Cairo Caper looking to hold the fort in Grade 1 Summer Stakes
TORONTO, September 12, 2024 – Cairo Caper, winner of his last two starts, including the Soaring Free Stakes, will be looking to score one for the home team in Saturday’s $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes (G1T), with a Breeders’ Cup berth on the line in the one-mile race.
The Summer attracted a field of 17, including three also eligibles, with the entrants including seven fillies who are cross-entered in Saturday’s Natalma for trainer Mark Casse. A guaranteed entry in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on November 1 awaits the winner.
Cairo Caper, a Kentucky-bred who is owned by William Thompson and trained by Nathan Squires, closed smartly to win the Soaring Free over 6 ½ furlongs of turf at Woodbine on August 23.
“He’s doing good,” said Squires. “No hiccups since his last race.”
“He won quite impressively, in my opinion, and the extra distance will not bother him at all. I’m very delighted in his preparation and his well-being.”
Jose Campos retains the mount as Cairo Caper moves into elite company.
“Obviously, the competition is going to be a little tougher on Saturday,” said Squires. “We have to play the cards that we are dealt but we are here, we are going to compete, and hopefully it will work out in our favour.”
Squires and Thompson have been down a similar road before with Cairo Consort, who ran second in the Natalma and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf before being sold privately. Both Cairo Caper and Cairo Consort are by Cairo Prince.
Cairo Caper’s opponents will include a pair of dangerous English invaders and some number of talented Casse trainees.
Al Qudra (IRE), a Godolphin homebred from the barn of trainer Charles Appleby, comes into the Summer off a sharp score in the Pat Eddery, a listed stakes at Ascot which was run over a straight seven furlongs of good-to-fast going.
“He did it the hard way from the front, but still found more to draw clear in the last furlong,” said Appleby.
Recently, Al Qudra has been based at Saratoga and recorded a trio of workouts there prior to checking into Woodbine this week.
“Very nice and straightforward work, he has taken to the track work well,” said Appleby, referring to the different approach to training in North America. “He has been very professional in the mornings, and has settled in well.”
Appleby and Godolphin have been a formidable presence here in recent years with successes in the last two editions of the Woodbine Mile (Master of The Seas (IRE) and Modern Games (IRE)), Canadian Internationals with Nations Pride (IRE) (2023), and Walton Street (GB) (2021), the Summer Stakes with Mysterious Night (IRE) (2022) and Albahr (GB) (2021) and Natalma Stakes with Wild Beauty (GB) (2021) and La Pelosa (IRE) (2018).
William Buick, aboard for the stakes doubles here the past two seasons, rides Al Qudra.
New Century (GB), shipping in for Qatar Racing and trainer Andrew Balding, already has chased home Al Qudra on two occasions, finishing fourth in that one’s maiden win over the synthetic surface at Lingfield and second in the Pat Eddery.
Oisin Murphy retains the mount on New Century, who followed up his Eddery effort with his first stakes score in the listed Stonehenge over a straight mile of good-to-fast going at Salisbury.
Balding has not been represented here since 2019 when he sent out Pivoine for a fourth-place finish in the Canadian International. He does have a history of Woodbine success, however, with Blond Me (IRE) capturing the E.P. Taylor in 2017 and Phoenix Reach (IRE) taking the 2003 Canadian International.
Casse has nine entrants in all, including two of the also eligibles.
“We have a really strong group of fillies,” said Casse, who also has two colts in the Summer line-up. “We’ll be spreading them pretty evenly between the two races.”
Dream On and Special Session are the barn’s male Summer hopefuls.
Owned by D J Stable LLC, Dream On won his maiden when going 5 ½ furlongs on turf at Ellis Park following an unplaced main-track debut at Churchill Downs. The son of Not This Time ended second when making his local debut in the Soaring Free.
“I expect him to improve,” said Casse.
Special Session, a homebred who races for Stacy Farmer, finished fourth when debuting here at six furlongs on the turf and then was beaten a neck as the runner-up in a seven-furlong main track race, both starts coming in maiden company.
“He’ll definitely get the distance,” said Casse. “He’s a half-brother to Sir Winston.”
Casse sent out Sir Winston to capture the 2019 edition of the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes for owner/breeder Farmer.
Field for the bet365 Summer Stakes (G1T) (Race 9)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Ready to Battle – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
2 – Dream On – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
3 – Vixen – John Velazquez – Mark Casse
4 – First Resort – Umberto Rispoli – Eoin Harty
5 – Coolcollected – Ryan Munger – Patrick Dixon
6 – Cairo Caper – Jose Campos – Nathan Squires
7 – Will Reign (S) – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
8 – Special Session (S) – John Velazquez – Mark Casse
9 – Al Qudra (IRE) – William Buick – Charles Appleby
10 – New Century (GB) – Oisin Murphy – Andrew Balding
11 – Thread – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
12 – Dewolf – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
13 – Forty N Five – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
14 – Winterberry – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
Also eligible:
15 – Latin Fever (IRE) – Sofia Vives – Mark Casse
16 – Groot – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
17 – Nitrogen (S) – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse
Bill Tallon, for Woodbine Communications
.jpg "Cairo Caper and jockey Jose Campos winning the bet365 Soaring Free Stakes on August 23, 2024 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo)")
