Saturday, October 29, 2022
HALLANDALE BEACH - Gr. 1 winner White Abarrio sizzled in his return to the work tab Friday at Gulfstream Park for the first time since his fifth-place finish in the Sept. 24 Pennsylvania Derby.
Regular exercise rider Vicente Gudiel was aboard as White Abarrio breezed four furlongs in :46.42 seconds over a fast main track, ranking first of 55 horses.
“We gave him a little freshening after the Pennsylvania Derby and today was his first work. He worked very good, obviously,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “It was a little quicker, ideally, than you’d like for the first work back but he did it well enough.
“He worked super good. I guess because he’s fresh he worked a little faster just because he’s feeling so good in that aspect,” he added. “We’re happy with how he went and how he came out of it.”
After winning his first two starts and running third in the Kentucky Jockey Club at 2, White Abarrio began his 3-year-old campaign with victories over his home track in the Feb. 5 Holy Bull and April 2 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa.
The Florida Derby earned White Abarrio a shot at the Kentucky Derby, where he ran 16th following a wide trip from Post 15. Runner-up to favored Tawny Port in the Ohio Derby, he wound up seventh behind Cyberknife as the third choice in the Haskell prior to the Pennsylvania Derby, where he was fifth by eight lengths and matched a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We were very disappointed at Monmouth. It was kind of a throwout race,” Joseph said. “He didn’t win the Pennsylvania Derby but I thought he ran credible. On the figures he ran top numbers … so it was a good confidence builder to get him back.”
Joseph indicated White Abarrio will make his next start in the Gr. I Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) Dec. 3 at Aqueduct.
“Our main goal now is to cut him back in distance to the one-turn mile,” he said. “He’ll probably stay on a Thursday or Friday work schedule every week until then.”
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool at will be guaranteed at $50,000 today during an 11-race program highlighted by a pair of stakes for 2-year-olds. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.
Two horses were live to take down the jackpot heading into Friday’s Race 9 finale, won by Tiz a Giant ($4.20). Multiple tickets with all six winners each returned $140.10.
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