Classic Causeway Victorious in Sam F. Davis Return

The TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) at Del Mar was the most prestigious race for 2-year-olds in North America last fall, but the Nov. 27 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs has been the more impactful race in the months since.

Classic Causeway, second in the Kentucky Jockey Club, became its third participant to capture a graded stakes for sophomores in 2022 when rolling by 3 3/4 lengths in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 12. His success followed the achievements of Call Me Midnight , who took the Lecomte Stakes (G3) after a seventh in the KJC, and White Abarrio , who triumphed in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) after a third in the KJC.

Classic Causeway wasted no time Saturday in announcing his presence. Fresh in his first racing appearance this year, he quickly struck the front early under Irad Ortiz Jr. and sparred with stretch-out sprinter Little Vic  through fractions of :22.66, :46.67, and 1:11.51.

Leaving the second of two turns, Little Vic began to retreat, leaving Classic Causeway by himself. Under right-handed urging from Ortiz in early stretch, Classic Causeway opened up, and Ortiz shifted to a confident hand ride over the race's closing stages. The winner, trained by Brian Lynch, completed 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.80, paying $5.20.

Ortiz, who won three of the four stakes at Tampa on Saturday and five races on the afternoon, said Classic Causeway felt comfortable throughout.

"I was getting pushed by the speed horse, but my horse is fast, too," Ortiz said. "He was traveling perfect and I didn't want to take too much out of him and take him back too much.

"He broke good, so I just let him be free out there. I knew I had horse under me the whole time. Brian did a great job bringing him up to the race."

New York-bred stakes winner Shipsational , starting around two turns for the first time in his season debut, rallied under Javier Castellano to grab second. Volcanic , winner of a fast maiden race at Gulfstream Park Jan. 8, was a wide third, followed by Gulfstream Park's Mucho Macho Man Stakes runner-up Strike Hard  in fourth.

Off a step behind his rivals and eighth into the first turn, Shipsational performed well in his first start in open company, racing between rivals late on the backstretch and second turn before closing past horses when angled out for the stretch.

"I like my horse and the way he did it," said Castellano. "Today was the first time he had to come from way back, and he finished really well. I'm very satisfied with the way he ran and what he did today."

The 3-year-old's trainer, Eddie Barker, said his Tampa-stabled runner would likely race next in the $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 12.

"I thought he ran giant," Barker said. "There were a lot of question marks going in—whether he could get the distance, whether he could get two turns, and it was his first time going against open company. He was training like a real professional for the last five weeks.

"I'm staying right here for (the Tampa Bay Derby)," Barker said. "If we get lucky enough in there, then we've got enough points to go where we want. I think he's the real deal—I am tickled pink."

The top four finishers earned qualifying points on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs. With six points already earned as a 2-year-old, when he was third in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) and runner-up in the KJC, Classic Causeway moved into first place on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 16 points.

"It was a great effort. He showed up today," Lynch said in a TVG interview. "We always hoped that he was of this quality, and (in) his first start of his 3-year-old year, he took the step he needed to keep the dream alive."

Winning Trainer Brian Lynch speaks with @MattCTVG on Classic Causeway's exciting performance in the G3 Sam F. Davis Stakes @TampaBayDowns! #RoadtotheDerby @SpendthriftFarm pic.twitter.com/EScoCtgvsB

— TVG (@TVG) February 12, 2022

Bred in Kentucky, Classic Causeway is one of just three foals from the final crop of elite stallion Giant's Causeway, who died April 2018 at age 21 following an illness. Classic Causeway is a homebred for owners Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper.

"It's quite a group of eclectic characters, this group that owns this horse," Lynch said. "You couldn't go to a casting studio in Hollywood and come up with a better group of guys."

Classic Causeway is the first stakes winner produced from the Thunder Gulch  mare Private World , who won the Moccasin Stakes and Anoakia Stakes as a juvenile in Southern California in 2005. Eight of her 10 foals have raced, with five victorious. Her two unraced foals are a Lookin At Lucky   2-year-old filly and a Justify   yearling colt. She was bred back to Justify for 2022.

With Saturday's victory, Classic Causeway improved his record to 2-1-1 in four starts and increased his earnings to $301,100.

Lynch was noncommittal about Classic Causeway's next start but suggested the four weeks between the Sam F. Davis and the Tampa Bay Derby is manageable.

Video: Sam F. Davis S. (G3)