Blue Laser: A Legacy of Breeding and now Showing Promise

Blue Laser is a three-year old Chestnut colt out of Versailles, Kentucky. Owned by his breeder WinStar Farm, LLC, he is from Bluegrass Cat, the leading second crop sire of stakes horses in 2011. Blue Laser also descends from the Storm Cat line of Northern Dancer. His damsire is the With Approval mare With a Princess. Blue Laser is trained by Mark E. Casse, and his jockey is John McKee.

On October 10, 2010, Blue Laser made his stakes debut for his current trainer in the Grey Stakes. This annual thoroughbred horse race is open to two-year olds who qualify with maiden special weight (MSW). The race is notable for its historic association with famous horses and held at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack. At Woodbine, Blue Laser took first place, winning by a half-length over Rockin Heat and Classic Legacy. He also claimed first in his previous MSW start on August 28, 2010. Blue Laser’s very first race was on August 1, 2010, where he placed third at Woodbine.

In his first three races, Blue Laser rode with jockey Corey Fraser. Fraser recorded 159 top-three finishes in 2010 and won five local stakes at Woodbine. He also increased his earnings by more than $400,000 compared to 2009 and improved his win total for the third consecutive campaign. He resides in Bolton, Ontario.

On November 20, 2010, Blue Laser raced in the Delta Downs Jackpot-G3 with jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. Bridgmohan is a celebrated rider who won his 2,000th race on February 13, 2010. He has ranked in the Top 10 at the 2008 spring and fall Keeneland and Churchill meets, ranked in the Top 5 during the 2009 Churchill meets and in the Top 10 for the 2009 Keeneland meets. Bridgmohan was also named among the top 10 riders in New York from 1998 to 2003.

Before the Delta Downs race, Blue Laser trained at Churchill Downs for the Breeders Cup. Trainer Mark Casse, however, chose to pursue the Delta Downs in order to provide the colt with more training time. Although Blue Laser was a 3-1 morning-line favorite at Delta Downs, he did not finish the race. Another horse, Aces N Kings with jockey Calvin Borel, took him out going into the far turn.

Blue Laser made his three-year-old debut on March 5, 2011, at the $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. That was the colt’s first start since the Delta Downs Jackpot. The John Battaglia Memorial is a thoroughbred race horse open to three-year-olds. It is an ungraded stakes and awards the winner with a $100,000 purse. Blue Laser finished ninth with jockey John McKee. McKee reached his 1000th career in 2008. He has also compiled 42 stakes wins, including 11 graded stakes victories, from more than 7,000 starts.

In March, 2011, Blue Laser was named to the list of 2011 Triple Crown nominations. Considered a horse’s crowning achievement, the Triple Crown consists of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. No horse from the U.S. has won the Triple Crown since 1978.