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Despite Missing Work With Slight Fever, White Abarrio Confirmed For Saturday’s Florida Derby

C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable Stable LLC's White Abarrio was confirmed for a start in Saturday's $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa Tuesday morning following a three-furlong breeze at Gulfstream Park.

The 3-year-old son of Race Day, who missed a scheduled workout Sunday after spiking a fever last week, blew out for Gulfstream's signature Triple Crown prep in 34.96 seconds on Tuesday.

“He breezed phenomenal. He went super easy. The track was probably faster because of the [Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale breeze show] yesterday,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Visually, he looks well. Energy-wise he looks well. I think we've been more worried than he is. As a trainer, you're always concerned about something.”

White Abarrio, who had been training up to the Florida Derby impressively since capturing the Feb. 5 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park, spiked a fever on the Tuesday before Sunday's scheduled breeze.

“He had his major work two weeks ago. He checked out good on Monday. On Tuesday [last week], he was supposed to go to the track to jog and he had a temp of 101.5, so we had to back off him for two days,” Joseph said. “We had to change things around.”

White Abarrio, who is undefeated in three starts at Gulfstream, is expected to vie for favoritism for the 71st Florida Derby with Tami Bobo's Simplification, who captured the March 5 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) after finishing a troubled second behind the Joseph trainee in the Holy Bull.

“With the temp, that concerns me, you never want to have bumps along the journey. With horses, you have to deal with that quite often. Things are never going to go exactly the way you want. Sometimes when everything goes the way you want, that means you're becoming complacent, because you can always find things at fault,” Joseph said. “As far as blow-out, working close, that's how I grew up in Barbados. We always blew out on Wednesday or Thursday before the race. I learned that style, but obviously I train different over here, but sometimes I would work three days before a race. I'm not concerned about that. The thing in the back of your head is he did spike a temperature last week. That's always a concern.”

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Call Me Jamal Ruled Out Of Arkansas Derby With Injury

A last-out allowance winner at Oaklawn Park, Call Me Jamal will be forced to miss a scheduled start in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby. Trainer Mike Puhich told the Daily Racing Form the 3-year-old son of Malibu Moon had appeared to suffer an injury in his final work.

“He tweaked something,” Puhich told DRF. “He's never had a hiccup before.”

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Call Me Jamal is out of the graded stakes-placed Thunder Gulch mare Jaramar Rain. Puhich selected the gelding at the Keeneland September Yearling sale for $70,000.

Call Me Jamal is named after Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Jamal Adams, and is owned by prominent Pacific Northwest heart surgeon Mark DeDomenico.

Call Me Jamal placed fourth in his first two starts, both at Churchill Downs in November around one turn. He showed grit to break his maiden in a two-turn maiden special weight at Oaklawn Park in December, winning by a head, before finishing a disappointing seventh in the G3 Southwest Stakes.

Puhich dropped Call me Jamal back to allowance company, and he responded with a 2 1/4-length victory. The conditioner had considered running Call Me Jamal in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds Feb. 26 before opting for the 1 1/16-mile undercard race. Call Me Jamal ran the distance over a fast track in 1:45.45. The winning time for the Rebel approximately two hours later – the surface was transitioning from fast to sloppy because of rain – was 1:45.69. Ethereal Road, who finished third behind Call Me Jamal Dec. 18, returned to break his maiden Jan. 29 and run second, beaten a half-length, in the Rebel for D. Wayne Lukas.

Slow Down Andy Game For Sunland Park Derby Win

Reddam Racing's homebred Slow Down Andy retook Bye Bye Bobby's brief lead in the stretch and won Sunday's $500,000 Sunland Park Derby (G3) in New Mexico.

Ridden Mario Gutierrez for trainer Doug O'Neill, Slow Down Andy scored by a half-length from Bye Bye Bobby and covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.16 on a fast track.

The Sunland Park Derby awards Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points to its top four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 basis

Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks leaderboard

Slow Down Andy and Straight Up G dueled for the lead early through the opening quarter in a quick :22.30. Slow Down Andy edged ahead by three-quarters of a length as a half-mile went in :45.35 and held his advantage through six furlongs in 1:09.50.

Slow Down Andy extended his lead while drifting out a bit coming off the far turn but Bye Bye Bobby unfurled a game rally and got his head in front momentarily in early stretch while swinging five-wide. Slow Down Andy knuckled down when Gutierrez asked, reclaimed command, and got the win. Pepper Spray finished third, 8 1/2 lengths back.

Slow Down Andy returned $4. The California-bred Nyquist colt came into Sunday's race having finished a well-beaten sixth in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) Feb. 6 at Fair Grounds but ready to win Sunday.

Winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) over Messier in December, Slow Down Andy, whose dam is the Square Eddie mare Edwina E, improved his career line to 3-1-0 from five starts.

Also on Sunday's card, Sam Henderson's homebred Cleopatra's Charge swooped from out of the clouds and won the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks in a close finish with hard-charging runner-up Ali Alley.

Longtime pacesetter Manorelli led from the gate but ran out of steam as the finish line approached, failing to hold back the bold rallies of the winner and runner-up, finishing third

Cleopatra's Charge, by Will Take Charge, won by three-quarters of a length and finished 1 1/16 miles 1:46.33 on a fast track.

Queen of Thorns, the 9-5 second choice in the wagering, stumbled badly at the start and lost jockey Victor Espinoza, who walked off.

The Sunland Oaks awards Road to the Kentucky Oaks points on a 50-20-10-5 basis to the first four finishers.

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Star Filly Secret Oath Among Nine For Arkansas Derby

It's official. The girl will be taking on the boys for the first time in the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 2 at Oaklawn.

Multiple stakes winner Secret Oath was among nine horses entered Sunday for the Arkansas Derby, which is Oaklawn's final major prep for the Kentucky Derby (G1). The Arkansas Derby will go as the 12th of 13 races, with probable post time 6:35 p.m. (CT). First post April 2 is noon.

The Arkansas Derby will offer 170 points (100-40-20-10, respectively) to the top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters.

Secret Oath, who drew post 6, has dominated 3-year-old fillies at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting, winning her three starts by a combined 23 lengths for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas and breeder/owner Briland Farm (Robert and Stacy Mitchell).

After securing a spot in the Kentucky Oaks – the country's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies – with a 7 ½-length victory in the Honeybee Stakes (G3) Feb. 26, Lukas began targeting the Arkansas Derby, which he won in 1984 and 1985.

Lukas won the 1984 Arkansas Derby with Althea, a week after she finished second in the Fantasy. Lukas finished third in the 1986 Arkansas Derby with another filly, Family Style, a week after she finished fourth in the Fantasy. Althea and Family Style were both Eclipse Award winners at 2. He won the 1985 edition with Tank's Prospect.

The projected Arkansas Derby field from the rail out: Kavod, Mitchell Murrill to ride, 122 pounds; Chasing Time, Jose Lezcano, 122; Barber Road, Reylu Gutierrez, 122; Doppelganger, John Velazquez, 122; Un Ojo, Ramon Vazquez, 122; Secret Oath, Luis Contreras, 117; Ben Diesel, Jon Court, 122; Cyberknife, Florent Geroux, 122; and We the People, Flavien Prat, 122.

Barber Road had his final workout for the Arkansas Derby over a fast track Sunday morning for trainer John Ortiz.

Barber Road breezed after the surface renovation break, covering a half-mile in :49.40 under exercise rider Elexander Aguilar. Clockers caught Barber Road in :25.20 for his opening quarter and galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:01.80. Barber Road worked by himself Sunday after breezing in company leading up to his prior starts this year.

“We were just doing maintenance work with him,” Ortiz said. “He's more than fit. He's run over this course three times already. We drilled him pretty hard going into his last race. We know he can get the distance; we know he's fit as can be and there nothing else that I can do, except to just keep him happy and on his toes. It's funny. Turning him around to go to his workout, he gave us a little Lipizzan leap in front of the grandstand. So, he's on his toes.”

Barber Road, who races for former Walmart executive William Simon, was breezing for the second time since finishing third, beaten a half-length, in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26. The Rebel was Oaklawn's final major prep for the Arkansas Derby.

The consistent Barber Road finished second in Oaklawn's first two Kentucky Derby points races – $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 mile Jan. 1 and $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29 – and has never finished worse than fourth in his seven-race career. Barber Road ranks 17th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 18 points, according to Churchill Downs. A top four finish in the Arkansas Derby likely would secure Barber Road a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

Also returning from the Rebel are Un Ojo, Kavod, Chasing Time and Ben Diesel, the 1-4-5-8 finishers, respectively, while We the People is unbeaten in two career starts at the meeting for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. Cyberknife was a sharp allowance winner Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds in his last start for two-time reigning Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox.

The Southern California-based Doppelganger had been with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert – a four-time Arkansas Derby winner – before being moved earlier this week to Tim Yakteen, a former assistant. Doppelganger exits a runner-up finish in his two-turn debut, the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes (G2), March 5 at Santa Anita.

Call Me Jamal, a two-time winner at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting, wasn't entered in the Arkansas Derby after emerging from a 6-furlong work Sunday morning with a physical issue.

In addition to the Arkansas Derby and $600,000 Fantasy (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, post positions also were drawn Sunday for two other April 2 stakes races – $400,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3) for older horses and the $200,000 Carousel for fillies and mares at 6 furlongs. A third stakes race scheduled April 2, the $150,000 Temperence Hill for older horses at 1 ½ miles, will be brought back April 3 after not filling.

Dream Lith, Magic Circle, Eda and Yuugiri were among nine entered in the Fantasy.

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