Danzig Moon Ready For Kentucky Derby 141

Norman Casse Talks Kentucky Derby Contender Danzig Moon

By: Claudia Lorena

Every trainer dreams of having their horse run in the Kentucky Derby. It is one of the biggest accolades in thoroughbred racing. For Mark and Norman Casse, this Derby dream has been realized several times in the past. This year, Casse Racing goes into the Kentucky Derby with Canadian-bred colt Danzig Moon, a lightly raced three-year-old with great potential.

“It’s nice to see how much he’s progressed,” says Norman, son and assistant trainer to Mark Casse. “When we first got him he was talented and fast, but mentally he did a lot of dumb things. He couldn’t seem to focus, was a bit intimidated by other horses and would blow the start.”

Julien Leparoux has ridden the colt for his last three starts and will remain aboard for the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby. In his most recent start, Danzig Moon finished second to Carpe Diem in the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland, 3 lengths behind the winner and 2 ½ lengths ahead of third place finisher Ocho Ocho Ocho.

Mark Casse spends a fair amount of time at Woodbine Racetrack, in Canada, and was drawn to the colt for being an Ontario-bred. “[Mark’s] original aspirations were to run him in the Queen’s Plate, so we took him to Kentucky in mid-summer of last year to prepare,” explained Norman. As it turns out, things don’t always go as planned. “On the day of the Coronation Futurity I got a call from dad, ‘We can’t run the horse,’ he says, ‘he has an abscess.'” And so the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. “That day, all of our horses ran bad.”

Health complications would sideline Danzig Moon, keeping him completely out of training for one month. “The abscess forced us to stop on him, so we took him down to Palm Meadows and gave him time to heal.” Just one month prior to the incident, the colt had run his second race at Churchill Downs and made a huge move that made both trainers take notice. “What he did in his second start was huge,” Norman recalled, “and I think that in a way the break helped him. When he came back, he was no longer a boy. He was a man.” The colt returned to racing this past February to triumph over a field of twelve at Gulfstream Park, breaking his maiden by 4 ¾ lengths.

Described as being one of the most beautiful movers in the Casse barn, his run in the Tampa Bay Derby did not quite portray this. Norman advises handicappers to disregard that performance. “He didn’t like the track at Tampa — he’s one of our best movers, but he looked like a giraffe that day. Two days after the race he was extremely under the weather. Throw that race out the window.”

Purchased at the Keeneland September 2013 sale (hip #00153) for $160,000, this son of Malibu Moon, and grandson to Hall of Fame sire A.P. Indy, heads into the Kentucky Derby 13th in the standings with 45 points. Of his five career starts, he has yet to run worse than 4th — one win, two 2nds, two 3rds, and two 4ths. The colt has run on four tracks (Keeneland→Churchill→Gulfstream→Tampa→Keeneland), in two different states (KY→FL→KY), amassed $251,120 in earnings, and has faced some of the best 3-year-old colts in the nation.

Where running style is concerned, Danzig Moon prefers to position himself towards the back. “He’s not an ultra aggressive colt,” describes Norman. “He likes to hold back and, to be honest, I think it’s going to help him relax next Saturday.” The Kentucky Derby is the biggest stage in thoroughbred racing, “when you’re running in front of that many people, it has an affect on the horses. His ability to relax, along with the added bonus of having Julien Leparoux — one of the best riders at Churchill Downs — in the irons… Well, I like our chances.”

With all the glitz and glamour, history and significance surrounding the Kentucky Derby, some people spend their entire life searching for that one horse that will take them all the way to Louisville on the first Saturday in May. They buy a horse and try to make it a derby horse, then realize it’s a lot harder than it looks. For Danzig Moon, running in the derby was not part of the original plan. “We weren’t pressing the issue. We didn’t want to put horses in races they couldn’t win just for a chance to run [the Kentucky Derby],” Norman explained. “But Danzig moon earned his way into the gate, and that’s why he’s running.”

31-year-old Norman Casse has been around horses his entire life. When he was 19, and a freshman attending Bellarmine University, he knew he wanted to become a trainer. Today, he is thankful to be doing what he loves, working alongside his father — six time Soverign Award winner for Outstanding Trainer — and the equine athletes he has admired since he was a little boy. “Kentucky really comes alive this time of year, that’s what makes The Kentucky Derby so special — it’s the biggest event in the city. I haven’t missed the derby since 1995 and I don’t plan on missing one any time soon.”

Photo Courtesy: Norman Casse

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