As soon as the gates opened for the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs on March 12, it was easy to predict it was going to be another big day for the 3-year-old colt CLASSIC CAUSEWAY. The strapping chestnut son from the last crop of the late Giant’s Causeway from the mare Private World, by Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch, burst to the lead in a blink and led his rivals on a merry chase. Under Irad Ortiz, the homebred colt for Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper Family Living Trust galloped to a 2 1/2 length win after setting modest pace fractions.
His final time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.90 for an 84 Beyer Figure according to Daily Racing Form. Longshot Grantham (Declaration of War) pursued the winner and landed second by a neck over a group of other guys going for scraps including Shipsational and Canadian-owned Golden Glider, who races for Conrad Farm.
The victory earned Classic Causeway 50 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points, putting him No. 1 on the list with 66 points and guaranteeing him a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.
Grantham climbed into the Kentucky Derby picture by earning 20 points, giving him 21, while Shipsational earned 10 points to move to 14.
Early-morning rain and overcast skies did nothing to diminish the passion of a crowd of 5,381 and simulcast bettors who wagered $20,778,222 on the card, an all-time Tampa Bay Downs record and a 36-percent increase from 2021. The total handle figure was the highest of any racetrack in the country.
And the $3,686,488 wagered alone on the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is also an all-time record.
Trainer Brian Lynch said Classic Causeway is likely to race once more before the Kentucky Derby, perhaps on April 9 at Keeneland in the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass.
“It’s pretty exciting stuff,” he said. “He’s just come into his own right now and just to watch him, he seems like a happy horse that enjoys his job. He’s very, very good right now.”
Ortiz, who won three consecutive stakes on the card – the Grade III Florida Oaks on the turf on Dolce Zel, the Columbia Stakes on the turf on Heaven Street and the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby – made it sound as if he didn’t need to do much himself.
“He gave me the same performance again (as in the Grade III Sam F. Davis). He broke good, he gave me good position and I just went from there,” Ortiz said. “He was traveling perfect all the way to the 3/8-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,” said Ortiz, who has ridden nine winners in his two recent visits to the Oldsmar oval. “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.”
On the Festival Day 42 undercard, trainer Chad Brown engineered a tour de force by winning the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes on the turf with 4-year-old filly Bleecker Street and the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks with French-bred 3-year-old import Dolce Zel. Brown also sent out the runners-up in both races (Rocky Sky in the Hillsborough and Spicer in the Florida Oaks) and won the sixth race, a maiden special weight sprint, with 3-year-old filly Gina Romantica, a first-time starter ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
In the day’s other graded stakes, the Grade III, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger on the main track, lightly-raced 4-year-old colt Scalding turned back Cody’s Wish by a neck after a spirited stretch battle to prevail under jockey Javier Castellano.
Classic Causeway, owned by Patrick O’Keefe’s Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper, earned $210,000 for his third victory from five starts, raising his earnings to $511,100. He paid $3.60 to win as the heavy betting favorite.
His explosiveness from the gate was a big factor in the victory, Lynch said.
“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,” the conditioner said. “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.”
“He’s great when he leaves the gate because you don’t have to use him,” Ortiz explained. “You don’t have to ask him to do anything. He does it by himself, then he relaxes going into the first turn and on the backside. He waits for you. He’s a smart horse.”
Classic Causeway’s dam PRIVATE WORLD was bred by Kentucky West and she won the first three races of her career, all sprints, including the Anoakia and Moccasin Stakes at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park, respectively.
Private World has had seven previous foals to race, four winners, with the top one being Hollywood Icon, a 10-time winner of $112,000.
Second dam RITA RUCKER was an iron filly. The daughter of Dmitri won 21 races from 72 starts and had four stakes winners including the Hanock Valley and Ohio Valley Handicaps at Mountaineer. She was bought privately by O’Keefe, his first horse.
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