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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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FOY Contenders Breeze in South Florida

The South Florida worktab was dotted with several horses tuning up Saturday morning for a possible start in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 5.

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm LLC's 'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready) will be in search of a third win in as many starts in the Fountain of Youth and tuned up for the 8 1/2-furlong test with a bullet half-mile in :48.05 (1/32) Saturday morning at trainer Todd Pletcher's base at Palm Beach Downs.

He worked great, I was very pleased with it,” said the conditioner, who also breezed GII Remsen S. hero Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo, 4f, :49.37) and GII Iroquois S. hero Major General (Constitution, 5f, 1:02.29). Both are under consideration for the Fountain of Youth.

“I don't know for sure. I have to talk to Jerry Crawford about Mo Donegal tomorrow,” Pletcher said. “I talked to [WinStar's] Elliott [Walden] a little bit this morning. One of my concerns is that it looks like it's going to be a big field. You might enter and draw a bad post. We might take a look at entering both Mo Donegal and Major General. All things being equal, Major General will probably go to the [Mar. 12 GII] Tampa Bay Derby.”

Rattle N Roll (Connect), winner of last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, prepped for his seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth by drilling five-eighths of a mile in :58.67 Saturday morning over the Gulfstream Park main track.

“It went really well. The horse worked super,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “He worked fantastic and came out of it good. We're going to do a little gate work Wednesday, and he's all set.”

Howling Time (Not This Time), unraced since his fifth-place effort to Smile Happy (Runhappy) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in late November, went five furlongs in :58.54, while his Dale Romans stablemate Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) covered a similar distance in :59.04.

Simplification (Not This Time), an excellent second in the GIII Holy Bull S., went five furlongs in 1:02.66 at Gulfstream Park for trainer Antonio Sano.

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Pletcher Plans: Mo Donegal Could Target Wood Memorial, Emmanuel To Fountain Of Youth

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has 42 horses nominated to the Triple Crown, and offered up plans for some of the top Kentucky Derby hopefuls in his barn to the Thoroughbred Daily News this week.

Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), winner of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct and last-out third in Gulfstream's G3 Holy Bull, could head back to New York for his final Derby prep. How Mo Donegal trains over the next few weeks will determine whether the colt runs again prior to the G2 Wood Memorial on April 9. The Donegal Racing/Jerry Crawford-owned colt has won two of his four starts thus far, and was acquired as a $250,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale.

“The Wood Memorial is the 100-point race that we've got him targeted for since he won the Remsen at Aqueduct,” Pletcher told TDN. “I actually thought he ran a sneaky good race the other day [in the Holy Bull]. He was making up some ground late. It's just that everything kind of unfolded the wrong way for him and it took him a while to get out in the clear and able to make his run. It was the kind of effort we were hoping for, even though it wasn't the result we were wanting.”

Emmanuel (More Than Ready) has won a maiden race at Gulfstream and a first-level allowance at Tampa Bay Downs for owners WinStar Farm and Siena Farm, and could next be pointed to the G2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream on March 5. Pletcher has penciled in the colt, a $350,000 yearling at Keeneland September, as progressing through the G1 Florida Derby en route to Louisville.

Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) required three starts to break his maiden, but won a first-level allowance at the Fair Grounds on Jan. 22 to set him up for a run in the G2 Risen Star on Feb. 19. The homebred Sumaya U.S. Stable colt is out of stakes-winner Lights of Medina.

Major General (Constitution) hasn't started since winning the G3 Iroquois at Churchill Downs, but could reappear in the Mar. 12 G2 Tampa Bay Derby. Owned by WinStar and Siena Farm, the undefeated colt was a $420,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September.

Pletcher Lays Out Plans For Top 3-Year-Olds

With less than three months remaining before the running of the GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Todd Pletcher, with 42 horses nominated to the Triple Crown, will be active in a number of Derby preps as he prepares his troops for his annual invasion of Churchill Downs. Pletcher divulged his plans during this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast, which will be available Wednesday afternoon.

Despite finishing third as the favorite in last Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream, Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) may represent Pletcher's best chance of winning a third Kentucky Derby. His main target will be the GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Apr. 9. It has yet to be decided if Mo Donegal, the winner of last year's GII Remsen S., will have another race before that.

“We know he likes Aqueduct, so the Wood Memorial is a logical spot for him,” Pletcher said. “I spoke to [owner] Jerry Crawford Monday and we're sort of weighing our options and going to wait and see how he trains before we decide if he's going to have a prep race in between now and the Wood Memorial. The Wood Memorial is the 100-point race that we've got him targeted for since he won the Remsen at Aqueduct. I actually thought he ran a sneaky good race the other day [in the Holy Bull]. He was making up some ground late. It's just that everything kind of unfolded the wrong way for him and it took him a while to get out in the clear and able to make his run. It was the kind of effort we were hoping for, even though it wasn't the result we were wanting.”

Pletcher has some up-and-comers to keep an eye on, particularly in Emmanuel (More Than Ready). After breaking his maiden at Gulfstream, he won a Jan. 30 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs.

“Emmanuel really liked Gulfstream in his debut and feel like if we're able to continue moving forward the [GI Curlin] Florida Derby could be a potential final prep for him,” the trainer said. “Emmanuel is definitely one that we're pretty high on. He's no longer under the radar, even though he's only had a maiden win and a win at Tampa. Right now, we have him pointed for the [GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth.”

So far as why he sent Emmanuel to Tampa for what looked on paper like a soft spot, Pletcher said he's had a lot of success with the 3-year-olds he has prepped at that track.

“Part of the strategy was trying to get him around two turns,” he said. “We've been able to accomplish that at Tampa over the years and we've had pretty good luck going there. Both Super Saver and Always Dreaming ran races at Tampa before they won their Derbies. We've had a number of horses that have gone through there that have gone on to do well. It's a good place to leg a horse up and it's a safe track. Getting some two-turn experience there is key.”

Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) was last seen winning an allowance race at Fair Grounds and before that he broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs. He will soon be back on his way to New Orleans to run in the Feb. 19 GII Risen Star S.

Since he hasn't run since a win in the Sept. 18 GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill Downs, Major General (Constitution) has flown under the radar this year, but Pletcher said he is nearing his return. Pletcher said he will most likely start next in the Mar. 12 GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby.

So far as nominating so many horses to the Triple Crown, Pletcher said he doesn't look at just the Derby but at the GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S. as well.

“We do these nominations for the Triple Crown,” he said. “You're doing it for all three races and the Belmont is not until the first Saturday in June. That's a long way away and we like to keep all of our options open. Some of these horses might not be Derby or Preakness horses, but we feel like we could sneak up on the Belmont if they were able to win a maiden and then go to a race like the Peter Pan. The 42 number is probably a little bit misleading when you think of it in terms of Derby prospects.”

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