While we wait to see whether the connections of Bricks and Mortar decide to run their horse in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, it might be a good time to wonder if there’s not another North American horse better suited to winning the race. The filly Got Stormy finished second to outsider La Tormenta on Sept. 21 in the Woodbine Mile, but don’t let that defeat obscure the signs she figures to be a major player in the Mile. “I don’t like to sound cocky, but we’ll be going out to Santa Anita with the utmost confidence,” trainer Mark Casse said Tuesday. Casse clearly knows what a BC Mile winner looks like since he’s trained two of the last four, World Approval in 2017 at Santa Anita and Tepin in 2015 at Keeneland. Got Stormy has things in common with both horses – World Approval also raced in the Woodbine Mile, while Tepin succeeded as a female facing males. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s top contenders Got Stormy didn’t show her best over a Woodbine course rated good but ran the best North American turf mile of the year beating males in the Grade 1 Fourstardave on Aug. 10 at Saratoga, just a week after she crushed foes in the restricted De la Rose. “Woodbine, it plays a little [longer] than a lot of miles, and I knew it was going to be a tall task for her,” Casse said. “She trained into the race very good, but I said even before she got beat, I think she’s going to absolutely love Santa Anita. She’s going to love the hard turf and the sharper turns because those are the things that make her good.” Casse could have awaited the First Lady at Keeneland, but feared a softer course and wanted to give Got Stormy more time before the BC Mile. “She’s shown she can run well off a layoff and now we get to give her a little break,” he said. Got Stormy was still at Woodbine this week, but in early October will be moved into Casse’s string at Churchill Downs. “She’ll have her final preparations there. We’re going to do the same exact thing we did with World Approval and Tepin,” Casse said. Bricks and Mortar, meanwhile, is in the conversation for Horse of the Year but is somewhat a horse without a Breeders’ Cup race since his ideal distance appears to be between nine and 10 furlongs and the Breeders’ Cup options are eight and 12. Bricks and Mortar has won all three of his starts at one mile, two in 2017 before his career was interrupted by a physical problem, the other at Gulfstream Park in an allowance race last winter, his first start back from a year-plus layoff. The key upcoming American race in the division is the Shadwell Turf mile at Keeneland, while the City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita also could yield runners. Overseas, one name that keeps coming up as a likely Mile runner is Circus Maximus, a 3-year-old trained by Aidan O’Brien who has solid Group 1 credentials. Other horses whose connections have at least pondered shipping to Santa Anita are One Master, Iridessa, Lord Glitters, Line of Duty, and Space Traveller.