White Abarrio tunes up for Met Mile with solid Ghostzapper triumph
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was hoping Saturday’s $165,000 Ghostzapper would be the perfect steppingstone, the perfect prep, for White Abarrio moving forward to the Grade 1 Met Mile later this spring at Saratoga And that’s exactly what the race turned out to be.
Confidently handled by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. from start to finish, White Abarrio drew off to a convincing 5 1/4-length victory over the Grade 1-winning filly Power Squeeze in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper. It was another length farther back to Tuscan Sky, who finished a non-threatening third.
The Ghostzapper was White Abarrio’s first start since his eye-catching 6 1/4-length triumph over Locked in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational here nine weeks ago. And it will be his last until the Met Mile on June 7.
White Abarrio stalked the early pace set by One Sharp Cookie, an opening half-mile in 22.82 seconds and 45.98 for the half, before sticking his head in front of his stablemate midway down the backstretch. White Abarrio was joined by Power Squeeze, upset winner of the Grade 1 Alabama last summer at Saratoga, at that point, and the two continued as a team around the second bend.
Ortiz kept White Abarrio well in reserve for the opening six furlongs before finally asking him to quicken upon settling into the stretch, the 1-9 favorite opening a comfortable advantage in the blink of an eye before being geared down nearing the wire. Power Squeeze turned in a game effort in defeat while facing males for the second time in as many starts in 2025. She finished eighth, 11 lengths behind White Abarrio, in the Pegasus World Cup.
“It was a perfect prep,” Joseph exclaimed after the race. “You always want to make it as easy as possible, but you also always want to win. And I thought he won as easy as he could win after going quick as he did on the pace. And I haven’t seen them go under 42 (final time of 1:41.97 seconds) here in a long time.”
White Abarrio (101 Beyer Speed Figure), owned by C2 Racing Stable in partnership with Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable, returned $2.10 to win. He also was responsible for a massive minus show pool, attracting $523,445 of the $567,284 wagered to show on the race.
“He’s in a different league right now. They pressed him, he ran fast early, but I don’t mind that. They’re going to run fast in the Met Mile,” Joseph added. “His class came into play. I just love the way he did it. Hopefully he stays healthy. We just feel like we have the best horse in the country right now.”
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