Dream Maker 'training phenomenally,' flying under the radar for Casse

Last week at his training center in Ocala, Fla., trainer Mark Casse sent 2020 Kentucky Derby hopeful Enforceable out for his first breeze since the Louisiana Derby (G2), going a half mile “just to stretch his legs.”

“He’s one,” Casse added, “where we’ve got to see what they’re going to give us.”

That’s in regard to the new-look Derby trail with Churchill Downs expected to add points-paying preps in the lead up to Sept. 5. Enforceable, by Tapit, is 15th on the current leaderboard his a win in Fair Grounds’ Lecomte (G2) and runner-up finish in the Risen Star (G2) before he missed the board last out.

Casse, however, shifted the conversation more to Dream Maker, an older John Oxley stablemate of Enforceable.

“He’s training phenomenally,” Casse said.

Also by Tapit, 4-year-old Dream Maker hasn’t been seen in more than a year, since he finished third in Churchill Downs’ Pat Day Mile (G3). That followed results of 10th in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and 13th in the Blue Grass Stakes (G2).

“He’s a horse for me that I always thought was extremely good, and he kind of let me down,” Casse said. “He’s training up a storm right now. He looks like a different horse.”

Dream Maker has started seven times, missing the board in five stakes races. But in both his maiden debut and an allowance off the bench to start the 2019 season, he won with ease.

Casse said he’ll seek another allowance spot off the bench for Dream Maker, likely in Florida or Kentucky, where racing will continue this month.

“He didn’t get hurt. He’s just been a work in progress,” the trainer said. “If you watch how he runs, he runs with his head. He wants to get out. He causes a lot of his own issues.

“We brought him home and then gave him a break, which we often do. I’ll say that about the Oxleys. They’re always kind enough to do that.”

The Oxley homebred Dream Maker has worked each of the last five weeks with all of his drills bullets at the Casse Training Center, most recently five furlongs on Wednesday in 58.60 seconds.