Casa Creed rallied from the last of five runners to take down the top prize in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Aug. 13. The impressive 1 ½-length victory by the Bill Mott trainee earned the 6-year-old son of Jimmy Creed a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) in November at Keeneland.

Owned by LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable, Casa Creed, who had finished third in the previous two renewals of the Fourstardave, entered this year’s running off a successful title defense in the six-furlong Jaipur Stakes (G1) in June at Belmont Park.

Racing at the back of the compact field through the early stages, Casa Creed roared past race favorite Regal Glory in the stretch to post a convincing score in a final time of 1:34.20 under Luis Saez.  The win provided Mott a fifth win the Fourstardave.

“We kind of thought he’d be a little closer, but he looked like he was where he wanted to be,” said Mott. “He (Saez) let him break and the horse found his own spot. I don’t think he put him there, I think that’s the rhythm the horse wanted to be in, and he gradually picked up the pace as he went down the backside and got within striking range by the time he hit the half-mile pole.

Bred in Kentucky by Silver Springs Stud, Casa Creed is out of the Bellamy Road mare Achalaya. With the latest triumph, which gave him back-to-back Grade 1 wins, Casa Creed increased his bankroll to $1,703,308 and his record stands at 27-7-4-4. He was sold to LRE Racing at the 2017 Keeneland September Sale for $105,000 out of Kelli Mitchell’s consignment after originally selling to Amalio Ruiz-Lozano for $15,000 out of Janie Roper’s consignment at the 2017 OBS Winter Mixed Sale.