Joseph sets Oaklawn Handicap as main target for White Abarrio

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – White Abarrio has a spring race objective of the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Monday. The 1 1/8-mile fixture will be run April 18.

White Abarrio is a $7.7 million earner based in South Florida. He launched his 7-year-old season last month with a runner-up finish in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.

“The plan is for him to run in the Oaklawn Handicap,” Joseph said. “It’s good timing for him. Whether he runs before that or not, it’s still undecided. But the Oaklawn Handicap is the main goal right now.”

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Joseph said if White Abarrio starts before the Oaklawn Handicap, there’s a possibility the race could come at Tampa Bay Downs. The trainer won the 2024 Oaklawn Handicap with Skippylongstocking off a win in the Grade 3 Challenger at Tampa. This year the Challenger is March 7.

Skippylongstocking won this year’s Pegasus World Cup and plans for his next start are still being determined, Joseph said.

“There’s a possibility he could go to Dubai,” he said.

White Abarrio is a four-time Grade 1 winner whose victories include the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2023 and the Pegasus in 2024. He is owned by the partnership of C2 Racing Stable, Gary Barber, and La Milagrosa Stable.

The Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap on Feb. 28 is a possible landing spot for Neoequos, Joseph said. He won the Sunshine Turf Stakes last month at Gulfstream. Last year, Neoequos was third in both the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby.

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