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Florida’s Best Face Off in FL Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL–The three winners of Florida's four previous GI Kentucky Derby prep races meet Saturday as they make their final starts ahead of the First Saturday in May in Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby.

Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) ruled the Tampa Bay Downs preps, scoring decisive victories in both the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 12 and the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 12. He hit the board in all three of his juvenile races, starting with a dominant debut at Saratoga Sept. 4. Finishing third after setting the pace in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland Oct. 9, he was a good second in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 27.

Irad Ortiz, who rode Classic Causeway to victory in both Tampa races, will remain aboard for Saturday's test. Conditioner Brian Lynch said he will leave the race in that leading rider's hands.

“Irad and Classic Causeway have some kind of chemistry there,” Lynch said. “They've got it going on. I'm not going to get involved too much. He's ridden him well the last two times. He is a good gate horse, so I am sure he is going to break running and I will let Irad take it from there.”

Classic Causeway's good gate speed usually leaves him on or near the front end. With a few other speedy runners signed on, it could set things up for Simplification (Not This Time), whose last two stellar efforts came from back off the pace. A front-running winner of the local Mucho Macho Man S. on New Year's Day, the bay was tossing his head when the gates sprang in the Feb. 5 GIII Holy Bull S. and got away last of them all. He rallied in the lane, but refused to switch leads, just holding off favorite Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) to be second to White Abarrio (Race Day). Away better next out under new pilot in Jose Ortiz, Simplification settled in mid-pack and made a wide late run to take the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. by 3 1/2 lengths, earning a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I'm very happy with the way he is coming into the race,” Ortiz said. “He has two great works [5f in :59 4/5 Mar. 26 and 5f in 1:01 4/5 Mar. 19]. There seems like there will be some pace in the race. The main thing for us will be to have a good start and get good position.”

White Abarrio was a well-beaten third behind Classic Causeway in the Kentucky Jockey Club after winning his first two starts at Gulfstream last year. He opened his 2022 account with a dominant score in the Holy Bull, stalking and pouncing his way to a 4 1/2-length success. Connections decided to bypass the Fountain of Youth to give the colt more time after a minor illness and he spiked another fever last week, but connections report he is back to normal. (Read more in Friday's C2 Racing Stable feature).

Six-time Florida Derby winner Todd Pletcher steps an impressive maiden winner up to the big leagues here in Charge It (Tapit). Missing by just a neck in his Jan. 8 unveiling here, the gray zipped home to an 8 1/2-length graduation next out going a mile at this oval Feb. 12, good for a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

“This is a big step up off of two starts,” Pletcher said. “He's been very impressive, not only in his training, but in his maiden win and I thought even in his debut, even though he didn't win. It was a strong race. We think he has the talent for it. Hopefully he has enough experience and seasoning because we are giving up a lot of that to some nice horses. We are optimistic at the same time.”

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Classic Causeway Could Be Missing Piece for Trainer and Sire

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL–Brian Lynch has already proven he is a talented trainer, conditioning the likes of Grade I winners Oscar Performance, Heart to Heart, Grand Arch and Coffee Clique. While he has won several graded events on dirt, all of his top-level scorers were on turf and the main thing missing from his resume is a Triple Crown contender.

Lynch finally has that this year in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby contender Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who already has enough points to be his trainer's first GI Kentucky Derby starter.

“It's very exciting,” Lynch said. “I come from a small, country town in Australia, so to think I could ever have a horse who could be competitive in the Kentucky Derby is a dream. It's a great personal accomplishment for me.”

He continued, “I've been lucky to come up with some good turf horses. I've never really had the opportunity to have one this good on the dirt. He is going to show us on Saturday just how good he is.”

Classic Causeway is two-for-two this season, winning the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 12 and the GII Tampa Bay Derby exactly one month later.

“He bounced out of those races like they were races that were getting him ready for this one,” Lynch said. “We hope he is ready to fire a big one. He seems like he's in good order. He is carrying great weight. His last race was enough to give me the confidence to say, 'Let's run him here and then give him five weeks to the Derby.'”

Several past winner of the Tampa Bay Derby have trained right up to the First Saturday in May.

When asked if that option was ever under consideration, Lynch said, “I think he is the sort of horse that would benefit from another race in him. The [Kentucky] Derby is such a grueling race. You have to be able to handle traffic. You have to be able to handle bumps and grinds. The more racing experience we can get into him, the more it will help on a big day like that.”

The competition Classic Causeway will face at Gulfstream Saturday is tougher than what he has faced in his last two efforts.

“He has to be tested at some stage,” Lynch said. “We are going to find out what we've got. I think this is a good place to give him a test. I am hoping the weather stays good.”

Thunderstorms are expected to hit Hallandale Beach Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, so there is a chance Classic Causeway could be running on a wet track for the first time Saturday. While Lynch hopes for nice weather, he said he is not concerned about track condition.

“He's just a runner,” the Australia native said. “He is going to run whether it's wet, turf, dirt or down a gravel road.”

Classic Causeway is one of just three foals from the final crop of the late, great Giant's Causeway, whose legacy as a racehorse and sire speaks for itself. However, the one thing missing from that Coolmore's stallion impressive resume is a Triple Crown race winner.

“He is the son of a great horse,” Lynch said. “Giant's Causeway was the Iron Horse. We hope a little of that is in Classic Causeway.”

Lynch also has two other stakes runners Saturday with Phantom Currency (Goldencents) in the GIII Appleton S. and Red Danger (Orb) in the Cutler Bay S.

Phantom Currency was last seen 13 months ago when winning Gulfstream's GII Mac Diarmida S. in February of 2021.

“He is a lovely old horse,” Lynch said. “Coming off of a year layoff is never easy. The mile is probably a bit short for him, but he is training lights out and goes into the race in good order. This race will set him up for the [GII] Elkhorn going 1 1/2 miles at Keeneland later in the month.”

Winner of the Pulpit S. last term, Red Danger was fifth after a wide trip in this venue's GIII Kitten's Joy S. Feb. 5 and rallied to be fourth after another wide journey in the local Palm Beach S. last out Mar. 5.

“He has had two troubled trips his last two starts down there,” Lynch said. “He never had a chance to get into the race. He is drawn out wide again, but I feel like he is doing well enough that if he just needs a little bit of racing luck. He is going into the race in as good of shape as we could have him.”

Rain or shine, the Lynch barn is primed to have a big day at Gulfstream Saturday.

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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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White Abarrio on Track for Florida Derby

C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio (Race Day) breezed an 'easy' five furlongs at Gulfstream Park in preparation for the Apr. 2 GI Curlin Florida Derby.

“Two weeks out, so far, so good. Two weeks is a long time with horses, but as far as everything has gone preparation-wise, I'm very happy with how things have gone,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said.

White Abarrio, who breezed in company for his fourth workout since capturing the Feb. 5 GIII Holy Bull S., was timed in 1:00.42, the fourth fastest clocking of 17 recorded at the distance.

“Today was more of an easier breeze with a good finish and a good gallop-out,” Joseph said. “Everything went to plan. He sat off a workmate; he relaxed well. I had his last quarter in :23, so it was a good finish.”

Tyler Gaffalione was aboard for the breeze.

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