Saffie Joseph

C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stables' The Queens M G (Thousand Words) provided her freshman sire (by Pioneerof the Nile) with a second juvenile stakes winner Thursday afternoon, returning $91 to her backers for a convincing 2 3/4-length victory in the Listed Schuylerville Stakes on opening day at Saratoga. The dark bay triggered a similarly hefty mutuel when graduating at first asking at Keeneland in April, but she flopped home last of seven as the 21-10 favorite behind Whatintheliteral (Lord Nelson) in the local June 6 Astoria S. after...

With the Breeders' Cup a little over four months away, the 'Win and You're In' tickets to the signature event, the GI Longines Classic, are definitely numbered. The road to Del Mar currently goes through Churchill Downs on Saturday as Classic hopefuls enter the starting gate for the GI Stephen Foster Stakes. Looking to punch his ticket to the seaside oval is Godolphin homebred First Mission (Street Sense). The 'TDN Rising Star' certainly burned brightest when he took home the GIII Essex Handicap by five lengths at Oaklawn Park in...

After a disappointing showing in Saturday's GI Metropolitan H. at Saratoga, the owners of White Abarrio (Race Day) have decided to send last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner back to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. Dave Grening of the Daily Racing Form was first with the story. White Abarrio was with Joseph until last spring when the trainer was temporarily suspended by Churchill Downs after two of his horse died around the time of the Derby. Joseph's situation in New York was also in limbo and owners Clint and Mark...

Former Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey Drayden Van Dyke, a mainstay in Southern California, will move his tack to Gulfstream Park for 30 days to ride for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The multiple Grade I-winning rider and his agent, Ryan Cosato, will then evaluate where Van Dyke will be based in the future. "We'll bring him out there for about a month," said Cosato. "If he does well, we'll go from there. There's no big announcement. We're just giving it a try." Van Dyke took a break from riding for a...

Five contenders took advantage of a mild, dry Sunday morning in Louisville to put in final works at Churchill Downs ahead of next weekend's GI Kentucky Derby. First of the group to work was BC Stable's Just Steel (Justify), who went out just as the track opened at 5:15 a.m. Sunday. The bay colt worked four furlongs in :50.40 (52/60), registering splits of :13.40 and :25.20 before being eased up on the gallop out. "Just a slow maintenance work. We're close to the race, we didn't want to do much,"...

GI Florida Derby champ Fierceness (City of Light) breezed at Palm Beach Downs on Friday morning in preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Award winner covered five furlongs in 1:00.35 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, while working in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). "I thought he worked super--a solid five-eighths with a good gallop-out, exactly what we were targeting," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he is doing every bit as good, if not better, than he was...

Ken Ramsey finished the Gulfstream Championship meet atop the owner standings with 27 winners. A perennial leading owner, Ramsey previously led the standings at Gulfstream in 2021-2022, 2019-2020 and from 2012-2013 to 2017-2018. His wins during the meet included Be My Sunshine (Frosted) in the Tropical Park Oaks and Abrumar (Divisidero) in the Colonel Liam S., both from the barn of leading trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. earned the 1,000th victory of his career when Palace Zip (Palace Malice) won the 10th race at Gulfstream Park Sunday. "It's amazing," Joseph said after being recognized and posing for photos in a winner's circle ceremony. "I remember the first one and here we are at 1,000. The first probably 200 took five or six years and it was a struggle, and the last 800 have come pretty quickly. We've gotten the opportunities from the owners and that's what you need. Without the owners, you can't...

'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 (2/52) Saturday morning at the Fair Grounds in preparation for next Saturday's $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream Park. The 4-year-old colt, who was put through his paces by exercise rider Kevin Perez, was clocked in 1:13.60 for six furlongs, according to trainer Brad Cox. "He's been doing very well week after week," Cox said of the Godolphin homebred, a latest second to the re-opposing Trademark (Upstart) in the GII Clark S. at Churchill Downs...

Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman), multiple graded stakes winners trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., breezed at Gulfstream Park Saturday morning in preparation for scheduled starts in the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Jan. 27. Skippylongstocking and O'Connor were joined on the worktab at Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility by Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), who is on the reserve invitational list for the Pegasus World Cup. Skippylongstocking breezed a bullet five furlongs in 1:00.25 (1/21) ahead of his first start since finishing third in the Nov. 4 GI Breeders'...

Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman) each turned in works Saturday morning at Palm Meadows towards an intended appearance in the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Owned by Daniel Alonso, Skippylongstocking won this year's GII Charles Town Classic and was last seen finishing third to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 4. The soon-to-be 5-year-old covered a half-mile in :49.40 (20/64). O'Connor, campaigned by Mike Iavarone and partners, was a sound fourth in last year's Pegasus and is arguably in better form this...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - Three Witches (Into Mischief) provided the highlight of a workaday Book 2 section of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale when selling for $1.7 million Friday in Lexington. Book 2 opened with a uneven session Thursday at Keeneland, but activity was more consistent throughout Friday's Book 2 finale. "It was a solid day of trade," said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "From start to finish, it felt a little more consistent and healthy today. Yesterday was a little bumpy,...