Saffie Joseph, Jr. has had some big days since he came to the U.S. from his native Barbados in 2011, but perhaps none bigger than last Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
He had three stakes wins, including a score with Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhahaarar ({GB}) in the GII Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and a win with Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the GII Inside Information Stakes.
But the one that really mattered was the victory by White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. Not only did he win a $3-million race, he did so with a horse who had been taken away from him during one of the darkest periods in his career.
With plenty to talk about, Joseph, Jr. was this week's Gainesway Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland.
White Abarrio was taken away from Joseph around the time of the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby, when there was a rash of fatalities that once again caught the attention of the animal rights community. Joseph had two horses die, but they did not suffer from musculoskeletal injuries. Still, that put Joseph in limbo and the owners moved on to Rick Dutrow.
Joseph admits that was one of the toughest things he has ever had to endure as a trainer. But, after a dull performance in the 2024 GI Metropolitan Handicap for Dutrow, the story changed again. White Abarrio was sent back to Joseph.
“Everything in life happens for a reason,” Joseph said. “After that happened, did I ever envision that we were going to get the horse back? No. I mean, how could you envision a horse that wins a Whitney and a Breeders' Cup Classic for someone else and he's going to come back to you?
“When we got the horse back [co-owner] Mark Cornett called me and said, 'Hey, we're gonna send the horse back to you.' It meant a lot because it showed that these owners believed in me and that meant a lot more to me than anything. Losing the horse, I knew I had to give up the horse. The writing was on the wall. We were not going to jeopardize the horse's career. But getting the horse back, that came from out of nowhere. There was nothing for them to gain because he had already won a Grade I. At that time, I wasn't in a mental capacity to even dream of getting him back. I mean, it took me a long time to kind of heal or get over it. I can't put into words how it's all unfolded. It's kind of like it was scripted and we were just part of the process.”
White Abarrio | Coglianese
White Abarrio won an allowance in his first start back for Joseph and then was second in the GIII Mr. Prospector Stakes. For a horse of his ability, it was not a particularly good performance, but it set him up for what was arguably the best race of his career. Unchallenged in the stretch in the Pegasus, he drew off to win by 6 1/4 lengths.
“I never thought he was going to run that good,” Joseph admitted. “We always hope they'll run that well, but most of the time it doesn't happen. We thought he was sitting on a race that was close to a race that should be good enough to win it if everything went well.”
Joseph also spoke again about White Abarrio's groom Eduardo “Lalo” Diaz. He is convinced that in some of the races in which White Abarrio didn't fire his best shot it was because he didn't have his favorite groom at his side.
“When you find [a groom] that really loves his horses and has the passion, they're hard to duplicate,”Joseph said. “And that's what Lalo has. Apart from being a really good groom, his personality never changes. He's very level-headed, very even-keeled, never too high, never too low. I'm a strong believer that horses feed off the energy of the people around them. You see horses and they have nervous grooms and they're nervous. And you see horses that have calm grooms and they are calm. When I have a horse with [Diaz], I feel like I don't even have to look at him, tell him anything. I feel like he's just clutch. Every time he delivers his horses, they always look immaculate.”
In our “Fastest Horse of the Week,” segment, which is sponsored by WinStar Farm, we went over the many reasons there are breed to WinStar stallion Timberlake. With a 109 Beyer, White Abarrio was the “fastest horse of the week.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, and XBTV.com, the team of T.D Thornton, Randy Moss and Bill Finley reviewed the Pegasus and the GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn, which was won by Speed King (Volatile). Sticking with the theme of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, there was also a preview of this week's GIII Holy Bull Stakes and the Robert B. Lewis Stakes.
With 1/ST Racing executives Aidan Butler and Belinda Stronach addressing the situation at Gulfstream Park during the week in interviews, the team gave its opinions on the latest news out of South Florida. While there was some optimism that racing would somehow continue in the area, the consensus remained that it wouldn't be at Gulfstream Park.
To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To listen to the show as a podcast, click here.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
