On Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream Park, Frankie Dettori and trainer Patrick Biancone combined for a long overdue first victory together as CLASSIC OF COURSE surged to victory in the $165,000 Cutler Bay Stakes. While the Florida Derby (G1) headlined the day’s action, this turf contest delivered its own compelling storyline, as Dettori reflected on a connection with Biancone that was nearly 40 years in the making.
“Want to hear a funny story?” Dettori said. “Forty years ago, when I was 14, I told my dad I wanted to be a jockey. His master plan was for me to spend six months with Luca Cumani and six months with Patrick Biancone, who was a well-known trainer for young jockeys. But I never got to Patrick. It took 40 years to find him a winner.”
The 7 ½-furlong Cutler Bay Stakes on the turf saw Dettori execute a well-timed ride. CLASSIC OF COURSE broke alertly and settled inside while FORGED STEEL, the favorite, set rapid early fractions of :23.11 and :45.77. Moving into fourth, Dettori guided his mount four-wide into the stretch, and the Florida-bred responded powerfully, pulling away to win by three-quarters of a length over FORGED STEEL, with I’M DUE finishing third.
“They were going too fast for me early,” Dettori said. “I tucked him on the fence, and I had to go wide, but he was full of momentum. He’s a nice horse.”
The victory was bittersweet, as Junior Alvarado was originally named to ride CLASSIC OF COURSE but had to miss the race due to injury. Dettori acknowledged the unfortunate turn of events while celebrating the win.
Trainer Patrick Biancone expressed his satisfaction with how his runner delivered, despite an interrupted preparation.
“This horse has run a lot of quality races,” Biancone said. “We like him a lot. He was supposed to go to Turfway to run on the Tapeta, but 10 days before, he had a slight fever, so I missed a work. I had to regroup and change plans. He’s mature now. The blinkers help a lot. He’s more focused.”
Following this strong performance, Biancone indicated that CLASSIC OF COURSE could be pointed toward the $1 million American Turf (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day.
