Grantham climbed into the Kentucky Derby picture by earning 20 points, giving him 21, while Shipsational earned 10 points to move to 14.

“It’s pretty exciting stuff,” said trainer Brian Lynch after Classic Causeway completed the mile-and-a-sixteenth on a good main track in 1:44.90 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., to become the first horse since Destin in 2016 to win both the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes. “He’s just come into his own right now and just to watch him, he seems like a happy horse that enjoys his job. He’s very, very good right now.”

Ortiz, who won three consecutive stakes on the card – the Grade III Florida Oaks on the turf on Dolce Zel, the Columbia Stakes on the turf on Heaven Street and the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby – made it sound as if he didn’t need to do much, himself.

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“He gave me the same performance again (as in the Grade III Sam F. Davis). He broke good, he gave me good position and I just went from there,” Ortiz said. “He was traveling perfect all the way to the 3/8-mile pole. When I asked him, he was there. Getting close to the wire, he was looking around a little bit, but I felt I had a lot more horse.

“He’s acting like he can carry his speed more,” said Ortiz, who has ridden nine winners in his two recent visits to the Oldsmar oval. “These last couple of races he’s been acting after the wire like he still has more left. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think there is something more there.”

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Classic Causeway, a son of Giant’s Causeway owned by Patrick O’Keefe’s Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper, earned $210,000 for his third victory from five starts, raising his earnings to $511,100. He paid $3.60 to win as the heavy betting favorite.

His explosiveness from the gate was a big factor in the victory, Lynch said.

“He has always been a very good gate horse and he’s a horse that actually loves the gate and is excited to walk into it,” the conditioner said. “And as soon as they pop, he’s off. That early speed is a great asset to have because you’re going to stay out of trouble when you can break fast and clear. When you have a horse that can run them off their feet early, get a chance to take a breather and relax and still be able to finish, that is a great asset in a horse.”

“He’s great when he leaves the gate because you don’t have to use him,” Ortiz explained. “You don’t have to ask him to do anything. He does it by himself, then he relaxes going into the first turn and on the backside. He waits for you. He’s a smart horse.”

Lynch said Classic Causeway is likely to race once more before the Kentucky Derby, perhaps on April 9 at Keeneland in the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass.

KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS