Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was a relative unknown in racing circles last year when he brought Math Wizard to the Indiana Derby — so unknown that a lot of people mistakenly called him Joseph Saffie.
Now, a year after Math Wizard finished third, Joseph again is presented on Indiana Grand's showcase racing card with No Getting Over Me in the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby and Gibberish in the Grade 3 $200,000 Indiana Oaks. A lot has changed for the trainer in the past 12 months, including people knowing his correct name and that Joseph has ascended to the top echelon of horse racing.
Math Wizard put Joseph on the map, earning $1 million and winning the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby for Joseph's first graded-stakes victory. His barn this year has won another five graded stakes with three horses, he picked up high-profile owners and his stable has mushroomed from “35 to 40” horses to “90 or 100,” he said. Besides his Florida base, he is expanding divisions in Kentucky and at Saratoga this summer.
Abdullah Saeed Almaddah's No Getting Over Me, 12-1 in the morning line and breaking on the rail, doesn't bring in the same credentials as Math Wizard, who had been running well in 3-year-old stakes, including a second-place showing in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby. No Getting Over Me has raced twice since joining Joseph's barn, with a third and second in entry-level allowance races for Florida-bred horses.
“It's a bit ambitious placement,” Joseph said of the 1 1/8-mile Indiana Derby. “With how the year has been (with leading 3-year-olds being injured), they bought him and want to give him one more try against these horses. Does he have that ability? It's hard to say. He's not really a flashy work horse either. Both times he ran for us he had trips that weren't ideal. But he needs to step up big time to show he can run against these types of horses. It's a question mark.
“We're more hopeful than confident with him. We're taking a chance to see where we're at. We either go back to reality or, if he runs well, we might have to chase a couple more races with him.”
Joseph already had horses for owner e Five Racing Thoroughbreds when he picked up Gibberish following Kiaran McLaughlin's retirement from training to become jockey Luis Saez's agent. Saez has the Indiana Oaks mount on Gibberish, who won a mile Gulfstream Park maiden race in the slop by seven lengths in her last start.
“She ran really big that day,” Joseph said. “It was really sloppy, you could barely see the horses in the race. The Beyer speed figure came back huge. Obviously when horses run a big number in the slop, you don't know if it's legit or not. But she trains on the dry dirt just as good as she ran. She does train like a good horse. She came back from that race and has trained remarkable. Her last work (five-eighths of a mile in 59 3/5 seconds) was phenomenal. There's always that doubt, because of the slop. But I think she's a legit good horse. I look for a big performance.”
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