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Hallandale, FL–As recently as last June, C2 Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Antonio Pagnano’s White Abarrio (Race Day) was running for the come-backing Rick Dutrow Jr. after departing the Saffie Joseph Jr. barn. For Joseph, it was a tough pill to swallow given the striking grey had won a pair of graded stakes for him, including the 2022 GI Florida Derby. Give a second chance last summer to train the Grade I winner, Joseph made the most of the golden opportunity, landing Gulfstream’s marquee test for older horses at the winter Championship Meet, the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Saturday.
“This allows you to heal because of what we went through and then we had to give up the horse at that time,” admitted Joseph. “And that was the correct thing. I thought what healed me a lot was when I got the horse back. That the owners would give me the horse back after he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic for a different trainer, that meant a lot to me.”
Going into Saturday’s Gulfstream test, Joseph underscored the key to victory.
“He needed to break,” he said. “He didn’t break the last couple times, and the break was going to be important. And he was able to get his dream trip. Once he gets into the clear that’s when he really runs normally his best race. Everything aligned today, and all glory to God. I’m just thankful to experience this.”
Drawing the advantageous 4-hole in the 8-furlong event, the grey cruised into a stalking position while favored Locked (Gun Runner) did exactly what Todd Pletcher didn’t want him to do and that was break poorly while exiting the dreaded post 11. Cruising behind GISW Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and the pursuing trio of Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents), GI Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold (Ghostzapper) and GI Pacific Classic scorer Mixto (Good Magic) on the outer track through an opening quarter in :23.43, White Abarrio took closer order following a respectable half in :46.68. Meanwhile, Locked had several lengths to make up and found himself only in front of his stablemate Crupi (Curlin). Taking dead aim at the front runner exiting the far turn, White Abarrio was propelled by momentum, and forged ahead of his grey shadow straightening for home. The weakening frontrunner was given some strong encouragement from Florent Geroux, but it wasn’t making a dent late. And despite the blistering rally of the poorly-breaking Locked, White Abarrio was not for catching late, flying home a 6 1/4-length winner over Locked. The Joseph-trained MGSW Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) closed to get third. Mystik Dan faded to ninth.
Enjoying a banner day, Joseph also won the GII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf with Be Your Best (Ire) and the GII Inside Information with Mystic Lake earlier Saturday.
“This horse wants to win so bad,” said winning rider Irad Ortiz Jr. “I knew we wanted to be close, but definitely the horse helps when he breaks like that, he makes everything easier. Saffie told me after the last race, the horse did something he never did before, he came from off the pace [after a slow start], he had traffic. We had a lot of faith in him if he broke with the field today. I was very focused on my horse at the break. Then I was watching Saudi Crown, I didn’t want to be too far from him. But I never had to ask him, he was doing it by himself, he was improving his position without me asking. By the time I asked him, he really took off. He was home; I looked at the TV and I could see, he was home.”
Despite the favorite’s unfortunate defeat, Pletcher was upbeat about the 4-year-old’s performance.
“I thought he ran probably the best race of his life,” Pletcher affirmed. “He had his head turned at the start and got away last and it’s lot to overcome from the 10 post to begin with. He gave up a lot of position early [but] I thought he closed really well. The Hall of Famer continued, “Credit to White Abarrio, he ran a great race. He shot well clear at the top of the stretch. [Locked’s Jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] said he thought he would have won if he broke with the field, but he didn’t. He’s still a very lightly-raced horse. He is what we thought, that the farther he goes the better he’ll get. Unfortunately, from that post you can’t make any mistakes, and missing the break was really the one mistake you didn’t want to make.”
Back in ‘White’
Joseph developed White Abarrio as a young horse, winning two of three starts at two, both at Gulfstream. The following season, he stamped himself one to watch when winning the GIII Holy Bull and the Florida Derby, the track’s marquee race for 3-year-olds. A forgettable 16th behind Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby, he was second in the GIII Ohio Derby before another underwhelming performance-finishing seventh–in the GI Haskell at Monmouth Park in July. Rounding out the season with a fifth in the GI Pennsylvania Derby and third in the GI Cigar Mile in New York, he kicked off his 4-year-old season with an eighth in the Pegasus World Cup. A dominant allowance winner at the Halladale oval in March, the grey was subsequently transferred to Dutrow after a pair of Joseph’s horses died at Churchill, prompting the trainer’s suspension. Given his status was also in flux in New York as a result, Joseph had to watch from the sidelines when the colt won the GI Whitney and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic for Dutrow in the second half of the season. However, Joseph got another chance to get the Kentucky bred back in the barn after the colt finished a flat 10th when venturing overseas for the G1 Saudi Cup last February. Given some time off, he didn’t fair a whole lot better when a well-beaten fifth in the GI Met Mile last June, in large part precipitating the decision to return the colt to his original trainer.
Given plenty of time to get back to the track, the grey worked a couple of times in Saratoga last summer, but Jospeh thught the horse still needed more time. Romping by 10 1/4 lengths in a seven-panel Gulfstream optional claimer Nov. 22 in his return to the races, he finished 1 1/4 lengths behind Mufasa in the GIII Mr. Prospector Dec. 28.
“We kind of came up with a plan, an allowance at seven furlongs and then back in the Mr. Prospector at seven furlongs,” Joseph added. “We followed the same plan that worked before we had to give him up. It’s God’s writing. That’s all I can tell you. It’s beyond my thinking. It’s beyond my capability. All credit to the horse. Today in the paddock, he just showed everything like he wanted to do it for us. I’m grateful to White Abarrio.”
He added, “He was showing great signs on the Ragozin sheet numbers, the same kind of progression that he was supposed to show to break through. But all of that doesn’t mean anything. That’s what happened. It’s not what’s going to happen.”
Pedigree Note:
White Abarrio, a $7,500 OBS Winter yearling turned $40,000 OBS March 2-year-old, is the lone graded winner for Race Day (Tapit). Race Day previously stood at Spendthrift Farm, who bred White Abarrio, and was exported to Korea prior to the 2021 season.
The unplaced winner’s dam Catching Diamonds, a $425,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase for Spendthrift, produced White Abarrio as her first foal. The mare is a half to MGSW-UAE and MSW-U.S. Cool Cowboy (Kodiak Kowboy) and to the dam of GSW Mutasaabeq (Into Mischief). She has a 2023 filly by Yaupon. She was most recently bred to Taiba.
🏇 A WOW! performance by White Abarrio in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1)!@IradOrtiz up for @SaffieJosephJr on the @C2RacingStable star, who is already a Breeders’ Cup Classic champion. pic.twitter.com/51KdWpTcXK
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 25, 2025
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
PEGASUS WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $2,945,400, Gulfstream, 1-25, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:48.05, ft.
1–WHITE ABARRIO, 123, h, 6, by Race Day
1st Dam: Catching Diamonds, by Into Mischief
2nd Dam: Grand Breeze, by Grand Slam
3rd Dam: Breeze Lass, by It’s Freezing
($7,500 Ylg ’20 OBSWIN; $40,000 2yo ’21 OBSMAR). O-C 2 Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Antonio Pagnano; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $1,638,000. Lifetime Record: 20-9-2-3, $6,879,850. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Locked, 123, c, 4, Gun Runner–Luna Rosa, by Malibu Moon. ($425,000 Ylg ’22 KEESEP). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm; B-Rosa Colasanti (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $546,000.
3–Skippylongstocking, 123, h, 6, Exaggerator–Twinkling, by War Chant. ($15,000 Ylg ’20 KEESEP; $37,000 2yo ’21 OBSAPR). O-Daniel Alonso; B-Brushy Hill, LLC (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.. $273,000.
Margins: 6 1/4, NK, 1 3/4. Odds: 2.80, 1.80, 9.70.
Also Ran: Mixto, Saudi Crown, Steal Sunshine, Crupi, Power Squeeze, Mystik Dan, Stronghold, Newgrange. Scratched: Vitality.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.