White Abarrio Works After ‘Credible Effort' In The Whitney

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White Abarrio Works After 'Credible Effort' In The Whitney originally appeared on Paulick Report.
Multiple Grade 1-winner White Abarrio returned to the work tab on Thursday over the Saratoga Race Course main track, posting a bullet half-mile in company with Alexander Helios [47.24] in 47.04 seconds.Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the 6-year-old son of Race Day posted his first breeze since finishing a respectable fourth four lengths behind Sierra Leone in the G1 Whitney on Aug. 2 at the Spa.
The work came 12 days after the Whitney, which was the same amount of time Joseph, Jr. gave the gray horse before working him again after winning the G3 Mr. Prospector in December at Gulfstream Park. That began a series of works that led to a 6 1/4-length romp in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at the Hallandale Beach oval.'I thought he worked great,' Joseph, Jr. said of Thursday's move. 'That's the first time I've worked him back in 12 days since the Pegasus, and I feel like it was a Pegasus work, so hopefully we stay as is and we're very happy with where the horse is at the moment. It's the happiest we've been in a long time.'It was a credible effort, we just didn't have him at his optimum yet,' Joseph, Jr. added of the Whitney, where White Abarrio raced wide throughout and made a bid in the final turn. 'We thought it was a good guideline because we were within four lengths of Sierra Leone and as wide as we were, he and Sierra Leone ran the fastest race on the Ragozin sheets. We feel we have moved forward since the race.'
White Abarrio is targeting a stretch-out to 10 furlongs in either the G1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 30 at Del Mar, or the G1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Aug. 31 at the Spa. Both races award the winner a 'Win and You're In' berth into the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, a race White Abarrio won in 2023 when in the care of trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr.'The older he gets, you feel more confident,' Joseph, Jr. said of the distance. 'Earlier in his career, we weren't sure if he wanted to go a mile and a quarter, but obviously he won the Classic, and it was a fast-run race. I think that was probably the most impressive race of his life because of how hard he ran and how he was able to hold on. I think as he's gotten older, longer seems to be no problem for him.'Joseph, Jr. said he will discuss options with owners C Two Racing Stable, Gary Barber, and La Milagrosa Stable. Should he stay for the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he's likely to face a rematch with Sierra Leone amid a field that is also expected to include dual G1-winner Mindframe, and defending race winner and Whitney runner-up Highland Falls.'California is under consideration, but we'll talk it over with the ownership group, and he might stay for the Jockey Club,' Joseph, Jr. said. 'I think when you have the best, you've got to run against the best. We think we have the best, so now is the time to take them on again.'
Joseph, Jr. added that White Abarrio's workmate Alexander Helios, winner of the G3 Razorback Handicap in February at Oaklawn Park, is likely to join multiple graded stakes-winning stablemate Skippylongstocking in the G2 Charles Town Classic next Friday at its namesake course.The son of Cairo Prince was last seen finishing a distant last-of-7 in the G3 Blame on May 31 at Churchill Downs after setting a pressured pace.'He didn't run good last time in an unexplainable race, so we backed off him a bit and he's rounded back into form,' Joseph, Jr. said. 'Hopefully, he'll start to get back to his top performance soon.'
As for Daniel Alonso's multimillionaire Skippylongstocking, the 6-year-old Exaggerator bay is looking for his third consecutive Charles Town Classic score on the heels of a seventh-place finish in the Whitney, which was his first start since taking the G2 Hollywood Gold Cup in May at Santa Anita Park.Joseph, Jr. noted that Skippylongstocking also used the Whitney last year as a prep for a 5 3/4-length romp in the marquee West Virginia route.'He's doing good. He made a little move in the Whitney, but I didn't think he was at his optimum going into it,' Joseph, Jr. explained. 'I felt like we needed to get a race into him, and I didn't want to go to Charles Town off a long layoff. The year before, he ran off the board in the Whitney, too, and then he won at Charles Town, so I felt confident running him in there and getting him a race rather than training him into it.'Skippylongstocking boasts a 33-11-3-7 record with more than $3.6 million in earnings, including nine graded stakes victories.
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.