White Abarrio (Race Day) and Sovereignty (Into Mischief) both exited their one-two finish in the GII Oaklawn Handicap Saturday in fine shape and connections were considering next steps Sunday morning.White Abarrio, the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner, beat reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty by two lengths, with Journalism (Curlin), the 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner, finishing 1 1/4 lengths farther back in third.“It's rare you get to see something like that,” White Abarrio's co-owner Mark Cornett said as the 7-year-old veteran was munching hay in his stall. “I mean, when the three horses hooked up at the quarter pole, it was something.”White Abarrio's final time of 1:47.49 generated a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 111 and was the fastest for an Oaklawn Handicap since Cigar ran 1:47.22 in 1995.Cornett said White Abarrio appeared to emerge from the Oaklawn Handicap in “perfect” shape physically, adding he will not race again for “two to three months.”“He likes that window, of about 80 days, roughly, and then we'll see where we're at,” Cornett said. “Our main two goals are going to be the Breeders' Cup, which one I don't know right now, and the GI Pegasus World Cup. He'll probably, more than likely, be retired after that.”In his only other start this year, White Abarrio finished second behind stablemate Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) in the Jan. 24 Pegasus World Cup.Trainer Bill Mott said Sovereignty “looked good” following Saturday's race, which was his first start since a 10-length victory in the GI Travers Stakes last August at Saratoga.“He ran good,” Mott said. “A little surprised, you know what I mean? I thought maybe White Abarrio would wind up on the lead. He didn't. We were kind of in between horses and, I guess, he [jockey Junior Alvarado] opted to kind of let him cruise on. If it was just him and Journalism, that was the way to go. When they were going down the backside, I saw where White Abarrio was and I said, 'We're setting it up for him.' You could see that was happening. You could see that a half-mile out. But, anyway, he ran good.”Mott said the June 27 GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs, Aug. 8 GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and the Sept. 18 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park are potential targets for Sovereignty leading up to the Breeders' Cup Classic.Sovereignty, the 2025 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes winner, was the 6-5 program favorite for last year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar before being scratched with a fever. He had eight published workouts at Payson Park in advance of the Oaklawn Handicap.“He ran hard,” Mott said. “Probably got a little tired. He's been off eight months.”The post White Abarrio, Sovereignty Exit Oaklawn Handicap in Fine Shape appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.