Pinto edges Rockin Robin at Keeneland for Norm Casse family exacta

Pinto turned a Keeneland maiden into a family scorecard, edging Rockin Robin by a head in Race 4 on April 11 and handing Norm Casse a son-over-father exacta in the process. The Nyquist filly, owned by Robert Masterson and Jack Hamilton, broke from post 9 under Junior Alvarado and finished the 6 1/2-furlong dirt dash in 1:19.19.

The $110,000 maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3-and-up was tight on paper and tighter at the wire. Pinto went off at 6.92-to-1 in the win pool, while Rockin Robin, the 2.10-to-1 runner-up, drew most of the respect as the stablemate from the Mark Casse barn. The exacta paid $5.89, a modest return for a finish that carried plenty of family pride.

Equibase’s chart showed how Pinto earned it. She brushed with an outer foe at the start, pressed the leader from the three path into the turn, ranged up to bid entering the lane, dueled between horses in upper stretch and kept going gamely late. Rockin Robin, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, showed the way early and battled on after being collared, but she could not hold off the final surge from the other Casse runner.

For Norm Casse, the win landed on a stage that has long meant something to the family. Mark Casse’s Keeneland bio notes that his first career victory came there on April 14, 1979, aboard Joe’s Coming, and that he has now piled up 138 Keeneland wins, including two stakes during the 2025 Spring Meet with La Cara in the Central Bank Ashland and Nitrogen in the Appalachian. The same bio also recalls how Mark’s father, Norman Casse, took him to see Secretariat win the 1973 Kentucky Derby, a moment that helped lock the sport into the family’s DNA.

Pinto’s pedigree added another layer to the result. She is by Nyquist out of Mining for Mercury, by The Factor, while Rockin Robin is by Spun to Run out of Winds of Capri, by Bernardini. For Pinto, the debut was more than a narrow victory and more than a good number on the tote board. It was a useful first step against a live field, and it gave the Casse name another Keeneland chapter with a finish that will travel well beyond the winner’s circle.