Refresh the saddle White Abarrio to win the April 2nd $1 million Florida Curlin Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa (G1), coach Saffie Joseph Jr. was able to celebrate his first championship in Meet at Gulfstream Park Sunday.
Joseph finished the 2021-2022 Championship Face-to-face with 58 winners, 12 wins over Hall of Fame coach Todd Pletcher, who defended the title 18 times.
“Most definitely the Florida Derby is a match on cake. The Championship Meet title also means a lot. I grew up watching Todd when he was alive. He’s dominated for 18 years now. I’m 35 years old now. To take over him after 18 years, I can’t put into words what it means,” said Joseph. “I’ll just watch Todd win and dominate. He’s a role model for any coach who wants to respect someone.”
Luis Saez has regained the title of jockey encounter champion that Irad Ortiz Jr. have held for the past three years. Saez has won titles consecutively in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.
Saez rode 122 in the 2021-2022 Championship Meet, 28 more than Tyler Gaffalione, the riding winner on White Abarrio was one of five wins on Saturday’s card.
“It was something huge for us. Florida was like home. It was the first place we went,” said the 29-year-old Panamanian. “The third time is very special for us.”
The Royal Palm Spring/Summer meet at Gulfstream Park will be on Thursday with an eight-race program with a first post-race time of 1:05pm.
