Post Time: White Abarrio flashes late speed to win Breeders Cup Classic
ARCADIA, Calif. — On a gorgeous Southern California afternoon, a flash of white sped past the Santa Anita Park finish line, as White Abarrio swooped past the field to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The victory marked a return to high-profile racing for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., who seven months ago came back after a 10-year ban by New York racing officials. He captured the Classic for the second time, last winning it at Belmont Park in 2005 with Saint Liam.
The 4-year-old son of Race Day let Arabian Knight and Saudi Crown duel on the front end, setting fast early fractions to allow White Abarrio to make a move down the stretch to get outside and fly by his rivals.
White Abarrio is owned in partnership by C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC.
Dutrow was handed the horse by the ownership group after he was scratched on Kentucky Derby weekend from the Grade 1 Churchill Downs as part of a suspension of previous trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
Irad Ortiz Jr. rode the horse for the second time, winning the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga in early August. The long layoff did not affect the winner, who held off a late-closing Derma Sotogake by a length.
It was Ortiz's second Classic riding win, winning here at Santa Anita in 2019 aboard Vino Rosso.
With $3.12 million for winning the 40th running of the Classic added to the winner’s coffers, the speedy colt's career earnings jumped to $4,946,350. He completed the mile-and-a-quarter trek in 2:02.57, winning for the seventh time in 14 career starts. Ghostzapper still retains the Classic record time of 1:59.02, set in 2004.
The winner went off as the 5-2 favorite and returned $7.20 for the win, $5.20 to place and $3.80 to show.
The Japanese-bred UAE Derby winner Derma Sotogake finished second at 26-1 odds and paid $18.80 for place and $13 to show. Proxy put in a good run late, with jockey Joel Rosario aboard, to finish third and paid $7.80 to show and completed a $1 trifecta that paid $901.80. Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight finished fourth.
In 2011, Dutrow had his license revoked and was fined $50,000 after being charged with numerous medication and administrative violations. He fought the suspension until exhausting his legal appeals in 2013.
The trainer of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown is hoping that other owners will give him a chance coming off the suspension, proving he can still win the big ones.
“I don't feel that I am back at the top, but I feel that the white horse is,” said Dutrow. “I'm just hanging around him. As soon as I get stables like Todd (Pletcher) and Chad (Brown), then I'll feel like I'm back on the top.
“Hopefully, it helps me pick up nicer horses and more higher quality clients, because I want to be around good horses. I don't have a stable packed with good horses, and that's really what I want, and what I'm going to be striving for it. I'm going to be calling everybody (Sunday) when I get done with Disneyland and say, 'Hey, I am ready for some horses here.'”
Mark Cornett, racing manager and bloodstock agent for C2 Racing, had confidence in Dutrow when he handed over the horse to the embattled trainer.
“Churchill Downs, we had an issue where they scratched our horse," Cornett said. "NYRA decided they weren't going to accept the entries, nominations, and I wanted to run in the Met Mile. I've known Rick a long time. I know exactly what he's capable of.
"This horse was tailor-made for him. The horse at the time, in the middle of May, had blossomed like a horse I'd never seen – physically, girth, shoulder, hip – everything came together for this horse.”
After cutting him back to seven furlongs at Gulfstream, the owners could see he was ready for something big.
The colt ran well in the Metropolitan Mile on Belmont Stakes day, finishing third behind the heralded Cody’s Wish, just missing second by a head. He returned to a commanding six-length romp in the Whitney and trained up to the Classic from there.
In classic Dutrow fashion, he blew him out the morning of the race on Saturday for a furlong, a tactic he used with Big Brown with success.
Derma Sotogake, off since the Kentucky Derby, ran a huge second for trainer Hidetaka Otonashi. The son of New York-bred Mind Your Biscuits finished strongly behind the winner to take the second-place purse of $1.02 million.
Jockey Christophe Lemaire was proud of the fight in his sophomore colt.
"He was fighting at the end,” Lemaire said. “He proved today he was at that level. If I had to come alongside the winner, maybe the winner would have reacted again. The winner was in front of us and a little sharper today on the backstretch. That’s racing.”
Proxy, who runs regularly on the Southern California circuit, went off at 17-1 and was able to restart his engines and capture third. Rosario laughed in the racetrack tunnel after the race, discussing his horse’s trip.
“We looked like we were in a good spot,” said Rosario. “But then he fell back a little bit. He does this all the time; he leaves himself too much to do. Then, here he comes again. I thought he was going to get second. He runs when he wants to.”
The win by White Abarrio sets up an interesting few months as Eclipse voters start to decide who will be their Horse of the Year selection. Some interesting cases were made during the day with Cody’s Wish winning the Dirt Mile, Idiomatic the Distaff and Elite Power the Sprint. It could be one of the closest Horse of the Year voting in recent years.
Gene Kershner, a Buffalo-based turf writer, is a member of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, and tweets on X@EquiSpace.
