By Bill Finley
After White Abarrio (Race Day) trounced his competition in an allowance race Friday, his connections started plotting his upcoming schedule, with the GI Pegasus World Cup as the main goal. Normally, the Dec. 21 GIII Harlan's Holiday S. is the main prep for the Pegasus, but co-owner Mark Cornett said he is leaning toward running the soon-to-be 6-year-old instead in the Dec. 28 GIII Prospector S. at Gulfstream. The Mr. Prospector is run at seven furlongs while the Harlan's Holiday is a mile-and-a-sixteenth race.
“We will look at the two races, the Harlan's Holiday and the Mr. Prospector,” said Cornett who operates C-2 Racing Stable along with his brother Clint. “We had such success when we ran him in two one-turn races in New York. He ran in a seven-furlong race and we ran him the Met Mile, a one-turn mile race. It was only after that we stretched him out in the Whitney, which was, arguably, his best race of his career. So I'm tempted to go in the Mr. Prospector going seven furlongs, to give him one more-one turn race and then stretch him out for the Pegasus. We're looking at both spots, but I'm leaning toward giving him one more race at the seven-eighths around one turn until we stretch him out for the Pegasus.”
Prior to Friday's allowance, Cornett admitted that he wanted to see a big performance from White Abarrio, which would put to rest concerns that he was no longer on top of his game. He has had just two starts this year, finishing 10th in the G1 Saudi Cup and fifth in the GI Metropolitan H., but a powerful 10 1/4-length victory Friday signaled that White Abarrio is back.
“He showed us what we wanted to see, “Cornett said. “Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] did a great job. We had talked to him before the race and said that if he got the opportunity around the eighth-pole to squeeze on him a little bit. We wanted to see a good final furlong and then a really good gallop out, which he did. The horse just kind of ranged up and cruised up to the eighth-pole and when he got to the eighth-pole, Irad did squeeze on him a bit. He quickened and dropped down like we wanted to see and galloped out very good.”
Cornett said a return trip to the Saudi Cup will be considered, but that they have made no plans beyond the Pegasus. Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia is among the ownership group.
One C-2 Racing Stable star that is definitely being pointed to the Saudi Cup is the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Soul of an Angel (Atreides).
“Soul of An Angel is doing really good” Cornett said. “I saw her Saturday morning. She's at Gulfstream now with Saffie [Joseph, Jr.]. We kind of backed off on her to let her get over the travel back and forth from California. She'll go back to training Monday and she will be pointed to an 11-26, one-turn, one mile race here. That will be her prep. Our ultimate goal with her is the Saudi Cup. We think she's a one-turn specialist and best at seven furlongs to a mile-and-an-eighth.”
When asked if he had any reservations about running a mare against males, he said he did not.
“I'm not worried about fillies versus boys,” he said. “The purse structure is so big that even if she runs second, third or fourth you're looking at anywhere from $1 million to $5 million. It's hard to make that kind of money in stakes in the U.S.”
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