team and Balding for sending the colt to Woodbine for the Summer.
“Obviously it made sense timing-wise for the Breeders’ Cup,” Murphy continued. “Now he’s gonna have to be sharper at Del Mar, but he has the class, and hopefully he can step up again.”