White Abarrio Moved From Joseph to Rick Dutrow

Embattled trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. took another hit May 23 when it was announced that one of his top horses, 2022 Florida Derby (G1) winner White Abarrio , would be transferred to a new barn due to concerns about the eligibility of Joseph horses. The C2 Racing Stable of Clint Cornett and Mark Cornett said in a statement that White Abarrio would go to trainer Rick Dutrow upon arrival at Belmont Park Tuesday morning.

"Twenty days ago, the primary trainer for C2 Racing Stable, Saffie Joseph Jr., was indefinitely suspended by (Churchill Downs Inc.) and since this suspension we have not been successful in obtaining the necessary answers from several racing jurisdictions or racetrack operators regarding future race nominations and race entries by Saffie Joseph Jr.," the statement said.

"Due to the lack of answers by jurisdictions and operators, they made it very difficult to manage the remainder of White Abarrio's 4-year-old campaign, thus requiring us to make a trainer change for the remainder of the year."

White Abarrio, owned by C2 and the La Milagrosa Stable of Antonio Pagnano, is pointed to the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on Belmont Stakes Day June 10. Under Joseph's care, the Race Day  colt has earned $1,156,350 from a 5-1-2 record in 12 starts. White Abarrio started this season with an eighth-place finish in the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), followed by a win in a March 4 allowance optional claimer, both at Gulfstream Park. 

His connections had wanted to run him in the Carter Handicap (G1) last month at Aqueduct Racetrack but he missed that race after Joseph said the horse developed a temperature and cough.

He then was an intended starter in the May 6 Churchill Downs Stakes (G1), but the KHRC scratched White Abarrio and Joseph's other horses entered at Churchill Downs in the days following his stable's two fatalities. 

C2 reiterated their support for Joseph, who has continued to race at his Gulfstream Park base after his horses cleared additional testing there, while suspended from Churchill Downs Inc. tracks. C2 will leave 12 other horses in his care.

As the only suspension in place was made by a track owner, as opposed to a regulatory body, CDI's sanction is not honored from state to state and from track to track.

The CDI suspension remains in place "indefinitely" while the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission investigates the sudden deaths of two horses trained by Joseph after races held opening week at Churchill Downs. The Louisville track has experienced a spike in equine fatalities this spring, with at least nine occurring during racing or training since April 27.

"We have the utmost confidence and trust in Saffie Joseph, Jr., and his team," the C2 statement said. "We know from firsthand experience and being at the barn on almost a daily basis for the past year that he and his team deeply care for the welfare and condition of the horses."

The New York Racing Association, which operates Belmont Park, has not formally sanctioned Joseph but said in a statement last week that they have "engaged in discussions" with the trainer and that he "is not currently planning on shipping horses to New York or entering races at Belmont Park while the matter is under investigation."

White Abarrio's new trainer, Dutrow, recently returned from a 10-year suspension for multiple violations. C2 also owns or co-owns horses currently active with trainers Phil D'Amato and Jorge Delgado.