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Saffie Joseph Jr. Sets His Sights On Winning Gulfstream Championship Meet Training Title

After adding the inaugural Fall Meet title to his ever-growing list of accomplishments at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is setting his sights on the upcoming 2021-2022 Championship Meet.

Joseph, whose 36 victories during the fall more than doubled the total of nearest competitor Jorge Delgado, finished second behind perennial leader Todd Pletcher during last season's Championship Meet, eight wins behind the Hall of Famer's total of 58 wins.

“The Championship Meet is Todd's meet. Last year, we were pretty close, but we didn't have as many horses as we have this year. I think we can give him a run for his money,” Joseph said. “He's a legend at Gulfstream. What is it, 15, 16, 17 years? We hope to follow in his footsteps and one day take a run at him. Will it be this year, next year, or the future? I think with the horses were getting and with so many owners supporting us, I think it's possible.”

The 34-year-old Barbados native has long been a fan of the newly inducted Hall of Famer, who has captured 18 consecutive Championship Meet titles.

“I grew up coming here from Barbados on holiday when I was 16, 17, seeing Todd. I would just bet Todd and Johnny V [Velazquez]. That was my favorite combination,” Joseph said. “Just being able to compete against him – he's an icon trainer – I'm just thankful to be in this position.”

Joseph understands he, alone, can't dethrone the longstanding king of Gulfstream.

“I'm just thankful for the horses we have for the people we train for. We have a good team. That's the important thing – you need the horses and a good team behind you,” Joseph said.

Joseph did get the better of Pletcher Sunday when he saddled Girolamo's Attack ($4.20) for a front-running victory in the $60,000 Miami Gardens Handicap. Pletcher-trained Fearless, who captured the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile in February, finished second while coming off a six-month layoff.

Jockey Edgard Zayas, who dominated the Fall Meet title race with 43 wins, once again enjoyed success while teaming with Joseph Sunday while guiding Girolamo's Attack to victory in the mile overnight handicap, in which he carried five pounds fewer than Fearless, the 125-pound highweight.

Girolamo's Attack, who captured the Oct. 27 Miami Beach Handicap in similar fashion, set fractions of :24.12 for the first quarter and :46.57 for the first half mile before holding off Fearless through the stretch to win by a length in 1:34.50.

“His last race was a huge race, but I wasn't sure if because the fractions were so slow, he kicked on and got brave. But today, he definitely showed he's getting better and getting to be a nice horse,” Zayas said. “Early in this horse's career, he had some mental problems. He was a little crazy, but I think he's getting it all together. Today, he acted super professional.”

Fresh off a dominant Spring/Summer Meet title campaign, the 28-year-old native of Puerto Rico finished with 14 wins more than runner-up Chantal Sutherland.

“I'm really happy and blessed. I'm really appreciative of all the opportunities I get from the owners and trainers,” Zayas said. “The quality of horses in South Florida this time of year is getting better, and I've been getting on some nice horses. Hopefully, there are some big things coming up.”

Zayas finished fifth in wins and purses-won during the 2020-2021 Championship Meet and looks forward to the upcoming winter meet that gets underway Dec. 3.

“It's definitely a new challenge. We did pretty good last year. We finished in the Top 5. I'm looking forward to the Championship Meet. I'm super, super excited,” Zayas said.

Zayas and Joseph also teamed for a victory with Designed for Kitten ($6.40) in the Fall Meet's finale.

In Sunday's co-featured Opa-Locka, a mile overnight handicap for fillies and mares, Helping Lisa D ($9.40) pulled off a mild upset following a ground-saving ride by Paco Lopez. The Steven Dwoskin-trained 6-year-old daughter of Flat Out, rated well off the early pace set by 8-5 favorite Dance d'Oro before rallying along the rail to score by 1 ½ lengths in 1:36.50.

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Livingston Enjoying Extended Stay At Del Mar

Barbara Livingston, chief photographer for the Daily Racing Form and a six-time Eclipse Award winner, opted for an extended Del Mar stay for the entire Bing Crosby Season after making the trip West for Breeders' Cup Week.

She had reasons other than it's sunny Southern California rather than New York City and “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” instead of Aqueduct where … well, there's also thoroughbred racing.

“I came out here for Cigar's race (1996 Pacific Classic) where he lost to Dare And Go, so that was sad,” Livingston recounted recently. “Then I came out for the Breeders' Cup (in 2017), and just the Breeders' Cup.

“So I wanted to come out and stay for a while this time. I know it's just the Bing Crosby meet, but it's still pretty spectacular. I can't get enough of this place.”

Racing fans have likely been aware of Livingston's work since 1971 when she first started aiming her camera and indulging a passion for horses, the people around them, horse racing, and the history and daily happenings regarding them all.

The general public got introduced to Livingston during Kentucky Derby week in 2017 when CBS sent a crew and correspondent Don Dahler for a story that wound up on the network's “Evening News” and other shows. Livingston has vision problems that she overcomes with the aid of special lenses in her cameras, enabling her to capture images that can fascinate and delight.

“Every day I wake up happy to come here (racetrack), every day I come home happy that I was here,” Livingston told Dahler at the end of piece. “Every night I go to sleep and I can't wait to get back here.”

The photos she takes during her Del Mar stay are destined for places on internet sites that bear her name or perhaps another book displaying her talents.

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Miyadi Gives Frey A Leg Up To 1,000th Win

Career victory No. 1,000 for jockey Kyle Frey, achieved in Friday's third race aboard Tizlightning, came after getting a leg up from trainer Steve Miyadi, which was entirely fitting given their long, mutually beneficial relationship.

“They told me (about the chance for No. 1,000) in the paddock, I had no idea. If I'd have known that, he's a jinx, I'd have put someone else on the horse,” Miyadi said, joking. Miyadi followed it up with:

“No, he's a good kid. He started working for me when he was a boy. His dad worked for me and didn't want him to be a jockey, and I respected that. But here we are 1,000 wins later. I know the whole family – mom, dad, sisters, brothers – it's a family affair.”

Even so, don't even think about putting Miyadi in the sentimentalist category.

“I've never given him a compliment after he wins a race for me, and that rule still stands,” Miyadi said.

Frey got his 999th win on November 12 but had zero wins last weekend and a runner-up finish in Friday's first race before cracking the milestone by taking Tizlightning, a 2-year-old Lori Gallegos California homebred, wire to wire and narrowly holding off the late charge of Bright Leaf and apprentice Emily Ellingwood at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“It means a lot,” Frye said. “It was a long road, but hopefully the next thousand will come a little quicker. It means a lot to win it for Steve. I talked to my dad a week or so ago and he (remarked) about how great it would be to get it for Steve. It's pretty cool.”

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Green Returns To Oaklawn In 2022 To Build On 2021 Success

Trainer Aidan Green is back at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., to try and build on a breakout 2021 meeting, when her modest stable produced nine victories, seven seconds, and nine thirds from 42 starters and amassed $347,560 in purse earnings.

Green's 2021 Oaklawn meet highlights included her first career victory recognized by Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization, and first career stakes victory when Blame J D captured the $150,000 Rainbow for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred sprinters in the waning days of the live season.

“Kicked back a little after that, but not too much,” said Green, who is raising three small children near Oaklawn with her husband/assistant, Ike. “Breaking babies and we've got broodmares and everything. Got rid of some horses. So, I'll sit around 10 or 12, just like always. I've been dropping like crazy at Churchill. I've got owners wanting to get horses, and new guys coming in, and we just keep getting outshook every time.”

Green said trying to claim horses at Churchill Downs has been fueled, in part, because of her success last season at Oaklawn, adding she's picked up a handful of new owners in advance of opening day, Dec. 3, including Dennis Pohl of St. Louis.

“I've gotten some new people since then, and people that want in, so that's exciting,” Green said. “Dennis has had horses with other trainers. He called and said he wanted someone with a smaller stable, where they get real attention. We've been trying to get some claimed for him.”

Green's best horse to date, Blame J D, was turned out following the 2021 Oaklawn meeting (five starts, including a state-bred maiden special weights sprint) and just resumed preparing for a 2022 campaign, Ike Green said.

The Greens formerly worked as assistants under 2020 Oaklawn training champion Robertino Diodoro. Aidan Green's first official starter recognized by Equibase was Feb. 14, 2020, at Oaklawn. Ike Green has 98 career training victories, the last coming in 2014, according to Equibase. All nine of Aidan Green's career victories recognized by Equibase have come at Oaklawn.

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