White Abarrio (Race Day) worked a half-mile in :50.60 at Santa Anita Sunday morning as he continues to prepare for the Feb. 24 $20 million Saudi Cup.
“We were very happy with his breeze,” assistant trainer Chip Dutrow told 1/ST Racing's Zoe Cadman. “He makes it look easy. We know just by watching Emily (Ellingwood) with her smile after the breeze that she's very happy with him. That's our cue, and we got that today, so everybody's happy. There were some times when we were going up to the Breeders' Cup that we were having feet trouble and she wasn't happy but those times are over.”
The winner of the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic will make his first start in Saudi Arabia since his Classic win.
Ellingwood, a jockey on the Southern California circuit, has been serving as White Abarrio's regular exercise rider since last fall.
How important is she to the operation, Cadman asked?
“These two are a great team,” said Dutrow. “It's like 1 and 1A, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. They know each other so well. They're in love with each other. It's a great story.”
Ellingood also pronounced herself pleased with the work.
“It was great,” she said. “He went a half, out five, he galloped out really strong. I went to pull up to jog him off and workers came by and he tried to take off again. That's a good sign, and if I had let him, he would have gone around again.”
“It's been quite a journey,” she said of the partnership. “I had just been galloping, trying to work hard and get mounts as a jockey and this opportunity came up and I couldn't pass it up. I'm really grateful for the connections and Doug O'Neill for recommending me as a rider for this wonderful horse. He's honestly a great horse to get on in the morning. He pretty much just trains himself and takes me along for the ride. I always look forward to riding him in the morning.”
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