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Blinkers On Are ‘One And Done’ For Tonalist’s Shape After CCA Oaks

Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Tonalist's Shape finished a well-beaten fourth as the 6-5 favorite in Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The multiple graded-stakes winner, who wore blinkers for the first time in a race Saturday, was rank early and lacked the late punch that carried her to victory in the Forward Gal (G3) and Davona Dale (G2) during the Championship Meet and, most recently, the Hollywood Wildcat at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

“The blinkers, I knew, could have that effect. I thought the blinkers for her was going to be hit or miss. It was either going to make a big difference or it was going to be a big mistake. It turned out to be a big mistake,” Joseph said. “We thought we were making the right decision. We had to give it a try. I'll take the blame for that. I can't blame her. She got a little rank going into the first turn. I think it was a complete throw-out race. I'll take the blame for that.”

The Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks is still penciled in for a 'blinkers-off” Tonalist's Shape.

“I'm not going to let that race distract us. If all is well, we're going to stay on plan. She's earned a spot in the Oaks. If she stays the course, we'll probably give her a chance there. We'll see how she does,” Joseph said. “We'll talk it over with the owners, but I don't see any reason not to continue onwards.”

Math Wizard, who gave Joseph his first Grade 1 success while winning last year's Pennsylvania Derby at Parx, improved off a pair of disappointing 2020 efforts with a second-place finish behind Global Campaign in Saturday's Monmouth Cup (G3).

“He ran very good. He's just a hard-knocking horse,” Joseph said. “On his day, when he's doing good, he gives his all. I couldn't be more proud of him.”

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No Passing Lane: Global Campaign Rerallies To Win Monmouth Cup

Passed by Bal Harbour at the top of the stretch after being pressured on the front end by another rival, Global Campaign rerallied in the final sixteenth of a mile to win the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup by 1 1/2 lengths at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., on Saturday.

Ridden by Jorge Vargas Jr. and trained by Stanley Hough, Global Campaign — a 4-year-old colt by Curlin – covered 1 1/8 miles on a fast main track in 1:50.47 after setting fractions of :23.77, :47.91, 1:11.69 and 1:37.55.

Math Wizard, winner of the G1 Pennsylvania Derby in 2019, closed from last in the field fo nine to finish second, one length ahead of Bal Harbour, who looked like a winner at the top of the stretch.

Global Campaign, who raced without blinkers for the first time in an eight-race career and was favored at 5-2, was winning for the fifth time. This was his second graded stakes win, having taken the G3 Peter Pan at Belmont Park last year.

Owned by WinStar Farm and Sagamore Farm, Global Campaign was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm. He is out of the A.P. Indy mare, Globe Trot.

“I didn't like seeing all the pressure on him all race,” Hough said. “But I can't say I'm surprised he withstood it. I had my doubts when he got headed in the stretch by Bal Harbour. But Jorge Vargas rode him good and the horse responded great. He's a very, very talented horse, so it's good to see him come back like this. Hopefully he continues to show himself. I'm very pleased with this effort. He was kind of rambunctious as a 3-year-old last and he'd look around and get distracted so I kept the blinkers on him. But I never felt he really needed them. I just thought it would let him see around a little by taking them off for this race. I've been working him without them so he was used to it again. He's shown from the start that he's a good horse. He's well-bred and gosh he has so much talent. He has kind of been his own worst enemy. But he is finally maturing and maybe we can build from here.”

“I was pretty excited when I found out I was going to ride him,” said Vargas. “I went back and watched all of his races. I knew how talented he is. If you saw him this race, even with those horses putting pressure on him all race, he kept his ears pricked and he was relaxed and off the bit. When I asked him a little bit he jumped on the bit and he had something left. He was very strong. I just moved to Monmouth Park for the summer for the first time this year and this is my first win of the meet so it's pretty special.”

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Indiana Derby: Joseph ‘More Hopeful Than Confident’ In No Getting Over Me

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.

“It's been a big transition. Obviously, Math Wizard was a big part of that, the journey he took us on,” Joseph, a Barbados native who came to South Florida with a two-horse stable in 2011, said by phone. “We picked up really good clients. We already had some of them at that point, but we just continued to build on it. Everything has gone as good as we could ask. The sky's the limit right now. It was why we work so hard to get to this point, to have these opportunities. We're forever thankful to the owners for them.”

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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Ny Traffic Bound For Jersey’s Haskell After Sharp Gulfstream Drill

Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Ny Traffic and Tonalist's Shape tuned up for upcoming 3-year-old stakes engagements Sunday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Ny Traffic, who currently sits seventh in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying-points standings, breezed five furlongs in 58.64 seconds, the fastest of 12 workouts recorded at the distance, for a likely start in the $1 million Haskell (G1) at Monmouth Park July 18.

“I worked him Monday last week, so he came back in six days. I wanted to get a good work into him and he worked super. He finished up really good. He ran the last quarter in 22-and-4 and galloped out strong,” Joseph said. “After that work today, I'd say we're probably going to run him in the Haskell, 95 percent sure.”

Ny Traffic, who is owned by John Fanelli, Cash is King LLC, LC Racing and Paul Braverman, finished second, a length behind Maxfield in the May 23 Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs last time out. The 3-year-old son of Cross Traffic previously finished second, 1 ½ lengths behind Wells Bayou in the Louisiana Derby (G2), and third in the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds. In his first start for Joseph, the New York-bred colt scored a front-running 6 ¾-length romp in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Jan. 11.

Tonalist's Shape, who currently ranks seventh in qualifying points for the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks (G1), breezed five furlongs in 59.43 seconds, the third-fastest five-furlong work of the morning.

“Last week's work was a little quicker than ideal, so we just tried to slow her down a little. Once again, she worked super. We're very happy with where we are with her,” said Joseph, whose Oaks hopeful breezed a half-mile in 45.35 seconds a week earlier. “We still haven't decided. It'll be either the Ashland or the Coaching Club. We'll probably decide [Monday].”

The $300,000 Ashland (G1), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies, is scheduled to be run next Saturday at Keeneland, while the $350,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) is scheduled to be run at 1 1/8 miles July 18 at Saratoga.

Tonalist's Shape is coming off a sharp 3 3/4-length victory in the May 15 Hollywood Wildcat, her first win around two turns, rebounding from her first career loss in the March 28 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2). The Kentucky-bred filly had won her first five starts, including victories in the Forward Gal (G3) and the Davona Dale (G2) during the 2019-2020 Championship Meet at Gulfstream.

“She's in good form. She's holding good weight. She's happy and strong. We're happy with where we're at,” Joseph said.

Both Ny Traffic and Tonalist's Shape were ridden by assistant trainer Sabine Langvad Sunday.

“We're thankful to have her,” Joseph said. “She has a lot of passion for what she does, and that's what we need.”

Math Wizard, who gave Joseph his first Grade 1 success in last year's Pennsylvania Derby at Parx, breezed a half-mile in 49.14 in preparation for the $300,000 Monmouth Cup (G3) on the Haskell undercard.

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