Casa Creed notches Jaipur win No. 2 in the 2022 renewal of the G1 (Chelsea Durand)
NYRA Press Office
ELMONT, N.Y.— LRE Racing and JEH Racing’s evergreen Casa Creed will attempt a rare accomplishment on Saturday in capturing three straight editions of the same Grade 1 in the six-furlong $400,000 Jaipur over Belmont Park’s Widener turf course. The Jaipur offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November at Santa Anita.
Casa Creed, a bay multimillionaire son of Jimmy Creed trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, captured the 2021 Jaipur by launching a devastating late kick in mid-stretch to win by two lengths at 10-1 odds over stablemate Chewing Gum. The effort garnered a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. He used his same closing tactics to capture last year’s Jaipur when saving ground down the backstretch and mowing down pacesetters Arrest Me Red and True Valour to win by a half-length.
Now 7-years-young, Casa Creed will be out for redemption as he arrives off a close second beaten a head in the Group 3 1351 Turf Sprint on February 25 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia. There, he was widest of all coming around the turn and had dead aim on Bathrat Leon in the stretch but came up a head shy of victory. Casa Creed came up a slim margin short in the same international endeavor last year, and followed with a fifth in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai ahead of the Jaipur.
Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing described his Saudi Arabia effort as “fabulous.”
“He probably ran about 50 yards further than the winner. The winner saved all the ground and we were wide,” said Einsidler, who owns Casa Creed in partnership with radio personality Mike Francesa [JEH Racing]. “We got beat by about six inches, but I think we ran so much further than the winner, so from our perspective, he certainly ran a winning race. Being that he’s a 7-year-old now, we decided to skip Dubai and give him a little extra time with a third Jaipur in mind.”
In pursuit of his third straight Jaipur score, Casa Creed will dive into deep waters, which includes reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint victress Caravel, graded stakes winner Big Invasion, last year’s runner up Arrest Me Red and Nothing Better, who has finished no worse than third in his last 12 starts dating back to July 2021. He has trained with stablemate and 2022 Champion Male Sprinter Elite Power leading up to Saturday’s race. He exits post 11 in the Jaipur under Luis Saez.
“We’re very excited. He’s training great. He loves Belmont and I think this being his third Jaipur, this seems like the deepest field that he’s gone against,” Einsidler said. “I like his post a lot and I think, with a lot of speed, the race sets up great for his closing kick. I expect another great performance. He’s been working in the morning right alongside Elite Power and just doing fabulous.”
Casa Creed enjoyed his most productive season last year, capturing the one-mile Grade 1 Fourstardave in August at Saratoga Race Course, defeating Regal Glory who was ultimately named Champion Turf Mare. Casa Creed finished third in the previous two editions of the prestigious turf mile at the Spa and captured the first of his four graded triumphs in the 2019 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.
“Right now we’re focused on tomorrow, but if all goes well and he’s doing well the logical next race would be the Fourstardave,” Einsidler said. “He’s always done well in Saratoga, he ran well in the Fourstardave the past three years. He beat a very talented horse in Regal Glory. Casa Creed beat her handily.”
While proud of the horse, Einsidler expressed some disappointment in not being in the running for an Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Male last year.
“To be quite frank, we were disappointed that we weren’t in the top three for an Eclipse Award,” Einsidler said. “We were shocked by that after winning two straight Jaipurs, winning the Fourstardave and beating Regal Glory. We were scratching our heads that we weren’t in the top three, but I guess we have to leave that up to the voters.
“But for myself and my partner Mike Francesa, it’s all about race day,” Einsidler continued. “The awards are cool, but they’re secondary. For us, it’s all about the day of the race and we’re excited about tomorrow.”
