Big weekend puts Joseph in tie atop Gulfstream trainer standings

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had himself quite a weekend. Not only did he win three stakes on Saturday – the Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy with Island Commish, the Mucho Macho Man with Chance It, and the Glitter Woman with Sound Machine – but he came back to register two more victories the following afternoon. He is now tied atop the trainer standings with Todd Pletcher and Jorge Navarro with a dozen wins apiece for the meet, and is in first place in money earned with more than $510,000 through Sunday.

“Saturday was an amazing day,” said Joseph. “We ran five horses and every single one ran their race, which is hard to do no matter how perfect you want things to go.”

Joseph said Island Commish would likely come back in the Grade 3 Dania Beach, while Sound Machine could be pointed for the Grade 3 Forward Gal, a spot where she would likely face a stiff challenge from undefeated stablemate Tonalist’s Shape. Both races will be run on the Holy Bull undercard on Feb. 1.

Joseph shared the number one star here over the weekend with jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who posted three consecutive stakes victories capped by Chance It’s win in the Mucho Macho Man on Saturday and returned to capture a pair of races on Sunday’s card, one of them on the Joseph-trained Company Store. The timing couldn’t have been better, as Sunday was also designated as Tyler Gaffalione bobblehead giveaway day, a promotion that helped raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

Gaffalione’s other two stakes wins Saturday came with Sound Machine and the undefeated 3-year-old filly She’s My Type for trainer Christophe Clement in the Ginger Brew.

◗ A pair of Grade 3 stakes on the turf will highlight Saturday’s program, the $100,000 Tropical Turf and its filly counterpart, the Marshua’s River.

A total of 21 horses are nominated for the Tropical Turf with Big Agenda, Exulting, Gemonteer, Gidu, Maraud, and Tusk among those expected to start, according to the racing office.

Entries for Saturday’s card will be drawn on Wednesday.

◗ There will be a carryover of nearly $1.77 million in the Rainbow 6 when racing resumes here Wednesday. With only nine races on the card, post time will be advanced to 1:05 p.m with the Rainbow 6 sequence beginning in the fourth event.