White Abarrio to run in Pacific Classic
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner who finished fourth in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, will make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 30 at Del Mar, co-owner Mark Cornett said Thursday.
On Monday, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said that White Abarrio was pointing to the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga on Aug. 31. But after further discussion, Cornett said he prefers the potential pace setup in the Pacific Classic, as well as getting a race over the track at which the Breeders’ Cup Classic will be run on Nov. 1.
“I think the pace setup will be more favorable to him. They’ve got a long run going into the first turn and he gets an out over the surface,” Cornett said. “And we’ re going to leave him out there.”
In 2023, when he was trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., White Abarrio won the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 6. By early September, he was shipped to Santa Anita, where he trained for two months before winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic at that Southern California track.
Though White Abarrio finished fourth, beaten four lengths by Sierra Leone in the Whitney, Cornett noted that his horse was wide on both turns and still posted a respectable 103 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We look for him to improve some more off that,” Cornett said.
Cornett said White Abarrio would ship to California on Aug. 21. He said that Irad Ortiz Jr. would ride him if he doesn’t have commitments on Aug. 30 at Saratoga. Otherwise, Tyler Gaffalione will ride him in the Pacific Classic. Ortiz is the regular rider of Mindframe, who runs in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Aug. 31.
White Abarrio, a 6-year-old son of Race Day, has won 10 of 23 starts and banked $7,091,920.
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