HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida, CMC—Ace Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won only two of 13 starters on Saturday at five racetracks across the United States and Canada, including the U.S. $5 million Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
The 36-year-old was 1-1 at Belmont at the Big A in New York City and 1-3 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, where he is based and has dominated the sport for the past three years.
Joseph collected his first win of the three-day-old season at Belmont with his only entry on the 11-race card, the 24-1 rank outsider Soul of an Angel, ridden by Trevor McCarthy. The horse beat five other fillies and mares, four years old and upward, by 4 3/4 lengths in the U.S. $200 000, Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes over one mile on the dirt.
Soul of an Angel chased along the inside, coming under coaxing from McCarthy at the three-eighths marker before he angled out the five-year-old, dark bay mare five wide into the upper stretch, rallied to take command a furlong out and drew her clear under a drive to prevail in a time of one minute, 35.40 seconds – exactly three ticks off the track record.
Joseph grabbed his table-leading 11th win of the month-long season at Gulfstream with the 2-1 favorite, King d’Oro, ridden by Miguel Vasquez, who won by three quarters-of-a-length in the U.S. $60 000, maiden special weight seventh race over 1 700 meters on the turf.
Vasquez saved ground off the pace aboard King d’Oro before angling out three wide in the middle of the homestretch, and the four-year-old bay gelding got between foes and was up late to clock 1 min, 41.18 secs – a little more than three ticks off the track record.
Joseph also saddled two entries, Mojave Desert, under stable jockey Edgard Zayas, and Show Off, under Jesus Rios, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the featured U.S. $100 000 black type Honey Ryder Stakes for three-year-old fillies over one mile on the turf.
He also struck out big time when none of his four starters on the Kentucky Derby card at Churchill Downs finished in the money, including the 34-1 chance Catalytic – ridden by Jose Ortiz – which came 19th out of 20 in the feature race that was won by Mystik Dan, under Brian Hernandez Jr.
Joseph returned empty-handed after saddling two starters on the race card at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arizona. Still, at least his entries, Classify and Mish, finished second in their respective races—including the featured U.S. $200 000 black type, Lake Hamilton Stakes—under jockey Samy Camacho.
The Barbadian trainer also drew a blank at Woodbine in Canada, where none of his three starters finished in the money, including Blind Spot, under compatriot jockey Juan Crawford, and Accomplished Girl, under Tyler Connor, in the CAN $135 000, Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes, which was won by Play the Music, ridden by ace Barbadian reinsman and soon-to-be Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer, Patrick Husbands.
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