Classic Car Wash gets class test in stakes-worthy sprint

DEL MAR, Calif. – An exceptionally strong allowance sprint Friday at Del Mar offers a class test for Classic Car Wash, and a prep race for Fort Bragg.

The timing is perfect, both 3-year-olds are candidates for an important race Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The Grade 1 Malibu Stakes will be tougher than Friday’s second-level allowance, but trainer Mark Casse was not exaggerating much in his playful appraisal of the Friday field.

“It’s probably a Grade 2,” Casse said. It’s a good test for Casse-trained Classic Car Wash.

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The six-runner field includes Fort Bragg, Grade 3 winner and likely favorite. C Z Rocket is a Grade 2 winner who finished second in two Breeders’ Cup Sprints (2020 and 2022); Positivity is a California-bred stakes winner; Radical Right is Grade 3-placed; and Sir Atticus is a threat to steal it.

They sprint 6 1/2 furlongs Friday in the seventh race, the second start back for Classic Car Wash. In spring, the gelding was briefly on the Kentucky Derby trail and placed in a pair of Grade 3 races at Tampa Bay Downs – third in the Sam Davis, second in the Tampa Bay Derby.

But after his eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, it was clear to Casse and owner Gary Barber that Classic Car Wash needed time. “He’s a very light horse, he looks like a filly, and it was just all too much for him,” Casse said.

“We just gave him some time off, he put on some weight, and we’ll find out if he’s good enough,” Casse said referring to the Malibu. “If he isn’t, then we’ll come up with a plan B. But right now, plan A is to run [Friday], and with a good effort, come back in the Malibu.”

Classic Car Wash won his comeback last month at Gulfstream Park, earning a career-high 92 Beyer Speed Figure winning the entry-level allowance sprint with a pressing trip from the outside post. He figures for the same trip Friday, from the outside post with Umberto Rispoli.

The Friday allowance is the first autumn-meet starter for Casse, who plans to run three in upcoming turf stakes. On Dec. 2, Webslinger goes in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and Go With Gusto runs in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante for 2-year-old fillies. Casse will start Deadpan in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille for 2-year-olds on Dec. 3.

Classic Car Wash’s key rival Friday is Fort Bragg, third in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Sept. 30. With triple-digit Beyer Figures in two of his last three, Fort Bragg is the likely favorite Friday and a possible Malibu runner. He is trained by Bob Baffert, whose Malibu candidates could include Hejazi and Speed Boat Beach. Juan Hernandez rides Fort Bragg.

Sir Atticus, who dueled and finished fourth in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, breaks from the rail under Mike Smith and might be the one to catch. C Z Rocket, a 9-year-old entered for the $80,000 optional claiming tag, has won 12 races and more than $2 million.

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