Saffie bags third straight title at Gulfstream

Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph Jr has praised the quality and hard work of his team after winning his third straight Championship Meet title at Gulfstream Park last weekend.

The 37-year-old ended the campaign with 66 winners and in excess of US $3.4 million in purse earnings, once again ahead of Hall-of-Famer Todd Pletcher, who finished second with 37 winners.

“We’re always trying to get better, and to win a third championship meet in a row was very gratifying for all the work that the staff put in, and that’s what puts me in this position,” Joseph said.

“I have a good team that works hard and we try to do it together. And the owners that supply these horses, the horses are the backbone and the big piece of the puzzle.”

Before Joseph’s arrival, Pletcher dominated the South Florida oval with 18 straight titles.

However, Joseph broke that dominance in the 2021-22 season when he collected 58 winners before following up last season to win a second title with 47 victories.

His barn has since rapidly expanded to as many 160 horses, and he said numbers were a critical part of success in horse racing.

“We’ve got quality and we’ve got quantity, and that’s what you need to win titles and to stay relevant in today’s industry,” Joseph stressed. “You’ve got to keep winning. That’s what people want.”

On last Saturday’s penultimate day of the season, Joseph also watched as his 29-1 outsider Catalytic ran second to the outstanding favourite Fierceness in the million-dollar Florida Derby, to all but clinch a place in next month’s prestigious Kentucky Derby.

“Not the way you’re going to a Florida Derby, but we thought he acted up a bit in the gate [in the allowance last month at Tampa Bay] and was very restless in the paddock and was kind of behind at the quarter pole,” Joseph said.

“Looked like he was going to run a distant fourth. But then he really got going and ran second. So we thought, all that went wrong that day, he was able to overcome that adversity, and that’s kind of what gave us confidence because a lot of horses lose their race like that, they don’t even hit the board. And he still tried after all that.

“We gave him a chance in the Florida Derby. The owners wanted to give him a shot…He showed up and he ran big. He ran into the best three-year-old this year, obviously, and probably one of the fastest three-year-old runners when he shows up. Fierceness, when he shows up, he’s unbeatable.”

Joseph will be honoured at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Owners’ Association gala ceremony in Ocala on April 15 as the leading trainer of Florida-breds, the leading trainer of Florida-breds with black-type wins and the leading trainer in Florida-bred wins.

He was tied with Jose D’Angelo and Kathleen O’Connell for the latter honour.

(CMC)