Saffie Joseph Jr.

Lord Miles (c, 3, Curlin--Lady Esme, by Majestic Warrior) outslugged the top two choices on the board to spring a massive upset in a roughly run renewal of Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. at the Big A. Disregarded at 59-1 following a sixth-place finish in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 4 and a fifth-place finish in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 11, the Peter Vegso homebred was hustled early by Paco Lopez and raced in second rounding the clubhouse turn. Ridden along in an outside fourth down the...

Irad Ortiz Jr. finished off the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in style Saturday, piloting Forte to a victory in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby to tally his sixth winner on the day alone. With three more winning rides on Sunday's closing day program, Ortiz finished the Championship Meet with 128 victories to reclaim the jockey title for the winter Thoroughbred session. Ortiz ran away with this year's title while finishing 57 wins ahead of the Luis Saez, who finished three wins ahead of third-place Jose Ortiz. "I've had big...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL-The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which had four million-dollar juveniles a year ago, has matched that mark with another day to go as a colt by Good Magic topped Tuesday's trade with a sale co-record final price of $2 million. Bob Baffert, sitting in the press box alongside Donato Lanni while on the phone with Amr Zedan, made the winning bid, which matched the $2-million price tag of Chestertown (Tapit), who sold at the auction in 2019. "It...

Our series featuring notable success for European sires in North America, with this week's highlight being the victory of Grade I winner Shantisara (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}) in the GII Hillsborough S. at Tampa Bay Downs. Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Robert LaPenta's Shantisara is no stranger to the winner's circle, and the 2021 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. heroine secured her first victory since 2021 with a 1 1/4-length triumph in the Hillsborough S. on Saturday (video). Now a 5-year-old, the mare was bred by Oliver Donlon, and sold...

Saffie Joseph, Jr., the leading trainer at the current meet at Gulfstream Park, has been suspended for 15 days and fined $500 by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after his trainee Artie's Princess (We Miss Artie) tested positive for the substance Gabapentin after her win in the GII Presque Isle Downs Masters S. on Sept. 19, 2022 at Presque Isle Downs. The story was first reported by the Paulick Report. According to the website Equinews.com, "Gabapentin has been used in horses for many years, and is often prescribed as adjunct therapy...

As the 3-year-olds line up to duke it out for next season's older- horse honors, Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) proved he's rounding back into form at just the right time when taking GII Harlan's Holiday S., the local prep for next year's GI Pegasus World Cup. A consistent presence on the Triple Crown trail earlier this year, Skippylongstocking was always right there in the year's biggest races--third to Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in both the GII Wood Memorial S. and the GI Belmont S. and fifth behind Early Voting (Gun Runner) in...

BALTIMORE, MD--In the continued lead up to Saturday's GI Preakness S., the intensity in the air, as well as the increasing media presence, grew noticeably denser Thursday morning at Pimlico. A couple of groups of fans could be seen milling around the Stakes Barn area, in addition to large clusters of media hoping to get in their final interviews in before a jam-packed weekend of racing. Drawing a gaggle of reporters and interested onlookers, morningline favorite Epicenter (Not This Time), who continued with his usual routine and went out for...

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who captured Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby with White Abarrio (Race Day), earned his first Championship Meet title at Gulfstream Park Sunday. Joseph closed out the meet with 58 winners, 12 victories ahead of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the defending 18-time titlist. "Most definitely the Florida Derby was the icing on the cake. The Championship Meet title also means a lot. I grew up watching Todd my whole life. He's dominated for 18 years now. I'm 35 now. To take over from him after...

White Abarrio (Race Day) came out of his victory in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby in fine shape and will now be aimed at the GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. confirmed Sunday. "He was further back than we envisioned and to see him be able to sit back that far off the pace and make his move, it gives you a lot of confidence, because you know he can run close to the pace and now sit back and be as effective," Joseph said of his charge's Florida...

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL--With no heavy favorite, the GI Curlin Florida Derby looked like it would likely go one of four ways on paper. The three winners of the four Florida-based GI Kentucky Derby preps--Simplification (Not This Time), White Abarrio (Race Day) and Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway)--were 2-1, 5-2 and 7-2, respectively, and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit), a flashy maiden winner hailing from the Todd Pletcher barn, was dispatched at 3-1. While all four of those runners were a factor in this event, it was C2 Racing Stable's White...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. After bringing $325,000 from John Fort's Peachtree Stable at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, the expectations were always high for Cape Trafalgar (c, 3, Lord Nelson--Goldrush Girl, by Political Force), who kicked off his career with an encouraging second-place finish on debut at Gulfstream Mar. 12 (video). "He had trained extremely well, but we had a couple of setbacks," Fort said. "I honestly believe that if we...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-AQU, $80K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:20 p.m. WITH BELLS ON (American Pharoah) starts her career for owners Bass Stables LLC and Cheyenne Stables after realizing $300,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The dam, a juvenile stakes winner on the turf by Giant's Causeway, has already produced two winners on the dirt including Princess Mo (Uncle Mo). Second dam Marylebone (Unbridled's Song) was also a stakes winning juvenile, taking the GI Matron S. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 11-36 over the last five...