Alpyland surges to G3 Penn Mile win
Casse barn wins second straight Penn Mile
The Biz
May 30, 2026
A familiar team returned to the winner’s circle Friday evening in the Grade 3 Penn Mile at Penn National, as Alpyland surged to the front turning for home and drew away to a convincing four-length victory.
Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse for D. J. Stable LLC and ridden by Javier Castellano, Alpyland covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:34.17 while earning the first graded stakes victory of his career. The same owner-trainer combination captured last year’s Penn Mile with Dream On, and Castellano was again aboard for the repeat performance.
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Alpyland, a son of Vekoma, settled comfortably in third behind longshot pacesetter Bonsai Warrior through fractions of :23.38 and :47.80. Favored Honey Dutch tracked the leader from second and appeared poised to make his move entering the far turn, but Alpyland advanced boldly from the outside, seized command near the quarter pole, and steadily widened his advantage through the stretch.
Immortalised (FR) rallied from off the pace to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Honey Dutch, who weakened after challenging for the lead. Classic Nofty was fourth, while Bonsai Warrior faded to fifth.
Baytown Dreamer and Teddy’s Rocket were scratched.
The victory was worth $240,000 and boosted Alpyland’s career earnings to $557,996. Purchased for $185,000 as a yearling, the bay gelding improved his record to five wins from 10 starts. Friday’s Penn Mile marked his third stakes victory overall and his first at the graded level, adding another significant accomplishment to a rapidly developing résumé.
Alpyland paid $6.20 as the second choice in the field of five and topped an exacta that returned $16.10 for a one-dollar wager.
One race earlier, Bandiagara rallied from fifth to win the $150,000 Penn Oaks for three-year-old fillies. Under jockey Manny Franco, Bandiagara won by a length in 1:35.60 for the flat mile.
Bred in Great Britain, Bandiagara initially raced in France, and Friday’s Oaks represented her first North American start. She is trained by Miguel Clement for Madaket Stables, LLC, Kisber Racing, Bill Strauss, and West Point Thoroughbreds.
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