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Giant's Causeway Closes In on 200 Stakes Winners

The potential for the "Iron Horse" to reach 200 career stakes winners

Classic Causeway, one of three colts from the last crop of Giant's Causeway, trains June 3 at Margaux Farm

Classic Causeway, one of three colts from the last crop of Giant's Causeway, trains June 3 at Margaux Farm

Courtesy Kentucky West Racing

Multiple graded stakes winner United provided a reminder July 24 of the deep, powerful influence of the late Giant's Causeway.

The 6-year-old gelding raced by LNJ Foxwoods and trainer Dick Mandella won the Eddie Read Stakes (G2T), his second consecutive win in this 1 1/8-mile turf stakes at Del Mar that he captured last year by half a length over Sharp Samurai. This year, he wore down favorite Smooth Like Strait  in the stretch to win by a neck. United has won six graded stakes and earned more than $1.6 million.

United is one of Giant's Causeway's 193 black-type winners worldwide as of July 26. Ashford Stud's son of Storm Cat, who died following a brief illness at 21 in 2018, has sired 114 graded/group winners and has career progeny earnings of more than $191.7 million from 18 crops of racing age.

Giant's Causeway
Photo: Courtesy Ashford Stud
Giant's Causeway

With approximately 20 runners that are 3 or 4 having made starts in 2021 and a couple of stakes-placed winners so far this year with 6-year-old Doswell and 5-year-old Princess Causeway, its seems achievable for Giant's Causeway to reach the 200 threshold for lifetime stakes winners.

The sire also has some potential in his final crop of three colts that are 2. These three horses are Classic Causeway, Giant Game, and Monaadah.

Classic Causeway already has six works under his girth and is within 60 days of his debut with trainer Brian Lynch, according to Patrick O'Keefe, managing partner with Kentucky West Racing, which owns the colt and co-bred him with Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust. The colt is out of the Thunder Gulch stakes winner Private World, who is the dam of four winners, including a full sister to Classic Causeway named Rockie Causeway.

"The cross with Private World rated very high, and Giant's Causeway was getting toward the end of his career. They don't make them like him any more—the Iron Horse," O'Keefe said about initially breeding to the stallion. "We were very happy with 'Rockie,' so we went back."

Rockie Causeway, who is 4, has compiled a 1-3-1 record so far from seven career starts and earned nearly $80,000. She last raced at Santa Anita Park back in late April where she clipped heels during an allowance race and has required some time off to recuperate, according to O'Keefe.

Classic Causeway most recently worked at Saratoga Race Course July 24 where he went a brisk five furlongs in 1:02 1/5, the eighth-fastest time among all horses working at that distance on the main track. O'Keefe expects the colt to make his first start in mid-September.

"Brian really likes the way the colt is working," O'Keefe said.

Giant Game made his first appearance on the work tab July 25 when he covered four furlongs in :48 4/5 at Ellis Park for trainer Dale Romans. Bred in Kentucky by H. Allen Poindexter, the colt is out of the stakes-placed More Than Ready mare Game for More. Giant Game is a half brother to grade 1-placed, multiple graded stakes winner Isotherm .

Albaugh Family Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds own Giant Game. They acquired the colt through agent Barry Berkelhammer for $500,000 from the Wynnstay Sales consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. Terry Finley, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, said Giant Game is doing well and he expects the colt to make his debut in mid to late September.

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Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase in Lexington, KY on September 10, 2020.
Photo: Fasig-Tipton Photos
Giant Game in the ring at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase

Shadwell Farm bred and owns the third colt in Giant's Causeway's last crop. Monaadah is out of the winning Haafhd mare Almusafa, who is a half sister to grade 3-placed winner Bashaar (Street Cry) and multiple stakes-placed Wahgah (Distorted Humor). The colt initially was sent to Dubai where he was under the care of trainer Saeed bin Suroor, according to Shadwell. He has since been relocated to England, where he is still with Suroor.

Giant's Causeway was brilliant at 2, going undefeated in three starts and finishing his juvenile season with a win in the Prix de la Salamandre (G1) at Longchamp. As a sire, however, his top runners have tended to get better as they matured. He has sired 33 (1%) runners to date that became stakes winners at 2.

Princess Causeway is a good example of how time is on the side of Giant's Causeway's runners. The now-5-year-old mare, out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare A. P. Investment, won twice and was unplaced in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at 2. She went on to win at 3 and 4 and eventually placed in her first stakes June 23 with a second in the Lady Canterbury Stakes at Canterbury Park. With five wins from 15 starts, she seems more than capable of eventually landing that black-type win for owner Winchester Place Thoroughbreds and trainer Ian Wilkes and putting Giant's Causeway one step closer to 200.