Giant's Causeway | Horse Racing Free Tips

Classic Causeway Looks To Hold Serve in Tampa Bay Derby

Currently ranked number one on the TDN Triple Crown Top 12, Kentucky West Racing LLC & the Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) will attempt to further cement his position as a chief protagonist of the 2022 sophomore crop when he jumps a warm favorite in Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on what projects a pretty wet afternoon on Florida's Suncoast.

One of three from the final crop of the 'Iron Horse' and one of two in the race, the blaze-faced chestnut made the most of a late start to his freshman campaign with an eye-catching debut score at Saratoga in September and was third from a horror draw when favored at 19-10 in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland the following month. A clear runner-up–with GIII Holy Bull S. hero White Abarrio (Race Day) second–in what has become a key running of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Nov. 27, Classic Causeway made all the running in this track's GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 12, controlling the pace while stuck down inside of a longshot rival before charging home 3 3/4 lengths to the good of New York-bred Shipsational (Midshipman).

“He came out of the [Sam F. Davis] very well, he's carrying good weight and he has great energy, so we're counting our blessings,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “He seemed to really like the racetrack, so we thought the smart thing was to take him back over there and have a crack at the Tampa Bay Derby.”

The last to complete the Davis/Derby double was Destin–a son of Giant's Causeway–in 2016, while the stallion's Carpe Diem took the 2015 Derby. Giant's Causeway is also the broodmare sire of 2013 Tampa Derby hero Verrazano (More Than Ready).

Giant Game (Giant's Causeway), third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but well beaten in the Holy Bull, resurfaces here after being scratched out of last weekend's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S.

Perfect in a pair of juvenile appearances, WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Major General (Constitution) makes his 3-year-old bow Saturday. The $420,000 Keeneland September grad narrowly bested a group of Saratoga maidens on debut Aug. 21 and made it two straight with a neck success in the GIII Iroquois S. in Louisville Sept. 18. The dark bay tries two turns for the first time here.

The well-tried Strike Hard (Flashback) won a Gulfstream allowance going the one-turn mile Dec. 5, earning 4-5 favoritism for the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man S. over the same track and trip. Beaten four lengths into second by Fountain of Youth hero Simplification (Not This Time) on that occasion, he endured a difficult wide trip in the Davis and although he failed to make up any ground in the final furlong, clawed his way past three rivals to finish fourth. He's slightly better drawn here and gets a significant jockey upgrade from Leonel Reyes to Luis Saez.

New shooters include Happy Boy Rocket (Runhappy), a good-looking allowance winner going two turns in Hallandale Jan. 29; Money Supply (Practical Joke), who Beyered 91 in breaking his maiden at first asking going six furlongs over this strip Feb. 12; and Belgrade (Hard Spun), who topped the horses-of-racing-age section at Keeneland January on a bid of $700,000 and exits a determined entry-level allowance score over six furlongs Feb. 19.

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Giant’s Causeway Colt Smart Winner at Meydan

1ST-Meydan, AED82,500, Cond., 3-3, NH/SH 3yo, 1400mT, 1:24.35, gd.
MONAADAH (c, 3, Giant's Causeway–Almusafa, by Haafhd {GB}), one of three horses-and now three winners–in the final crop of the legendary 'Iron Horse' Giant's Causeway, made his debut a winning one at Meydan on Thursday. Joining GIII Sam F. Davis S. hero and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity third Classic Causeway and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Giant Game, the colt punched the breeze from the bell while out widest of all. Near the vanguard despite his isolation, he sidled over to keep an eye on the leaders in midpack, but was no less than three wide rounding the bend. Still idling a bit for Jim Crowley, Monaadah was popped the question leaving the bend and set sail for the front, drawing even around the 400-metre mark. He edged past Moqadar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who had taken over from the longtime pacesetter Street Mood (Street Boss) inside the 300-metre pole and surged home to win by a widening 4 1/2 lengths. Silver Jubilee (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) made up some late ground to take second, two lengths to the good of Moqadar. Street Mood hung on for fourth, another 3 1/4 lengths behind. Monaadah is the fourth foal and third winner from three to race for his two-time winning dam Almusafa. The bay mare has a juvenile colt by The Factor and a yearling filly by Dads Caps. Out of the stakes-placed Basaata (Dixieland Band), she was bred to Cat Burgler last year. This is the same family as the Hong Kong wunderkind Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, AED49,500. VIDEO.
O-Shadwell. B-Shadwell Farm, LLC (KY). T-Saeed bin Suroor.

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Brian Lynch Talks Classic Causeway, John Sadler Gives Flightline Update On Writers’ Room

Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway stamped himself as a major GI Kentucky Derby contender Saturday when convincingly taking the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Brian Lynch, and Tuesday, Lynch joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland. Sitting down with Joe Bianca and Bill Finley as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Lynch talked about his colt–one of the final horses by late superstar sire Giant's Causeway–provided updates on other top horses in his barn, reminisced about his time spent as an assistant for Bobby Frankel and more.

“I thought I might have dodged the [GIII] Holy Bull into a tougher spot, once it had all come out on paper,” Lynch said of the Sam Davis. “Because it looked like it was a pretty competitive race and a lot of horses wanted to be forwardly placed and that was the way I'd seen him running his race. When I walked into the paddock, it was a really good-looking group of 3-year-olds. But then when he walked in, I thought, 'Ah, I'm OK.' He looked great. When that :22 and change came up [for the first quarter] and they straightened for the run down the backside, I could see [jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s] body language telling me, 'I'm cruising. I'm comfortable. This [other horse] is hanging on to me, but I've got plenty of horse.' When we got halfway around the far turn, you could see them all try and edge up on him, but Irad still hadn't moved a finger. So that gave me plenty of confidence that he had some horse for his run down the lane.”

Asked about his time working for the legendary Frankel, Lynch said, “I trained for a lot of years out in California on my own and I'd known Bobby for many, many years before I went to work for him. I trained for Golden Eagle Farm, and when Mr. [John] Mabee died, Bobby said to me, 'They're going to downsize that operation, you need to come work for me. We've got a lot of 2-year-olds coming in here.' He talked me into coming out to Saratoga and taking a string of horses for him there. And every day, I think of what a blessing that was. It was my best move. He exposed me to a lot of good clients and a lot of good horses. When I think back, Bobby was probably not the greatest teacher, but if you were around him and didn't learn a lot, shame on you. He had that sixth sense, and he was all about the horse first. It was just a great experience to be around him for so many years, and it gave me a good feel for how to manage horses, how to get them to the races and how to keep them around.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, Lane's End, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the hosts welcomed John Sadler to give an injury update on his barn superstar Flightline (Tapit) and held their annual 3-year-old fantasy draft. Click here for the video podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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From ‘Collector’s Item’ to Derby Trail Kingpin

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton

Five months ago, when Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) caught bettors napping on the final Saturday of the Saratoga season by unleashing a 6 1/2-length, front-running smackdown at 13-1 odds in his first career start, trainer Bryan Lynch told TDN he knew he had a “collector's item” on his hands.

Although a shimmering debut didn't hurt, the significance of Lynch's appraisal was pegged to the colt being one of only three named foals from the abbreviated final crop of prolific sire Giant's Causeway.

Now, after a grace-under-pressure performance in the Feb. 12 GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs that launched Classic Causeway into the elite-level tier of GI Kentucky Derby contenders, that assessment needs to be recalculated with the colt's sky's-the-limit potential carrying more weight in the equation.

The Sam Davis has never produced a Derby winner. Of late it's even gained a reputation as a “trap” race known for derailing some pretty decent Derby contenders. Going into this year's running, the last four favorites (and five of the last six) had lost the Davis. In fact, for one of them, the Davis was part of a dizzying 10-loss tailspin before an improbable mid-career turnaround. That would be the 2019 off-the-board chalk Knicks Go (Paynter), who last Thursday–three years and one day after his lackluster Davis defeat–got crowned as 2021's Horse of the Year.

The burden of favoritism had been too much to bear for Classic Causeway in his second and third lifetime starts, but each of those losing efforts left enough of a positive impression that the homebred for Kentucky West Racing (Patrick O'Keefe) and Clarke Cooper was capable of better things in his sophomore season.

In the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. Oct. 9, Classic Causeway ambitiously forged to the front from post 13 over Keeneland's short-stretch configuration for 1 1/16 miles when facing winners and attempting two turns for the first time. He lasted for third behind well-meant victor Rattle N Roll (Connect).

After Lynch schooled Classic Causeway to relax while still remaining a pace presence, the colt broke running from post one in the Nov. 27 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. and showed he was capable of conceding the lead. Responding effectively in stalk mode, he tipped out to the three path on the far turn and was on the move with 'TDN Rising Star' and eventual winner Smile Happy (Runhappy) at the head of the lane. Classic Causeway couldn't match strides with a very impressive undefeated colt at Churchill Downs that day, but he gave Smile Happy a run for his money until the eighth pole and was hardly disgraced in defeat.

Off those efforts, a brief break, and a series of breezes up to seven furlongs at Palm Meadows, Classic Causeway was bet down to favoritism for the Sam Davis (his price actually drifted up twice during the running of the race, from 6-5 to 3-2 before closing at 8-5, which is something you rarely see happen to a front-running fave in a $600,000+ win pool). He flashed out of the gate like a pro, then was immediately confronted by a keyed-up long shot from the outermost post. Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. didn't use Classic Causeway overly hard to maintain the lead, but he didn't back away from the fight, either, allowing his colt to spar spiritedly at the head of a closely bunched pack of pursuers.

Classic Causeway ripped through the first quarter of the 1 1/16-mile race in a sprint-like :22.66, then toned down the middle two fractions to a more sensible :24.01 and :24.84, briefly losing the lead for a stride or two at the half-mile chart call. Still confidently handled at the head of the homestretch, he spun out to the three path, with three legitimate win threats hot on his heels.

One right-handed crack of the crop was enough to elicit an energetic spurt out of Classic Causeway three-sixteenths out, and when the colt drifted out to the five path while still in control, Ortiz gave him several more right-handed reminders upon cresting the furlong grounds, which had the effect of producing a “Wow!” gear that punctuated a visually impressive burst to the wire. The winning margin was 3 3/4 geared-down lengths in 1:42.80, good for an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.

Classic Causeway's fourth quarter split was :25.31. Of particular note was his in-the-clear final sixteenth in :5.98, the only sub-six-seconds clocking among this season's Derby preps at 1 1/16 miles from the Breeders' Cup onward.

“The [early] fractions had me a little bit worried,” Lynch said. “But his body language, the way his ears were twitching down the backside, gave me the feeling [Ortiz] had plenty of horse,” Lynch said post-race.

Lynch said Sunday morning that Classic Causeway is likely to return to Tampa in four weeks for the GII Tampa Bay Derby. “He's doing great,” the trainer said from his Palm Meadows stable. “He never left an oat and looks happy and spunky.”

Only Phantom Jet (1987), Speedy Cure (1991), Marco Bay (1993), Thundering Storm (1996), Burning Roma (2001) and Destin (2016) have accomplished the Sam Davis-Tampa Derby double.

Classic Causeway's win underscores the Kentucky Jockey Club as the key juvenile race among the preps for the '22 Derby. Two other colts from that race also scored in stakes in their next starts: Third-placer White Abarrio (Race Day) won the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Feb. 5; sixth-place finisher Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) upset the GIII Lecomte S. at the Fair Grounds Jan. 22.

Smile Happy, the Kentucky Jockey Club S. winner, is currently rated No. 1 on the latest TDN Derby Top 12. He'll be in action this coming Saturday in an absolutely loaded edition of the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds. Three other Top 12 horses are entered, and Smile Happy will almost certainly have to win—and win emphatically–to keep from losing his top-of-the-totem-pole spot to Classic Causeway.

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