Joseph hoping Catalytic can break streak of seconds
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There are some out there who don’t believe in the phenomenon of “seconditis” in horse racing. Those skeptics should avoid Gulfstream Park on Thursday until the 4-year-old colt Catalytic runs in a one-mile $57,000 allowance.
In eight career starts, Saffie Joseph Jr.’s classy runner has a maiden victory on debut, a 19th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, and six runner-up performances. A beaten favorite in his last four races going back to July of 2024, he is 8-5 on the morning line Thursday.
“Blinkers come off after last time, didn’t see any improvement with them in the morning,” Joseph said. “Just tried as he kept finding a way to run second. It’s his race to lose, he’s doing well.”
Instead of improving with added blinkers last time out, Catalytic ran one of his poorest races at 4-5 odds, finishing 2 1/2 lengths behind a 15-1 gate-to-wire winner. His three defeats before that were all by a neck or less.
After so many hard-fought losses, it becomes impossible to make a single excuse to explain it all away. Catalytic has had trouble breaking from the gate throughout his career, which has occasionally cost him a few lengths. Barring the Grade 1 Florida Derby and subsequent trip to Churchill Downs, however, he has always had a clear chance in the stretch and has not managed to break through since his maiden win in October 2023.
Joseph’s colt will be making his fourth straight start at this allowance level. Jockey Edgard Zayas will ride for the first time and navigate from the outside post in a field of eight. Joseph believes that it’s his race to lose, an adage that may be growing familiar for the hard-knocking runner.
Catalytic’s case may be the most severe, but he isn’t the only runner in the Thursday allowance who has struggled to find the winner’s circle. All eight horses in the field have made at least two prior starts this year, but only three in the field have won.
The Thor, the 3-1 second choice coming off a distant fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper, has not won since August of 2023. The Chilean-bred was still running in his home nation at the time. He made his U.S. debut for trainer Amador Sanchez in January and has finished in the money three times at this allowance level at Gulfstream.
Catalytic’s stablemate, 4-year-old colt Who’s the King, took six tries to break his maiden and has not won in eight starts since. He is 9-2 on the morning line and has finished behind Catalytic and/or The Thor in three starts this year.
Those seeking a recent winner in a field of win-shy horses will likely gravitate toward 4-year-old gelding Lasso. The Jorge Delgado runner finished behind several rivals in this field late last year, but in 2025 he has won both of his starts, including a statebred allowance in April. He earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure for that performance, putting him in the mix as he steps up in class.
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