White Abarrio makes triumphant return in allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, passed his first test on the comeback trail with flying colors Friday at Gulfstream Park, easily defeating four overmatched allowance rivals. It was his first start since finishing a distant fifth behind National Treasure in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga on June 8.

With his regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, White Abarrio rated just off the early leaders, moved readily to command without need of prodding entering the stretch, then steadily increased his advantage as he was sharply roused and kept under steady urging from the three-sixteenth pole to the wire.

“It was a relief to finally get this one over. It was an allowance race but it was a Grade 1 for us, a very important race for all the connections,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who welcomed White Abarrio back into his barn for a second time earlier this summer. “This was the deciding factor regarding where he goes next or if he would be retired. He had to do it well. We asked Irad to let him run a little bit at the end. He said he really didn’t want to because he was traveling so well, but he did it for us. We needed to see him quicken, to see he was back and back legit. We didn’t want to be fooled.”

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White Abarrio covered seven furlongs over a fast but dull-ish strip in 1:23.52 seconds, increasing his lead from two to 10 1/4 lengths over runner-up Flying Liam with a final eighth completed in 12.09 while turning in a very professional effort from start to finish in his return.

“I just like the way he laid down and he quickened,” said Joseph. “I was confident but I still needed to see him level out and he really did it about as well as he could. Fingers crossed, he seems like he’s back on track and hopefully there’s bigger and better things to come.”

If all goes well, the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday on Dec. 21 will be next up for White Abarrio with the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational five weeks later his first major goal at the present time.

Steal Sunshine could also be Harlan’s Holiday-bound after returning from a five-month layoff of his own to win a similarly conditioned allowance race as White Abarrio, going a mile, later on the card. The win was the first for Steal Sunshine since his popular victory in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on March 2.

Steal Sunshine, who finished fourth in the 2023 Harlan’s Holiday, was guided to victory by his regular rider Paco Lopez for trainer Bobby Dibona.

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