Zipse: How good has White Abarrio 2.0 become for Dutrow?

The first version of White Abarrio was a nice horse. He was good enough to become a multiple graded-stakes winner, but he was not good enough to be considered a serious threat for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. A new and improved version of the gray son of Race Day could be a different story altogether.

Forced to scratch out of a pair of Grade 1 races this spring, the first because of illness and the second because of a temporary suspension of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., White Abarrio was transferred to a new barn after the latter, and things have been looking up ever since.

Now trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., who himself is looking for a Lazarus type of return to the limelight, White Abarrio has run two very promising races for his new barn. After a fantastic victory in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 5, the 4-year-old colt must now be considered a real threat in America’s richest race.

Leaving Grade 1 winners Zandon and Cody’s Wish far behind down the Saratoga stretch, it can be argued that no horse has run a more impressive race in the U.S. this year.

Purchased in March of his 2-year-old season for $40,000 by Carlos Perez, the grandson of both Tapit and Into Mischief ran only one race for Perez.

After a romping career debut win, he was sold privately to Clint and Mark Cornett's C2 Racing Stable. His new trainer was Joseph, for whom he ran 11 times.

There were good times for White Abarrio and Joseph, highlighted by back-to-back wins in Gulfstream Park’s Holy Bull Stakes (G3) and Florida Derby (G1), but the talented horse failed in the 2022 Kentucky Derby and did not win another stakes race while in that barn.

When Churchill Downs suspended Joseph after the unexplained deaths of two of his horses in the days leading up to this year’s Kentucky Derby, White Abarrio was forced to scratch out of the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1), and Lord Miles, for different ownership, was not allowed to run in the Derby.

With the status of their trainer in question, the decision was made by C2 to send their star to a new barn. Their choice was an interesting one in that Dutrow had only been recently reinstated to racing.

In one of the most notorious suspensions in American racing, the highly successful trainer was handed one of the harshest penalties seen in the sport. Citing a long history of racing violations, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board suspended Dutrow from racing for 10 years.

The embattled trainer fought the decision to no avail and began his ban in early 2013. The man who managed the careers of such stars as Big Brown, Saint Liam, Carson Hollow, Kip Deville and Silver Train was left to watch from the sidelines.

Many trainers likely would not have returned from the controversial ban, but the lifelong horseman persevered and now has been rewarded with the opportunity to train White Abarrio.

Still new to the barn of Dutrow on Belmont Stakes Day, his latest stable star ran a sneaky good race in the Met Mile (G1). After a stumbling start, White Abarrio quickly rushed up to contest a hot early pace but then just as quickly dropped out of it. Seemingly a beaten horse, he came on again and narrowly missed beating Zandon for second behind Cody’s Wish.

He met those same rivals eight weeks later in the $1 million Whitney, and the result was startling. Stalking the early speed of Giant Game under Irad Ortiz Jr., White Abarrio blew by when asked and never stopped pouring it on down the stretch. The late runs of Zandon and Cody’s Wish were insignificant as the 10-1 shot won for fun.

Rick Dutrow is back and so is White Abarrio. A two-time Grade 1 winner of better than $1.8 million, he is training well at Santa Anita for his huge test in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Dutrow opted to space his races, and the Whitney winner will have three full months from his career-best performance in hopes of another big race.

Questions abound, including the 10-furlong distance of the Classic, as well as the formidable trio of sophomores Arcangelo, Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride.

Perhaps this new and improved version is a combination of maturity and the improvements found in his new barn, but a repeat of his Whitney performance might be all White Abarrio needs to prove best next month at Santa Anita.

White Abarrio and Rick Dutrow in the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner’s circle? What a story that would be.