Saratoga Maidens, Presented By Keeneland, Curtain Call Gets Just That After Breaking Maiden By 8 1/2 Lengths

[Wandering Eyes]

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Sometimes, you just know.

When Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse breezed 2-year-old Curtain Call (Tiz the Law) at his training center in Ocala, Fla., he shipped owner Terry Finley a simple, yet powerful text message.

It was a photo of a Porsche.

Fast car.

Translation, in case you needed it: Curtain Call, Casse believed, was going to be a swift one.

His confidence was rewarded in Saturday's first race at Saratoga when Curtain Call dominated a six-furlong $100,000 maiden special weight and earned a 'TDN Rising Star' rosette.

Curtain Call, ridden by Jose Ortiz, romped to an 8 1/2-length win, giving Casse his first baby victory of the season. Last season, he enjoyed much success in maiden special weight events with purses of $100,000 with no restrictions, winning five times.

A couple of those winners you'll recognize. Sandman (Tapit), who went on to win this year's GI Arkansas Derby and finish seventh in the GI Kentucky Derby and third in the GI Preakness was one of them. So was La Cara (Street Sense), who was victorious in the GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes and GI DK Acorn this year.

Curtain Call won after finishing second in his first start, a 5 1/2 maiden special weight at Churchill Downs June 2. He was a distant second, 7 1/2 lengths behind 'TDN Rising Star' Obliteration (Violence), who went on to win the GIII Sanford Stakes at Saratoga July 5.

“Definitely,” Casse said when asked if that first start helped Curtain Call, “I have said a million times that I like getting races into them. I think they learn a lot. I learned a lot today.”

Terry Finley & Mark Casse after Curtain Call wins | Sarah Andrew

Finley, the founder, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, bought Curtain Call from SGV Thoroughbreds at this year's OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds in training for $325,000.

“Steve Venosa [of SGV] is a very good friend of mine and he and I have done business for almost 30 years,” Finley said. “He told me [Curtain Call] was very nice and he thought he had some upside. When you get that kind of input from someone you trust, it's a good thing.”

Finley said Curtain Call is one of three Tiz the Law babies his group has purchased.

“And we paid good money for every one of them,” he said. “Quite frankly, I was not convinced about him until the 2-year-old sales. This year, they really showed themselves very well and we'll keep buying them.”

Curtain Call went off as the 2-1 second choice behind even-money favorite Tagermeen (Into Mischief), who was debuting for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. He went for $1.4 million in the April OBS Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training.

After stumbling at the start, Curtain Call recovered, and Ortiz kept him just off the pace until taking over in upper stretch and proving much the best. Tagermeen chased him home and finished second for Ricardo Santana Jr. They were 1 3/4 lengths in front of pacesetter Throckmorton (Caracaro), who settled for third in the five-horse field.

Throckmorton is trained by Jose D'Angelo and was ridden by Luis Saez.

For West Point, it kept a Saratoga streak going. Finley said his group has now won a race at Saratoga 22 straight years.

Curtain Call looks to have a future, something Casse predicted from the start. His next target could be the GI Hopeful at the end of the meet.

“He is going to get better and better with more ground,” Casse said. “I'll keep my fingers crossed because I think he is a Breeders' Cup horse. We just have to figure a way to get there.”

Curtain Call ran the six furlongs in 1:10.31 and returned $6.10, $2.70 and $2.10 on a track labeled as “sloppy.”

“We were hoping it was drying out,” Finley said. “You can make excuses all day long, but they all have to run over the same thing. I don't want to get a trainer ticked off at me, but that is a trainer excuse, not an owner excuse.”

Take a bow, CURTAIN CALL, for breaking your maiden at #Saratoga.

The runner-up to graded stakes winner Obliteration in debut tracks the pace and pulls away in the stretch for @markecasse and @jose93_ortiz. pic.twitter.com/smyCbbFc5t

— Matthew DeSantis (@failedtomenace) July 12, 2025

The post Saratoga Maidens, Presented By Keeneland, Curtain Call Gets Just That After Breaking Maiden By 8 1/2 Lengths appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article