Clint Cornett | Horse Racing Free Tips

White Abarrio Owner Mark Cornett Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

It's been a roller coaster year for White Abarrio (Race Day), but it ended on the highest of possible notes, with a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. To talk about the Breeders' Cup, future plans for the horse, the decision to hire Rick Dutrow as the trainer and more, co-owner Mark Cornett was the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast, which is presented by Keeneland.

With the status of Saffie Joseph, Jr. in limbo after he was temporarily banned by Churchill Downs when two of his horses died in the lead-up to the GI Kentucky Derby, Cornett, who owns White Abarrio in partnership with his brother Clint and Los Milagrosa Stable, needed to find a new trainer. He said he narrowed the choice down to two, Dutrow and Chad Brown. In the end, he thought Dutrow was the perfect fit.

“I had Rick in my mind all along,” Cornett said. “I've known him for a long time. Paul Pompa and I were really good friends. I put numerous horses in Rick's barn through some partnerships with Paul and had a lot of success. I know what a good horseman he is. He's one of the best, top five in the world, in my opinion. He was trying to rebuild his stable at the time. We were basically being forced by Churchill and NYRA to make a trainer switch. It's hard enough to manage these horses without having politics and racetracks and state vets and everybody else try to step in and make you do things you don't want to do. It was a bold move to hire Rick and I don't know too many people that would have done what we did. We have all the confidence in the world in Rick and his abilities and it all worked out.”

So far as next year's racing schedule goes, the $20-million Saudi Cup is definitely on the schedule. Cornett said there's a possibility White Abarrio could race beforehand in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

White Abarrio's Co-Owner Mark Cornett Joins Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

“The main goal is going to definitely be the Saudi Cup,” Cornett said. “If we were designing the perfect race for this horse it would be one turn at a mile and an eighth. And then they put the $20 million behind it. The timing of the race is a question mark. It's about four months after the Breeders' Cup. The only thing we really have to figure out is how to get him there at a peak. Do we run him in between? Do we send him over there to acclimate? Those are things that Rick and I will talk about and discuss what's the best way to win that race.”

White Abarrio's first big win on the year came at Saratoga in the GI Whitney S., but Cornett saw signs as early as May that the horse was about to take things to another level.

“I went to Churchill Downs in May and I hadn't seen him in 45 days, 60 days before that,” he said. “I couldn't believe my eyes on the physical maturity of this horse. He had probably gained 200 pounds. There was a physical transformation, from a boy to a man, which is what you want to see. He matured at the right time.”

White Abarrio | Benoit

So far as the race for Horse of the Year goes, Cornett realizes that Cody's Wish (Curlin) will likely earn the honor over White Abarrio.

“Whatever the voters decide is fine,” he said. “We're going to be around next year so we can take another shot. Maybe for Cody's Wish, it's meant to be for obvious reasons.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, 1/ST Racing and Lane's End, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss touched on the heartbreaking loss of Cody Dorman, the inspiration behind Cody's Wish, who died the day after the Breeders' Cup at age 17. The team reviewed the entire Breeders' Cup program, the dominance of the New York and European stables and the poor showing by the California barns, and gave their opinions on Horse of the Year, all agreeing that it should be and will be Cody's Wish.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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White Abarrio Removed From Saffie Joseph’s Barn by C2 Racing; Heads to Dutrow

White Abarrio (Race Day) has been taken away from trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. after his suspension by Churchill Downs during a week when two of his horses died from unexplained causes at the Louisville track, according to a Tweet posted by White Abarrio's owners, C2 Racing Stable. He was scheduled to arrive at his new trainer Rick Dutrow's barn at Belmont on Tuesday.

Parents Pride (Maclean's Music) and Chasing Artie (We Miss Artie), both owned by Ken Ramsey and trained by Joseph, collapsed and died April 29 and May 2, respectively. Parents Pride was pulled up at the five-sixteenths pole during his race before collapsing, while Chasing Artie collapsed after returning to the unsaddling area after his race.

“Twenty days ago, the primary trainer for C2 Racing Stable, Saffie Joseph Jr., was indefinitely suspended by a racetrack operator and since this suspension, we have not been successful in obtaining the necessary answers from several racing jurisdictions or racetrack operators regarding future race nominations and race entries by Saffie Joseph, Jr.,” the statement posted on Twitter reads.

“Due to the lack of answers by jurisdictions and operators, they have made it very difficult to manage the remainder of White Abarrio's four-year-old campaign, thus requiring us to make a trainer change for the remainder of the year. This is definitely not our preference; however, we had two choices, remain with Saffie not knowing if our race nominations or entries would be accepted or make a trainer change so we can nominate White Abarrio to the Metropolitain Mile on June 10, 2023 and future races.

“The decision to make a trainer change is solely based on the ability to manage White Abarrio. We have the utmost confidence and trust in Saffie Joseph, Jr. and his team. We know from first-hand experience and being at the barn on almost a daily basis for the past year that he and his team deeply care for th e welfare and condition of the horses. In fact, we remain fully committed to Saffie and our twelve horses currently under his care will remain as we are very confident Saffie will be reinstated and fully vindicated in the near future.

“White Abarrio will arrive at Belmont Park this morning to his new trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. to being preparing for the Metropolitan Mile on June 10, 2023.”

White Abarrio won a Gulfstream allowance/optional claiming race in his last start at Gulfstream on March 4, after running eighth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., presented by Baccarat. The allowance win was his first since taking the GI Florida Derby in April, 2022.

C2 Racing Stable is owned by Clint and Mark Cornett.

Joseph was suspended indefinitely by Churchill on May 4, two days before the Kentucky Derby, and his entrant, Lord Miles (Curlin) was scratched. “Given the unexplained sudden deaths, we have reasonable concerns about the condition of his horses, and decided to suspend him indefinitely until details are analyzed and understood,” said Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer of CDI. “The safety of our equine and human athletes and integrity of our sport is our highest priority. We feel these measures are our duty and responsibility.”

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Cornett Brothers Back in a Big Way

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL–While C2 Racing Stable is in its infancy, its founders, brothers Clint and Mark Cornett are not new on the racing scene. In fact, Mark Cornett has worked as a racing manager and bloodstock agent for over 25 years and even put together the partnerships that owned champions Blind Luck and Dubai Majesty. He and Clint campaigned horses a decade ago under a different banner.

The Cornett brothers returned to the game just last year under their new moniker with the goal of running in the GI Kentucky Derby. That dream could come true if their colt White Abarrio (Race Day) runs well Saturday in the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream.

“We have actually been in racing a while,” said Texas-based Clint Cornett, who was in Hallandale Beach to attend his colt's big race, as well as Wednesday's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. “We used to run under Turf Express in the early 2000s. In 2021, we decided to get back in the game and started C2 Racing Stable. We had been out of it since 2010.”

He continued, “I called Mark in the middle of 2021 and said let's get back in. I had a personal goal to run on the First Saturday in May and I told Mark to find us a horse. Little did I know, the second one we purchased is potentially going to be the horse.”

The Cornett brothers grew up in Texas and traveled to Louisiana to attend the races in their youth.

“Out of high school in the late eighties, we would head to Louisiana Downs from Dallas to watch the races,” Clint Cornett said. “It peaked our interest in becoming owners and we are pretty passionate about it.”

Their current stable is comprised of about 10 horses, most based at Gulfstream with Saffie Joseph, Jr. However, they do have a few at Oaklawn with Chris Hartman.

“Most of them are private purchases,” Clint Cornett said of their string. “We claim a few here and there and bought a filly [Wednesday] at the Gulfstream auction.”

That filly was Hip 83, a $250,000 daughter of the late Laoban. Consigned by Randy Bradshaw, she breezed in :10 1/5.

“Mark identified her and we were lucky enough to get her,” Clint Cornett said. “She will go to a training facility in Ocala until about August and then come back to the track.”

White Abarrio was one of the Cornett brothers' private purchases after he opened his account with a 6 3/4-length score at Gulfstream in his Sept. 24 debut, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Mark was at the track and saw him break his maiden at Gulfstream,” Clint Cornett said. “He called me and said, 'I just saw this horse run and I think we need to pull the trigger on him.' We talked to the owners and we were able to put together a private purchase. Luckily they were willing to sell.”

Part of the original ownership group, La Milagrosa, stayed in for a small piece and the colt was transferred to Joseph. He wired a one-mile optional claimer at Gulfstream in his first start for C2 Racing Stable Oct. 29 and finished third next out in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 27.

“He won his first start for us at Gulfstream, then we shipped him up to Churchill to run in the Jockey Club because we wanted to get him a run over that track,” Clint Cornett said. “That was his first time going two turns as well. He did not have the cleanest of trips. He got in some trouble, but we were pleased with the effort. It showed us everything we needed to know going forward.”

White Abarrio called it a season after that effort and made his sophomore debut back in Hallandale Beach in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 5. Dispatched at 6-1, the gray pressed the pace early and drew off to win by 4 1/2 lengths over next-out GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. victor Simplification (Not This Time), who also runs back here (video).

“He ran very well in the Holy Bull,” Clint Cornett said. “You have to have some racing luck and he got a clean trip. Prior to that race, he missed two works because he got ill, so we did not know how he was going to perform. He came out of that race well, but we decided to give him a few weeks off since he had been a little sick prior to the Holy Bull. We wanted to give his body time to recover. That is one reason we skipped the Fountain of Youth, but he has been training well into the Florida Derby.”

The businessman added, “He had a slight fever about a week and a half ago for a day or two, but that broke. He did a quick little blowout on Tuesday [3f in :34 4/5] for the race on Saturday.

Cornett said he is raring to go ahead of Saturday's big race and feels good about White Abarrio's chances.

“We feel pretty confident,” he said. “We feel he is a versatile horse with good tactile speed. We have Tyler [Gaffalione] aboard him and have all the confidence in Tyler that he will put him in a great position to be successful.”

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Florida Derby Likely Next for White Abarrio

C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's White Abarrio (Race Day), winner of Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S., will likely make his next start in the Apr. 2 GI Curlin Florida Derby, trained Saffie Joseph, Jr. confirmed Sunday morning.

“We talked it out over at dinner [Saturday] night, and I'd say its not set in stone, but he's going to straight to the Florida Derby,” Joseph said. “We don't have to decide now, but everyone was kind of on the same page to go straight to the Florida Derby. The spacing works well. He runs well fresh, and hopefully, it will set him up for the [GI] Kentucky Derby to run his best.”

A two-time winner at Gulfstream last fall, White Abarrio was making his first start since finishing third in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. last November.

“I'm very excited that he won as nicely as you could ask a horse to win a race, and it was the prep with the most depth so far. To be able to come out victorious, it was amazing,” Joseph said. “We had a little setback going into the race. We missed a couple works. You would think he should improve off that. He got a 97 Beyer [Speed Figure]. Just to think he could improve off of that–it's a good feeling.”

White Abarrio was purchased privately by brothers Mark and Clint Cornett following an eye-catching 6 3/4-length debut win going 6 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream Sept. 24.

“Mark Cornett called and said he bought a horse. I said, 'Wow, you bought that horse? He was very impressive,'” Joseph recalled. “He said, 'I bought him and vetted him already, just go pick him up when everything is cleared.' He didn't tell me he was going to buy him.”

Joseph continued, “He's an athletic horse. He's very light on his feet. He's a beautiful-moving horse. It carries over to race day, which is the main test. He saddles very professionally–cool, calm. He can get a little keen in the morning. When he gallops, he can get a little keen in the morning, but when you work him in company, he'll relax. It's a good attribute to have–to have speed but the ability to rate.”

Tami Bobo's Simplification (Not This Time), who recovered from a poor start and a wide trip to finish second in the Holy Bull, will likely start next in the Mar. 5 GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. The bay colt was coming off a wire-to-wire victory in the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man S.

“In the front or behind, he's a good horse,” Sano said. “The horse that won is an excellent horse. If my horse breaks good, the race could be different. The good news after the race is that he is a good horse, on the front or from behind.”

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