Lickety Lemon Leads Casse Quartet in Natalma Stakes

Trainer Mark Casse, Canada's reigning Sovereign Award conditioner, has the $150,000 Natalma Stakes (Can-III) for 2-year-old fillies well surrounded with four entered Sept. 9 on the Woodbine lawn. His entries include undefeated Lickety Lemon, the 9-5 morning line favorite.

Three of the fillies -- Lickety Lemon, Ontario Debutante winner Officer Cherrie and Clearly Foxy -- are owned by Charles Laloggia. Casse’s fourth entry is the Will Farish-owned Nite in Rome. A total of 11 juvenile fillies entered the one-mile grass test. Casse said Officer Cherrie would only run in the Natalma if Lickety Lemon doesn't.

Lickety Lemon, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Lemon Drop Kid  , has won her two starts to date. She debuted Aug. 4 with with a six-furlong allowance win on turf by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:09 4/5 for jockey Patrick Husbands. Two weeks later, she and Husbands captured a seven-furlong allowance prep for the Natalma, settling in mid-pack and shooting home to a three-length triumph in 1:22 3/5.
   
“She gets the job done,” said Casse, when asked what has impressed him most about the bay filly. “We’re still trying to find out how good she is. Each time you run, it’s a bigger test.”

“I was as confident as you can be with any first time starter,” said Casse of the filly's debut. “She had trained well. I had worked her with some decent company and she had handled it well.”

Casse said Husbands discovered that Lickety Lemon had the ability to respond quickly to his direction.

“She’ll go along and if you nudge her a little bit, she takes off,” explained Casse.

Casse said good friend Tim Kegel picked Lickety Lemon out of this past May’s Timonium Sale in Maryland. Kegel purchased the filly for $70,000 for Laloggia.

“Charlie only owns three fillies," Casse said. "I have four horses for him. Skip Code and these three fillies. I call them Charlie’s Angels. They’re good fillies."

Nite in Rome was a debut winner at six furlongs on the turf on July 14. The Natalma would be her second career start. Casse said she could give Lickety Lemon "a run for her money."

$150,000 Natalma Stakes (Can-III, Race 8, 4:25 p.m.), 2-Year-Old Fillies, 1 Mile (Turf)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, ML Odds
1. Raw Possibilty (ON), Constant Montpellier, 114, 20/1
2. Waveline (CA), Emile Ramsammy, 116, 12/1
3. Remarkable Remy (NY), Eddie Castro, 114, 10/1
4. Nite in Rome (ON), Mike E. Smith, 114, 12/1
5. Officer Cherrie (KY), Patrick Husbands, 119, 4/1
6. Star of Jove (FL), Emma-Jayne Wilson, 114, 20/1
7. Bar City (NY), Alan Garcia, 114, 12/1
8. Clearly Foxy (KY), Mike E. Smith, 114, 8/1
9. Honour Fulfilled (ON), Slade Callaghan, 114, 30/1
10. Lickety Lemon (KY), Patrick Husbands, 116, 9/5
11. Lacadena (KY), Todd Kabel, 114, 6/1