White Abarrio Exits Whitney in Fine Fettle

C Two Racing Stable and Antonio Pagnano's White Abarrio (Race Day), a 6 1/4-length winner in Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, exited his victory in good order, according to trainer by Rick Dutrow, Jr. Sunday morning.

“I don't know if it's sunk in yet,” said Dutrow, Jr. who celebrated his 64th birthday Saturday. “I kept anticipating another horse to come challenge him. I felt extremely comfortable when he broke good and was laying off the speed horse–I felt any time that he wanted him, he could have him. I waited for someone to come to our horse and they never did. It was so exciting.”

With Saturday's “Win and You're In” victory, the 2022 winner of the GI Florida Derby earned a berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

Previously trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., he marked his debut for Dutrow, Jr. with a troubled third-place finish in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. June 10 at Belmont.

“He is extremely cool on the track,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “He absolutely loves it and he is getting stronger by the minute it seems. So, when a horse has that motor, those two things add up to a whole lot more.”

Following Saturday's win, Dutrow, Jr. noted that White Abarrio thrives on spacing between his races and that he would likely ship the horse out west to train up to the Breeders' Cup Classic.

“I didn't have to think about it,” said Dutrow, Jr. of the decision. “All you have to do is read his PPs and you'll see the more time he gets between races, the more he shows up. I'd be willing to wait four months or five months to run him. He just shows up when he's fresh. I think we'll send him out to California and get him ready out there for this race.”

Dutrow, Jr. noted that he would love to see White Abarrio repeat his recent schedule in 2024.

“I guess right now we can only say that we would love to run him in the Whitney next year because we know he can get that job done–which is two turns at Saratoga,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “And I would love for the opportunity to run him in the Met Mile next year because I feel that he loves that track.”