Brian Lynch

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL--The three winners of Florida's four previous GI Kentucky Derby prep races meet Saturday as they make their final starts ahead of the First Saturday in May in Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby. Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) ruled the Tampa Bay Downs preps, scoring decisive victories in both the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 12 and the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 12. He hit the board in all three of his juvenile races, starting with a dominant debut at Saratoga Sept. 4. Finishing third after setting...

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL--Brian Lynch has already proven he is a talented trainer, conditioning the likes of Grade I winners Oscar Performance, Heart to Heart, Grand Arch and Coffee Clique. While he has won several graded events on dirt, all of his top-level scorers were on turf and the main thing missing from his resume is a Triple Crown contender. Lynch finally has that this year in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby contender Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who already has enough points to be his trainer's first GI Kentucky Derby starter....

Sometimes when a film gets released, the reviews are great but box-office numbers are subpar. A rough parallel on the GI Kentucky Derby trail is when a prep race looks visually appealing, but the underlying metrics--final time, internal splits, speed figures, perceived quality of the field--give cause for pause when trying to assess just how good the performance actually was and what it will mean moving forward. A case in point is Classic Causeway's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby win Saturday. For the second straight stakes, this final-crop son...

Where it comes to Kentucky West Racing LLC and Clarke M. Cooper's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), mapping out race strategy is a fairly straight-forward undertaking. For the second time in as many starts as a sophomore, the handsome chestnut found the front after breaking like a shot and widened his advantage late to take the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and secure a berth in the starting gate in the GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in eight weeks' time. "That early speed is a great asset to have...

Currently ranked number one on the TDN Triple Crown Top 12, Kentucky West Racing LLC & the Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) will attempt to further cement his position as a chief protagonist of the 2022 sophomore crop when he jumps a warm favorite in Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on what projects a pretty wet afternoon on Florida's Suncoast. One of three from the final crop of the 'Iron Horse' and one of two in the race, the blaze-faced chestnut made the...

Trainer Brian Lynch joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss recent GIII Sam. F. Davis winner Classic Causeway and his journey on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway stamped himself as a major GI Kentucky Derby contender Saturday when convincingly taking the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Brian Lynch, and Tuesday, Lynch joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland. Sitting down with Joe Bianca and Bill Finley as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Lynch talked about his colt--one of the final horses by late superstar sire Giant's Causeway--provided updates on other top horses in his barn, reminisced about his time spent...

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton Five months ago, when Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) caught bettors napping on the final Saturday of the Saratoga season by unleashing a 6 1/2-length, front-running smackdown at 13-1 odds in his first career start, trainer Bryan Lynch told TDN he knew he had a "collector's item" on his hands. Although a shimmering debut didn't hurt, the significance of Lynch's appraisal was pegged to the colt being one of only three named foals from the abbreviated final crop of prolific sire Giant's Causeway. Now,...

Classic Causeway (c, 3, Giant's Causeway--Private World, by Thunder Gulch), a good second when last seen in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 27, ran to the money as the 8-5 favorite in Saturday's GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa. He shot out to the front from his inside draw and was hounded on the lead through fractions of :22.66 and :46.67. Still traveling nicely despite continued pressure rounding the far turn, he began to shake clear as they spun for home and took care of business from...

A promising group looking to punch their tickets to this season's Triple Crown in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile GIII Sam F. Davis S., awarding 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' points to the first four finishers (10-14-2-1). Looking to return to the winner's circle is Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), trained by Brian Lynch. An impressive 6 1/2-length winner ahead of next-out scorer Trafalgar (Lord Nelson) in his career debut going seven furlongs at Saratoga Sept. 4, the chestnut came home third in Keeneland's GI Claiborne...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-GP, $60K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 3:37 p.m. ET Glen Hill Farm's Customer Driven (Quality Road) is one of a number of well-related firsters signed on here. She is out of MGSW and GISP House Rules (Distorted Humor), who was second by a neck in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks here in 2014. House Rules was carrying Customer Driven when she brought $750,000 from WinStar Farm at the 2019 Keeneland January sale as part of the dispersal of JV Shields, Jr. Glen Hill subsequently picked...

Kentucky West Racing and Clark Cooper's Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) is on target for the Nov. 27 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs following a five-furlong work in :59.40 (2/59) in Louisville Saturday. The chestnut colt, an eye-catching 6 1/2-length debut winner at Saratoga in September, set the pace before finishing third as the favorite in the Oct. 9 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland last time out. "He's always been a horse that breaks sharp from the gate," trainer Brian Lynch said. "We knew that going into...