Champion Tepin (Bernstein) breezed a half-mile in :48.80 (13/46) at Churchill Downs Friday morning in what was her final breeze prior to a trip to England for Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Anne S. June 14. Piloted by regular rider Julien Leparoux, the Robert Masterson colorbearer was clocked in splits of :12.40 and :24.20 with a five-furlong gallop out in 1:01.20.
“She was moving really well,” said Norman Casse, assistant to father and trainer Mark Casse. “She seems really happy cooling out and we're real excited to have this opportunity to do something that could be really special. She just goes out there and does everything effortlessly. She's just in herself and does this with little effort.
Casse added, “Julien was very excited about the way she went. With a horse like this where you know her so well, you would just be worried if it wasn't her normal work and it was her normal work. Any time she works like that she seems to run well so she hasn't given me any reason to be concerned.”
After Tepin's race at Royal Ascot, the bay will get a break with a focus on a fall campaign and return to the Breeders' Cup.
“One of the appealing things about Ascot is that it gives her a race to shoot for and then coming back,” Casse said. “We knew we didn't really want to run her during the summer time because of the heat and she doesn't seem to do as well. We'll look more for a fall campaign leading up to the Breeders' Cup–maybe the [GI] Woodbine Mile [Sept. 17] or something like that.”
Tepin is scheduled to leave Churchill Downs for quarantine Monday and will ship to Royal Ascot the following morning.
“She's got to train in a yard and she'll have to acclimate to a different time zone,” Casse said. “It's those types of things that we can't control but at the same time we got to do it. A lot of our success is based on preparation and getting into a groove and doing things and doing the right things over and over again. You can't really do that over there; there are a lot of variables that you can't control and a lot of things that are going to be different for her. We'll have to do things different with her and I just hope it doesn't overwhelm her.”
Casse continued, “I think that Tepin is a horse that is very intelligent and seems to take everything with good stride, so she gives me a lot of confidence in that regard. I think she'll be able to handle it. She's not worried about those types of things.”
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