The job of a Thoroughbred trainer is never an easy one, and it’s well documented that just about anything can happen on any given day.

Still, despite all his success and experience, nothing could have prepared Saffie Joseph Jr. for the phone call he received from his team a few hours after multiple Grade 1 winner White Abarrio departed his Gulfstream Park base in South Florida by trailer en route to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the $2 million Stephen Foster Stakes scheduled for June 27.

“They said they won’t let the goat through,” Joseph said.

The goat in question would be Brownie, White Abarrio’s companion and travel partner. Many Thoroughbred athletes have companion animals to help keep them relaxed, especially when traveling away from their usual surroundings. However, Brownie caused quite a stir at the state line.

Brownie and White Abarrio at Del Mar in 2025. (Skip Dickstein/BloodHorse)

“By the state line, they check the vans with horses and make sure the paperwork’s correct,” Joseph explained. “Apparently they said the goat has to have an air tag. We’ve never been told that. The goat travels all the time, he’s actually been on a plane before.

“I said, ‘Okay, just take the goat off the van and ask them to keep him and we’ll have someone pick him up.’ They wouldn’t let us do that, so we had to get another van to come.

“We had to send the goat back to Ocala, had to get the next van to come pick up the goat. It was an eventful 2 ½ hours, but the goat is in Ocala waiting and he’s going to be on the next van (June 23).”

So after a 2 ½-to three-hour delay, White Abarrio continued his journey to Churchill Downs without Brownie, arriving in top order the morning of June 22 and giving Joseph the opportunity to laugh about the situation as he described it on the June 22 episode of the BloodHorse Monday podcast.

“It just shows you all these different things you’re dealing with,” Joseph said about the life of a trainer. “That’s the horse racing world, that’s what keeps it so eventful. You always have to call audibles, and most of the time long-term plans don’t work out. You’re always adjusting to some scenario.”

Luckily for Joseph, the plan of racing White Abarrio in the Stephen Foster, arguably the most highly anticipated race by fans so far this year, has been one needing no audibles. White Abarrio enters off a resounding two-length victory over reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty, whom he rematches with Saturday, in the April 18 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

With four Grade 1 victories, including the 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, to his name, White Abarrio is of course a well-respected runner. Yet, Joseph still had nothing but respect for Sovereignty’s ability, saying that watching the Into Mischief colt as a fan last year led him to believe he was unbeatable. That was until White Abarrio passed him in the final furlong.

“We knew how good our horse was, but still you have to see it to believe it,” Joseph said. “Then you’re like, ‘Wow.’”

In many ways, White Abarrio is a throwback to the legendary racehorses from a century ago. This is his sixth season participating in the graded levels, dating back to a third-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old. He has won Grade 1 races at ages 3, 4, and 6, and now aims to take down another at 7.

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White Abarrio might not win or hit the board every time, but he has left little doubt about his quality while earning over $8.4 million. And if defeating the 4-year-old Sovereignty and three-time Grade 1 winner Journalism, conqueror of the 2025 Preakness Stakes, at Oaklawn showed anything, it may be that he’s in his best form yet.

“He’s a full man now, he’s a man in his prime,” Joseph said. “He’s been a model of consistency, which is very hard – especially for dirt horses – to run from 2 to 7. Sometimes they run to that level, but they don’t stay at their supreme best. He’s just showed determination and grit mentally to be able to do it.”

Both the physical and mental maturity have grown in the son of Race Day as his career has progressed, and don’t underestimate the importance that the goat, Brownie, has had.

“The goat has really helped him focus on what he needs to do. Sometimes around the barn, he can be a little bit on the muscle. He needs to conserve that energy,” Joseph said.

The paddock is a different story, with Joseph saying White Abarrio has been one of the calmest horses he’s ever saddled throughout his 26-start career. Additionally, the old man knows his job and is easy to ride in the mornings.

“Almost any basic rider could ride White Abarrio in the morning because he’s that easy of a gallop,” Joseph said. “He doesn’t get strong, he doesn’t get over-worked up. He’s just relaxed. That’s very hard to find, especially in good horses. Most of them have some kind of quirk on the track, but he doesn’t.”

That personality and professionalism gained during his career on the track has helped White Abarrio pick up some new tricks toward the end of his career. After drawing the rail post in the Oaklawn Handicap, White Abarrio was surprisingly behind Sovereignty, who typically is a closer, and Journalism in the early stages. Yet, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. kept him settled in the pocket, a position he typically does not prefer, and still managed to get the best performance out of him.

“I thought White Abarrio that day showed a new dimension,” Joseph said. “That kind of trip he got early on is not his ideal trip. He’s a horse that likes to be in the clear, but that time he was able to sit in a pocket. When Irad was able to take him out at the three-eighths, he just jumped into the bridle and it gave you confidence that you knew he was going to run big. Probably about the eighth pole, you finally realized he had a very good chance to win it.

Irad Ortiz and White Abarrio. (Coady Media)

“That’s why we’re thankful when we get Irad, because he can adapt to call audibles and his decision to take back in the first turn was brilliant. It was probably the winning move of the race.”

White Abarrio will need every advantage he can get Saturday as the competition is stiff in the Stephen Foster, which offers the race winner an automatic berth to the Oct. 31 Longines Breeder’s Cup Classic at Keeneland. In the Oaklawn Handicap, Sovereignty was returning from an eight-month layoff, and the expectation would be that he moves forward and will be stronger for his second time out. Additionally, Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline winner Magnitude will be present, as will last year’s Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza. Joseph entered two of White Abarrio’s stablemates in the race as well, Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes winner Forged Steel and Pimlico Special Stakes winner Navajo Warrior, and will make a final decision about whether they start later in the week.

Although the challenge is daunting, Joseph said that he, like most in the industry, has been excited for several weeks to see how things play out.

“That’s what you want in racing competition-wise,” Joseph said. “From horse-wise, you’re always supposed to pick the easiest race. These Grade 1s are never going to be easy. You’ve got the best of the best this week, and hopefully everything stays well for all the horses and you’re going to have a very exciting race that is great for the fans, and great for the whole sport.”

Another Grade 1 win in his final season would be huge for White Abarrio, as it was announced June 11 that owners C2 Racing Stable, Gary Barber, and La Milagrosa Stable entered an agreement with Gainesway to stand him at stud in 2027. Finally having a stud deal in place after all this time has filled Joseph with pride.

“That was gratifying for the horse to get a chance at a reputable farm like Gainesway that had his grandsire, Tapit,” Joseph said. “He’s going to have his chance to prove himself. You’re very appreciative of that. It took a while, and eventually it all worked out how it was supposed to. If there was a place you wanted him to stand, being a grandson of Tapit, it would be Gainesway. ... To know he’s going to have a chance to produce future White Abarrios, it gives you dreams to look forward to.”

Dreaming, of course, is the most important part of the game.

“If you don’t dream in this game, you can’t be in it,” Joseph said. “Mentally, it’s a tough game. It’s a very, very tough game. Dreams are what keep everyone going.”