After his final workout before the April 2 Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa (G1) was delayed by a temperature, White Abarrio sped three furlongs in :34.4/5 March 29 at Gulfstream Park in a blowout for the 1 1/8-mile race.
"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."
C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's White Abarrio had been training up to the Florida Derby after capturing the Feb. 5 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream, then spiked a fever March 22 before a planned March 27 breeze.
"We had to change things around," Joseph said, noting he backed off the colt's training for two days.
White Abarrio is one of the leading prospects for the $1 million race, along with Simplification , Classic Causeway , and Charge It . Post positions will be drawn at 1 p.m. ET March 30, streamed on GulfstreamPark.com and on Facebook.
"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," Joseph said. "Sometimes when everything goes the way you want, that means you're becoming complacent, because you can always find things at fault."
