Tag: White Abarrio

Eclipse Awards 2023: A Rough Morning Line For Horse of the Year

The winners in 10 equine and seven human categories will be revealed beginning around 7:30 Thursday evening at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. A who's who of the American Thoroughbred industry will be dressed to the nines as the newest group of champions is announced.

Of the equine divisions–as is frequently the case–the majority feature little suspense, while there exists a fair bit of intrigue and arguments to be made for multiple horses in the older dirt male division, the female sprint division, the female turf category, and, not least, for the granddaddy of them all: the statuette for American Horse of the Year for 2023.

By the estimation of this writer, five horses amassed a body of work deserving of a spot on the ballot for the top prize. I am not a morning-line maker, so please no critiquing of the odds, but to follow is a highly unscientific attempt at handicapping those who could be announced as Horse of the Year finalists during Thursday's ceremonies (Ed's note: while the divisional finalists were announced a few weeks ago, the finalists for Horse of the Year were not revealed at that time).

White Abarrio (Race Day, 5-2): To win the GI Whitney S. and GI Breeders' Cup Classic consecutively and in a fashion as convincingly as he did, the Rick Dutrow, Jr.-trainee got my vote for Thursday's top honors. Though he was fairly well-beaten by the candidate below in the GI Met Mile–while admittedly in receipt of six pounds–the effort was anything but a disaster, and he did turn the tables in no uncertain terms in the Whitney, when Cody's Wish was sportingly tried over a stamina-sapping nine furlongs. He's my idea of Horse of the Year, but perhaps not the likeliest winner.

Cody's Wish (Curlin, 6-5): The lone blemish in the Whitney aside, and I am willing to be forgiving of it, Cody's Wish's campaign was brilliant, as he won three times at Grade I level (one more than White Abarrio) and once at Grade II. To take something of a contrarian point of view, his Vosburgh didn't exactly pass the eye (or speed) test and he was very game–if not spectacular–in defending his GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. The story is heartwarming and it sadly turned heartbreaking, but I am duty bound to judge horses' ability. Sentimentality might win the day and there were some misguided opinions that 'the story matters sometimes' and not what these athletes did on the racetrack, but I went the other direction in a category this guy may well win.

Elite Power (Curlin, 8-1): One of his spectacular sire's three Eclipse winners last year and it would be a surprise if he didn't become the third back-to-back winner in the sprint division. But did he do enough to be HOTY? Probably not. The big chestnut won the season series with fellow finalist Gunite (Gun Runner) by a score of 3-1 (including the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint) and he was dominating in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Enormous talent who has every chance to make his mark as a stallion at Juddmonte, but no better than the distant third choice here.

Up to the Mark (Not This Time, 20-1): In another year, Up to the Mark–who will be favored in the male turf division–may have had a say here, as he sensationally won Grade I races at a mile, nine furlongs and 10 furlongs, and was hardly disgraced when trying a mile and a half for the first time in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. It is no stretch to mention him in the same breath as Bricks and Mortar and Wise Dan–he's not out of his depth there–but unlike those two, he is an unlikely winner here, though it wouldn't be a total shock if he made the final three.

Idiomatic (Curlin, 50-1): She is regally bred and it would be a stretch to call her a 'rags-to-riches' story given her pedigree and connections. But it's fair to say she surprised even those closest to her in 2023, as she went from a Turfway allowance win on Jan. 4 to close an eight-for-nine season with a tough-as-nails victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. According to published reports, she remains in training as a 5-year-old in 2024. That's good news for fans, and bad news for anyone who owns anything in the Distaff division. Who knows, maybe she scoops this award at next year's ceremony.

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C2 Racing Stable Sells An Interest In White Abarrio To HRH Prince Faisal Of Saudi Arabia

Brothers Mark and Clint Cornett, who race under the name of C2 Racing Stable, have taken on HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia as a partner in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day). The 5-year-old will make his next in the Feb. 24 running of the G1 Saudi Cup. Mark Cornett said that C2 remains the majority owner, but declined to say how big of a percentage was sold.

The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch.

Prince Faisal is the owner who lured trainer Jimmy Jerkens to Saudi Arabia to train a string of his horses.

“Winning the Saudi Cup is very important to them,” Mark Cornett said. “It's in his backyard and he'll be representing his country in an international race. You're going to have four or five Japanese horses, horses from all over the world. It's very important to them that they represent the Saudi people.”

Cornett said the deal has been in the works for about four weeks.

“We've been working on this for about a month,” he said. “They've flown over a couple of times to watch the horse breeze. Their vet has come over twice from France to do his due diligence. They ended up pulling the trigger on it and we consummated the deal this week. They're going to be great partners for us and we will be great partners to them. We look forward to doing additional things with them in the future.”

White Abarrio | Benoit

White Abarrio has remained at Santa Anita since winning the Breeders' Cup Classic there. Cornett said the gray will board a plane from LAX to Miami Feb. 13. From there, he will be joined by South Florida-based horses who will also be running on the Saudi Cup card before heading straight to Riyadh.

Though the owners have not committed to any races beyond the Saudi Cup, Cornett said the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 30 is definitely a possibility.

“The Dubai World Cup is definitely on our list of races,” he said. “He'll have to run the right way in the Saudi Cup and come out the race the right way. All the stars are going to have to line up. If that happens, we'll go in the Dubai World Cup. If not, we'll bring him back to New York and take a look at the Met Mile.”

White Abarrio worked four furlongs (:47.60, 6/73) on Friday morning at Santa Anita.

“The horse is doing better than he's ever done,” Cornett said. “I talked to (trainer) Rick (Dutrow) this morning. He breezed a half in :47 3/5 as good as he ever has and came out of the work great. The horse is definitely on his game.”

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White Abarrio Works for Saudi Cup

White Abarrio (Race Day) worked a half-mile in :50.60 at Santa Anita Sunday morning as he continues to prepare for the Feb. 24 $20 million Saudi Cup.

“We were very happy with his breeze,” assistant trainer Chip Dutrow told 1/ST Racing's Zoe Cadman. “He makes it look easy. We know just by watching Emily (Ellingwood) with her smile after the breeze that she's very happy with him. That's our cue, and we got that today, so everybody's happy. There were some times when we were going up to the Breeders' Cup that we were having feet trouble and she wasn't happy but those times are over.”

The winner of the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic will make his first start in Saudi Arabia since his Classic win.

Ellingwood, a jockey on the Southern California circuit, has been serving as White Abarrio's regular exercise rider since last fall.

How important is she to the operation, Cadman asked?

“These two are a great team,” said Dutrow. “It's like 1 and 1A, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. They know each other so well. They're in love with each other. It's a great story.”

Ellingood also pronounced herself pleased with the work.

“It was great,” she said. “He went a half, out five, he galloped out really strong. I went to pull up to jog him off and workers came by and he tried to take off again. That's a good sign, and if I had let him, he would have gone around again.”

“It's been quite a journey,” she said of the partnership. “I had just been galloping, trying to work hard and get mounts as a jockey and this opportunity came up and I couldn't pass it up. I'm really grateful for the connections and Doug O'Neill for recommending me as a rider for this wonderful horse. He's honestly a great horse to get on in the morning. He pretty much just trains himself and takes me along for the ride. I always look forward to riding him in the morning.”

 

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Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner White Abarrio Training Up to Saudi Cup

Horse of the Year candidate and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) will kick off his 5-year-old campaign in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Feb. 24. A subsequent start in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Mar. 30 could be in the cards as well.

The Rick Dutrow, Jr.-trained C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC colorbearer has breezed three times at Santa Anita since Christmas Eve, including a five-furlong move in 1:00.40 (9/58) Jan. 8.

“He's gonna go over (to Saudi Arabia) from Santa Anita basically 10 days before,” C2 Racing Stable's Mark Cornett said. “That's when the plane goes over there from Miami. So, he'll fly into Miami from L.A., then he'll get on the flight with the rest of the horses from the U.S. going over to Riyadh.”

Cornett continued, “He's on his game, I'll tell you that. We backed off him a little bit (after the Classic). He's been working very good. They're easy works, nothing serious yet. The horse is such a good work horse.”

The Saudi Cup will be White Abarrio's first start since concluding his 2023 season with a powerful win as the 5-2 favorite in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 4. The longshot runner-up that day Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) could potentially return for a rematch in the Saudi Cup.

Was a prep race–i.e., the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27–ever in play for White Abarrio before heading to the Middle East?

“Not really,” Cornett replied. “The timing, I don't understand why the Pegasus doesn't move their race and give you some more time to the Saudi Cup. It just isn't enough time with flying and everything else. You can't justify going to that race when you've got $20 million on the table.”

C2 Racing Stable's Mark Cornett (center) | Benoit

White Abarrio's seven-career victories have come at six different distances ranging between 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. The 1 1/8-mile distance of the Saudi Cup is contested around one turn. The handsome gray's resume includes two wins at the Saudi Cup distance, albeit both around two turns, in the 2022 GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and last summer's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga.

“We think that's gonna be what he really wants to do,” Cornett said. “He can do pretty much everything–he can sprint, he can go seven furlongs, he can go a one-turn mile, he can go 1 1/4 miles, etc. The one-turn 1 1/8 miles could be his absolute best.”

As for the appeal of the Saudi Cup, Cornett continued, “It's the distance and the purse money. It's those two factors and you combine them. Plus, it leaves the door open for the Dubai World Cup. It's possible. Obviously, we would be over there already. But the horse has to come out of the race the right way. He has to run the right way, too. If he has to run too hard, we'll pass and get him back over here and get him ready for the Saratoga meet.”

In addition to a runaway win in the Whitney with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 110 and a decisive victory in the headliner at the Championships three months later, White Abarrio's 2023 season also featured a better-than-it-looked third-place finish after stumbling at the start in the prestigious GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park June 10. Previously campaigned by Saffie Joseph, Jr., White Abarrio was transferred to Dutrow prior to the Met Mile.

White Abarrio is a finalist for champion older dirt male at the upcoming 53rd Eclipse Awards to be held at The Breakers Palm Beach Jan. 25. Horse of the Year finalists won't be announced until that evening.

“It's nice to be in the conversation,” Cornett said. “In my opinion, he won the two most prestigious route dirt races in the U.S.– the Whitney and the Breeders' Cup Classic. Obviously, he doesn't have the storyline of a Cody's Wish. But it just depends how much the voters are gonna factor that into the equation.”

Cornett concluded, “We're not in it to win these things. We're in it to manage the horse the right way. Things that are out of our control, whatever happens, we're ok with that.”

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