Chasing Artie fresh face for Joseph barn

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – On his way to what most likely will be his first Gulfstream Park winter meet training title, Saffie Joseph Jr. had run 248 horses here this season entering the final four days of the meet. Reinforcements are needed. Chasing Artie, who returns from a near nine-month layoff, may fit the bill.

Chasing Artie, unraced since winning the My Frenchman Stakes on July 11 at Monmouth Park, makes his first start as a 4-year-old and first for Joseph in a multi-conditioned allowance turf sprint that serves as the feature on Friday’s nine-race Gulfstream Park card.

Chasing Artie, trained last year by Wesley Ward for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, went 3 for 3 on turf last year. He won a maiden race at Gulfstream and listed stakes at Keeneland and Monmouth before heading to the sidelines.

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Ward and the Ramseys had a dispute over money, so now Joseph has this gelding by We Miss Artie, who has worked steadily since February after joining Joseph’s barn in January.

“He’s undefeated on grass, obviously only against 3-year-olds, so he needs to step up against olders,” Joseph said. “He’s had that transition where he should jump up. He’s trained well into the race. I think he’ll run a good race for us.”

Tyler Gaffalione rides Chasing Artie from post 5 in the six-horse field.

Among those Chasing Artie will have to beat to remain undefeated on turf are Shekky Shebaz and The Virginian. Those two were separated by a neck when second and third behind Natural Power in a spot similar to this March 2.

Shekky Shebaz, a 7-year-old gelding by Cape Blanco, has four seconds and three thirds since he last won 12 starts ago. He has been a beaten favorite seven times in those 11 starts.

Irad Ortiz Jr. rides for owner-trainer Christophe Clement from post 3.

The Virginian, a 5-year-old gelding by Prospective, was coming off a three-month layoff when he finished third in the aforementioned March 2 race for trainer Steve Klesaris. The Virginian has six top-three finishes in nine starts since Klesaris started training him.

“He’s put together some solid performances,” Klesaris said. “Looking at the race, it’s a short field, but there’s five solid contenders in there out of the six. He’s training very forwardly. Hoping for a clean trip and a good effort.”

Javier Castellano rides The Virginian from post 4.

Completing the field are Citrus Burst, who switches barns from Jeff Engler to Jorge Delgado coming off a good second in an off-the-turf race in January, Embolden, and Jack and Noah.

Jack and Noah won the Mahony Stakes at Saratoga in August 2020. His only start since then came in August 2021.