Saffie Joseph cruises to Gulfstream West trainer title

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There was little drama in the race for the trainer’s title during the Gulfstream Park West Fall Turf Festival. Saffie Joseph Jr. dominated the standings with 22 victories, easily outdistancing Ralph Nicks, Jorge Navarro, and Victor Barboza, who finished tied for second with eight wins apiece.

“Everything fell into place right from the start. The horses ran well and stayed in good form throughout the meet,” Joseph said on Monday. “The team worked really hard, and in this business we’re only as good as the team and the owners we have behind us.”

Joseph said one of the priorities he set and subsequently was able to accomplish during the session was to win the owner’s title for Frank Calabrese, who won eight races.

“Frank is 91 years old and that was a big push for us, to make sure he won the title because we know it means a lot to him,” said Joseph. “He’s been a great addition to our barn and has been a big help to us. We currently have nine horses for Frank, but that number can fluctuate as high as 16, depending on how things are going as the meet moves along.”

Joseph said he’s realistic to know he probably will not be able to compete for the title during the Championship meet, but nonetheless is looking forward to having another big winter.

“We don’t have the numbers to compete with Todd Pletcher or Jorge Navarro,” said Joseph, who will have 50 to 60 horses in his care this winter. “But we’re much deeper from top to bottom than we were this time a year ago, and if we can finish in the top five again that would be really nice.”

Monday is usually a day off for the Joseph barn, although the boss was trackside watching his top 2-year-old Chance It go through a routine gallop shortly after the renovation break at 7:45 a.m. Joseph said he planned to work Chance It on Tuesday, so he had to juggle his schedule.

Chance It was forced to pass a prospective start this Saturday in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs after missing several days of training due to a minor illness last week. Joseph said he now wants to run him in the Springboard Mile on Dec. 15 at Remington Park, as long as the quarantine placed there after several horses tested positive for the equine herpesvirus is lifted in time. The other option is to run Chance It in the Mucho Macho Man on Jan. 4 here, Joseph said.

◗ Despite getting a late start, Paco Lopez captured the jockey crown at Gulfstream Park West, posting 38 victories, six more than runners-up Emisael Jaramillo and Cristian Torres.

◗ Although the final pool took a hit when the three scheduled grass races in the sequence were moved to the main track not long before the start of Sunday’s Rainbow 6 sequence, a total of $3.6 million was added to the nearly $1.1 million carryover with a mandatory payout on closing day. The 20-cent Rainbow 6 returned $4,761.14 to the multiple tickets with all six winners.