Keeneland Photo
According to a Churchill Downs press release, the 2015 Eclipse champion turf female Tepin, who has won her last six starts in spectacular fashion, might not venture to Royal Ascot for a run in the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) after all.
The brilliant five-year-old mare, who defeated a top-notch field of international runners in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I) last October, breezed five furlongs in an easy 1:01.60 on May 28th at Churchill Downs, her first workout since winning the Distaff Turf Mile (gr. II) at Churchill Downs on May 7th.
“I’m going to talk to (owner) Mr. (Robert) Masterson this afternoon and see how she is tomorrow (Sunday),” trainer Mark Casse was quoted as saying. “She still has one more breeze next Friday, but we’ll try to make as final of a decision as you can in horse racing. There are a lot of variables to go into going to England. We can’t run on Lasix and we can’t use a nasal strip that she usually wears. Today she breezed without Lasix or a nasal strip. She’s a heavy breather but Julien (Leparoux, her regular rider) said that today she was breathing a little heavier than usual. We’re still talking about it and tomorrow we’ll probably decide.”
Assistant trainer Norman Casse, who has been managing Tepin’s training at Churchill Downs, said “We were just looking for a typical five-eighths like we did two weeks out. She doesn’t too anything too fancy anymore. Since she’s matured, she just kind of does everything that she needs to do. This was a very typical work for her, just a nice even five-eighths and galloped out well. She looks like she’s moving well and I think Julien would agree that she’s been doing well.”
Said Leparoux, “She went well. She was making a bit of noise, like usual, but maybe a bit more, but she went good, nice and easy.”
Tepin is listed as the favorite for the one-mile Queen Anne with all the major British bookmakers, with her odds ranging from 3-1 to 9-2. She is also among the early entries for the July 27th Sussex Stakes (Eng-I) at Goodwood.
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