Tag: Triple Crown

Classic Causeway was first from the gate in the $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs and maintained control throughout to win by 2 1/2 lengths and stamp himself as an early favorite for the Kentucky Derby  (G1) this spring.

The son of Giant's Causeway moved to the top of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard upon earning 50 qualifying points for the Louisville classic May 7 at Churchill Downs. He has 66 total points, two more than Epicenter at 64.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Brian Lynch, Classic Causeway cruised through fractions of :23.67 the opening quarter mile and :48.17 for a half mile before getting the six furlongs in 1:13.18 with runner-up Grantham and Giant Game in pursuit. He bounded toward the finish line unchallenged to tally by 2 1/2 lengths while covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.90.

“He's just come into his own right now and just to watch him, he seems like a happy horse that enjoys his job,” Lynch said. “He's very, very good right now. He has always been a very good gate horse and he's a horse that actually loves the gate and is excited to walk into it. And as soon as they pop, he's off. That early speed is a great asset to have because you're going to stay out of trouble when you can break fast and clear. When you have a horse that can run them off their feet early, get a chance to take a breather and relax and still be able to finish, that is a great asset in a horse.”

Grantham held on for second, a neck in front of Shipsational in third, with Golden Ginger fourth in the field of 10.

The second, third and fourth finishers received 20, 10 and five Kentucky Derby qualifying points, respectively.

The 4-5 favorite, Classic Causeway is 2 for 2 this season after launching his 2022 campaign with victory in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) Feb. 12 at Tampa. He improved his career line to 3-1-1 from five starts, his record also including a third in the 2021 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland Race Course and second in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, both last fall.

“He gave me the same performance again (as in the Sam F. Davis),” Ortiz said of Classic Causeway. “He broke good. He gave me good position and I just went from there. He was traveling perfect all the way to the three-eighths-mile pole. When I asked him, he was there. Getting close to the wire, he was looking around a little bit, but I felt I had a lot more horse. He's acting like he can carry his speed more. These last couple of races he's been acting after the wire like he still has more left. I don't want to jinx it, but I think there is something more there.”

Classic Causeway, whose earnings stand at $511,100, races as a homebred for Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust. His dam is the Thunder Gulch mare Private World.

Grantham and Shipsational's connections were not disappointed in their horses' efforts.

“He ran super,” trainer Michael Maker said of Grantham. “I'll talk it over with the connections and see, but I don't see why we won't go on from here and move forward. I think a very good horse beat us today so I have no complaints. He gave us everything he had today.”

Luis Saez, aboard Grantham, added: “He ran a big race. I was riding him from the half-mile pole and I thought he'd get a little tired, but he kept going. He kept trying.”

Edward Barker, trainer of Shipsational, said: “He lost a little too much ground, but I think he ran as good as he can run. We'll be alright. We'll come back and get another race, and we'll get the (Road to the Kentucky Derby) points. I'm not disappointed by the way he ran. He's a nice colt who tries hard all the time.”

 

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Moments after Call Me Jamal's half-mile workout Thursday morning at Oaklawn, trainer Mike Puhich reiterated his position following the gelding's Feb. 26 entry-level allowance victory.

The decision on the next race for Call Me Jamal, Puhich said, will still be based largely on the next race for multiple stakes winner Secret Oath. After three dominant victories at the meet against 3-year-old fillies, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Secret Oath could challenge males for the first time in the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 2.

Puhich said Call Me Jamal will make his next start in the Arkansas Derby or the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 9 at Keeneland. He's just waiting on Oaklawn's leading lady.

“I think Lukie, he's going for the Derby,” Puhich said. “Did you see the work the day before yesterday? That filly gets better every fricking day. She looked liked a monster coming home.”

Secret Oath, in her first work since a 7 ½-length victory in the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) Feb. 26, covered a half-mile in :48.40 Tuesday morning. Secret Oath also is a candidate for the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles April 2. The Fantasy is Oaklawn's third and final Kentucky Oaks points race.

Sandwiched around a troubled seventh-place finish in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Jan. 29, Call Me Jamal has posted two meet victories at 1 1/16 miles, breaking his maiden Dec. 18 in his two-turn debut and capturing an entry-level allowance by 2 ¼ lengths Feb. 26 under Geovanni Franco.

Puhich had considered running Call Me Jamal in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds Feb. 26 before opting for the 1 1/16-mile undercard race. Call Me Jamal ran the distance over a fast track in 1:45.45. The winning time for the Rebel approximately two hours later – the surface was transitioning from fast to sloppy because of rain – was 1:45.69. Secret Oath won the Honeybee, run about three hours before the Rebel, in 1:44.74 for 1 1/16 miles. Ethereal Road, who finished third behind Call Me Jamal Dec. 18, returned to break his maiden Jan. 29 and run second, beaten a half-length, in the Rebel for Lukas.

The Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass will offer 170 points (100-40-20-10) to its top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Call Me Jamal likely would need a top two finish in either race to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters. The gelding has no qualifying points.

“A lot of it will, probably most of it will (depend on Secret Oath) and the weather and everything,” Puhich said. “But honestly, I like giving him a little more time. He's not going to be 3 until after the (Kentucky) Derby, so I'd lean more towards the Blue Grass. I think they're both going to be ultra-tough.”

Returning to the work tab for the first time since his allowance victory, Call Me Jamal covered a half-mile in :49.80 Thursday morning under Franco. Puhich called the move over a fast track a “maintenance” drill.

“He's doing well,” Puhich said.

A $70,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate, Call Me Jamal races for prominent Pacific Northwest heart surgeon Mark DeDomenico. The Malibu Moon gelding was named after Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.

Meanwhile, Lukas said Secret Oath and Ethereal Road came out of their recent works in good order and both probably will breeze twice more in advance of their April 2 races. Ethereal Road worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.40 March 6.

Ethereal Road is pointing for the Arkansas Derby, Lukas said Thursday morning, while Robert and Stacy Mitchell, who bred and own Secret Oath, continue to debate the Arkansas Derby and Fantasy.

From the first crop of deceased champion Arrogate, Secret Oath has been among the most dazzling horses at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting after winning a Dec. 31 allowance race by 8 ¼ lengths, $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29 by 7 ¼ lengths and romping in the Honeybee. Secret Oath already has secured a spot in the Kentucky Oaks – the nation's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies – after collecting 60 points for victories in the Martha Washington and Honeybee.

Lukas won the 1984 Arkansas Derby with Althea, a week after she finished second in the Fantasy.

“I've talked to Rob Mitchell and they're undecided,” Lukas said. “They're kind of leaving it up to me, too. One day, they lean towards maybe trying the Derby and another day they lean towards the Fantasy. I would say there's an outside chance that we'll go in the Derby. I'm going to try to do what they'd like to do.”

Ethereal Road ranks seventh on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 20 points following his runner-up finish in the Rebel, which marked his stakes debut. Other locally based horses pointing for the Arkansas Derby include Barber Road and Chasing Time, third and fifth, respectively, in the Rebel.

Trainer Chris Hartman said Rebel fourth Kavod is targeting shorter races. Dash Attack, who finished seventh in the Rebel, is pointing for the $400,000 Lexington Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles April 16 at Keeneland, trainer Kenny McPeek said in a Thursday email.

Dash Attack earned 10 points for his victory in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 mile Jan. 1. The Smarty Jones was Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races.

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Horses such as Classic Causeway, the authoritative winner of the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 12 and a Grade 1 and Grade 2-placed runner as a 2-year-old, don't come along every day.

Neither does the chance to upset such a talent for the lion's share of a $400,000 purse – not to mention coveted “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points.

Those facts have combined to create a 12-horse field of 3-year-olds for Saturday's Grade 2, mile-and-a-sixteenth Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the centerpiece of a Festival Day 42 card offering five stakes races, four graded, worth a combined $1-million in purse money.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is the 11th race on the card, with a scheduled post time of 5:23 p.m. The first of 12 races is at 12:15 p.m.

Classic Causeway, who is expected to be the wagering favorite, drew the No. 4 post position for the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for his Sam F. Davis Stakes victory, will again ride Classic Causeway for owners Kentucky West Racing, LLC and Clarke M. Cooper and trainer Brian Lynch.

The top four finishers will receive 50, 20, 10 and 5 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs. Classic Causeway is 11th in the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” standings with 16 points.

Among Classic Causeway's Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby rivals are Giant Game, the third-place finisher in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar, trained by Dale Romans and to be ridden by Joe Talamo from the No. 5 post; Major General, winner of the G3 Iroquois Stakes on Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs in his most recent start, trained by five-time Tampa Bay Derby-winning conditioner Todd Pletcher, with Javier Castellano named to ride from the No. 8 post; and two-time stakes winner and Sam F. Davis runner-up Shipsational, trained by Edward Barker, with Manuel Franco aboard from the No. 9 post.

The exceptional Festival Day 42 lineup also consists of the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf, which is the seventh race; the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf, which is the ninth; the Grade 3, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes for horses 4-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track, which is the eighth; and the $75,000 Columbia Stakes, for 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf, which is the 10th race.

One of the largest crowds in track history is expected Saturday. The 12-race card begins at noon, with gates opening at 10 a.m. General-admission tickets are $15, with the first 5,000 fans through the gates receiving a ”Mystery Mutuel Voucher” worth from $5-$1,000, with paid admission.

Nine horses are entered in the Hillsborough, in which a highly anticipated rematch is slated between 4-year-old fillies Bleecker Street (4-for-4) and Lady Speightspeare, the 1-2 finishers in the G3 Endeavour Stakes here on Feb. 5. Bleecker Street is trained by Chad Brown, who is tied with Pletcher for most Hillsborough victories with four apiece.

Bleecker Street will be ridden by Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr., the only jockey she has known. Lady Speightspeare, a Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old, is trained by Roger Attfield and has the services of Emma-Jayne Wilson, her only rider in six career starts.

Nine horses are entered in the Florida Oaks, with trainer Mark Casse's Mrs. Barbara and H. Graham Motion's Ambitieuse among the top contenders. Mrs. Barbara, who will be ridden by Rafael Manuel Hernandez, won the G3 Mazarine Stakes on Nov. 28 on the all-weather track at Woodbine in her most recent start, while Ambitieuse, whose jockey will be Franco, was second in the G3 Sweetest Chant Stakes on Feb. 5 at Gulfstream Park.

Also a strong contender is Alittleloveandluck, with Paco Lopez riding for trainer Mike Dini. She won the Ginger Brew Stakes on Jan. 1 on the turf at Gulfstream and was second in last month's Suncoast Stakes here on the main track.

A field of 10 older horses is expected for the Challenger Stakes. The seemingly omnipresent Pletcher has won the Challenger four times, including in 2017 with track record-holder Stanford, and he will send two out this year: 4-year-old Dynamic One, to be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., and 5-year-old War Stopper, who was third in last year's Challenger, to be ridden by Franco.

Also of considerable intrigue are Attfield's 5-year-old horse Shirl's Speight, who won the G3 Tampa Bay Stakes here on the turf on Feb. 5, with Wilson aboard; trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III's 4-year-old colt Greatest Honour, who won last year's G2 Fountain of Youth and G3 Holy Bull, to be ridden by Jose Ortiz; and Cody's Wish, who is riding a three-race winning streak for trainer Bill Mott, with Luis Saez riding.

There are 10 sophomore colts and geldings entered in the Columbia. Among the top contenders are the Lynch-trained Gingrich, with Saez named to ride, and Kitten Mischief, switching to turf after an eighth-place finish in the Sam F. Davis, trained by Jonathan Thomas, with Franco in the irons.

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