White Abarrio to skip John Nerud Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner who was recently transferred back to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., will not run in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 John Nerud Stakes at Aqueduct as originally intended.

Joseph, who was given the horse back the day after White Abarrio finished fifth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 8 at Saratoga, said he wants to give the horse additional time before he runs again.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

“We wanted to give him a little more time, go through him head to toe and regroup,” Joseph said Saturday.

Joseph said there is no race picked out for White Abarrio though he hopes to run him during the Saratoga meet that runs from July 11 through Sept. 2.

Last summer, White Abarrio won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga and three months later captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. He was trained by Rick Dutrow for those races. White Abarrio was moved to Dutrow from Joseph after Joseph was effectively banned from running horses in New York in the spring of 2023 following the sudden deaths of two of his horses at Churchill Downs in April. White Abarrio finished third in the Met Mile in 2023 in his first start for Dutrow.

In two starts this year, White Abarrio finished 10th in the $20 million Saudi Cup and fifth of six in the Met Mile. The day after the Met Mile, part-owner Mark Cornett of C2 Racing, said the horse was going back to Joseph and had mentioned the Nerud as a potential target.

White Abarrio is stabled in Saratoga but has not had a workout since the Met Mile.

“He has just been jogging, got some quiet time since the race,” Jospeh said.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.