White Abarrio works half-mile in final prep for Whitney
:quality(75))
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - About 12 hours after watching Eunomia's Grade 1 win in her first try at that level with a victory in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was in the Saratoga grandstand keeping a close eye on White Abarrio, who breezed an easy half-mile from the three-eighths pole in 49.86 seconds in his final prep for Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney.
“He went smoothly and was just cruising today after a fast work last week,” Joseph said. “We just wanted to make sure he’s on cue and it went great. I think he’s going into the race doing very well. I know the last race he didn’t fire, so it’s obviously something you think about, although we knew the (sloppy) track was against us. Hopefully we get a fast track this time.”
White Abarrio, who won the 2023 Whitney, finished a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs in his most recent start after opening the year finishing second in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and upsetting Sovereignty in the Oaklawn Handicap. The Oaklawn performance earned him a career-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure.
“On his best day, his best numbers, he’s as fast as anybody in the race and if he shows up, he’ll be right there,” Joseph said. “He’s running just as fast now as he did when he won this race three years ago. It’s hard to say why he still should be this good at this age (7). But he is.”
Joseph also said he’s not concerned that the pace complexion of the Whitney has changed with Phileas Fogg passing on the event.
“I would have preferred to have seen him (Phileas Fogg) in there, because it would have made the other two horses (Magnitude and Nitrogen) make some decisions, but it shouldn’t really affect us a lot since we’re not going to be on the lead anyway,” Joseph said.
Eunomia earned a dues-free berth into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Oct. 31 at Keeneland with her victory in the Hirsch, and Joseph said he is leaning toward pointing her to that race. Joseph made the key decision to scratch Eunomia from the Grade 2 Shuvee here last week in lieu of shipping her to California for the Hirsch.
Eunomia, who is owned in partnership by St. Elias Stable and WSS Racing, received a 90 Beyer Figure for her effort Saturday at Del Mar.
“That was a huge win for her. We opted to scratch here and wait for the Hirsch because we figured a win or a second in the Grade 1 was more important for her resume’ and because we also needed an extra week to get another work into her,” Joseph said. “And the plan worked out perfectly. She runs well fresh and she loves Keeneland, she ran great there when second in the Doubledogdare (Grade 2) during the spring, so right now I think we’re going to give it a shot.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.