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Speed, Stamina Make for a Smooth 'Drive'
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"I lost my words because I never even dreamed of a girl horse winning such a race," Yamamoto said.
He, of course, already knew about Casino Drive's half-brother, Jazil. That horse had won at Belmont the previous June.
A few months after that 2006 race, Yamamoto and Kazuo Fujisawa, one of Japan's most successful trainers, traveled together to the Keeneland yearling sale in Lexington, Ky., to buy Casino Drive.
They had been prepared to bid up to $3 million for the horse. Bloodlines on his father's side reach back to A.P. Indy, which won the Belmont Stakes in 1992, and to two winners of the Triple Crown, Seattle Slew and Secretariat.
For reasons that he still does not quite understand, Yamamoto managed to buy Casino Drive for the relative bargain price of $950,000.
After watching the Belmont Stakes on TV last June, Yamamoto knew exactly what he must do.
"We had to take Casino Drive to Belmont," he recalled thinking. "I immediately told my feelings to Mr. Fujisawa, who said he would do whatever it takes to run the horse in the great race. We said to each other that this horse has a lot of expectations and a dream upon itself."
In Japan last year, Casino Drive's training focused on marrying endurance with speed, Yamamoto said. But it did not go well, especially at first.
The colt was hobbled by minor injuries that prevented him from racing. He was not ready to race until Feb. 23, which was just after his third birthday. Then he blew away a strong field of Japanese horses at Kyoto Racecourse, winning by 11 1/2 lengths.
An influenza outbreak nixed plans to race Casino Drive again in Japan and he had to be quarantined for two months. When he was ruled free of disease, he boarded a plane for the United States.
After the long flight from Tokyo, he arrived in New York on April 30. Just 11 days later, he ran his first race in the United States, wining the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont by 5 3/4 lengths.
"I do believe that Casino Drive was at his worst when he ran in that race," Yamamoto said. "He was at the very bottom of his conditioning and his start was not very good."
