Mufasa. (G Sonny Hughes)
Favorite White Abarrio, Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Winner, closes to be second in 7F Sprint
Gulfstream Park Release
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Carlos Saavedra and Stud Vendaval, Inc.’s Grade 3 winner Mufasa, exiting a disappointing effort in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), rebounded in a big way with a 1 ¼-length upset of multiple Grade 1 winner White Abarrio in Saturday’s $165,000 Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The 70th running of the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs on the main track was the last of three stakes following Just a Care’s victory in the $115,000 Abundantia for fillies and mares on the grass and Jerry the Nipper’s triumph in the $100,000 St. Augustine overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up on the all-weather Tapeta.
Mufasa ($10.20) got an ideal stalking trip from jockey Tyler Gaffalione, pouncing on three-time Grade 3-winning pacesetter Super Chow in the stretch and rocketing past to finish up in 1:22.47 over a fast main track and giving Gaffalione his third winner of the afternoon.
“I think White Abarrio is no doubt a great horse but he’s not a sprinter. He can sprint, because he’s really good,” winning trainer Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Correas IV said. “I told [Gaffalione] to just go and stay second. I don’t want dirt on his face, period.”
Gaffalione kept Mufasa in the clear three wide in third as Super Chow took the early initiative as expected and went the opening quarter-mile in 22.77 seconds pressed by Grade 3-placed Playmea Tune. Mufasa moved up to second midway around the far turn following a half-mile in 45.41 and assumed the lead at the top of the stretch as Super Chow began to fade.
Mufasa opened up once set down for a drive as White Abarrio, who hesitated at the break and encountered some early trouble, rallied from far back to edge 70-1 long shot Little Vic by a neck for second. It was 3 ¾ lengths back to Caramel Chip in fourth, followed by Playmea Tune, Super Chow, Mr Skylight, Illuminaire, Real Macho and El Principito. Gordian Knot and Shaq Diesel were scratched.
“He’s a tremendously talented colt,” Gaffalione said. “He put me in the game, put me where I needed to be, traveled great throughout, gave me a ton of confidence coming into the stretch and finished the job well.”
Correas admired the way Mufasa bounced back after being no factor while finishing 11th in the Nov. 2 Dirt Mile, which is contested around two turns at Del Mar. In back-to-back starts prior to making the trip to California, the 5-year-old won the Vosburgh (G3) at Aqueduct and a Colonial Downs optional claiming allowance by eight lengths combined.
“I saw the horse that I saw in the Vosburgh, and I saw in the race at Colonial Downs,” he said. “I thought that was probably my mistake thinking it was better to go two turns than stay sprinting. We talked with the owners and that was the decision we made, probably not the right one. We’re going to try to keep him sprinting and see where he takes us.”
Mufasa (CHI) gets the job done in the Mr. Prospector G3, third victory today for jockey @Tyler_Gaff! #GulfstreamPark #ChampionshipMeet pic.twitter.com/Ri0aNN1XhB
— Gulfstream Park (@GulfstreamPark) December 28, 2024
Gaffalione was thrilled to keep the mount on Mufasa, who he rode for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup. The Mr. Prospector was the fifth start for Mufasa since coming to the U.S. from his native Chile, where he was also a Group 3 winner.
“I fell in love with him the first time I saw him,” Gaffalione said. “I got to watch a couple of replays and got to run against him, and then when I got on him, I got obsessed with him. I called my agent right away and said, ‘We’ve got to ride this one.’ I’m just so fortunate to keep the mount. Ignacio is so good. He’s done a great job with this horse.”
White Abarrio, the $5.2 million winner of the 2022 Florida Derby (G1) and 2023 Whitney (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), was racing for just the second time off a 5 ½-month break between starts, both since returning to the care of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. following a fifth-place finish in the June 8 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga.
The 5-year-old son of Race Day launched his comeback with a 10 ¼-length optional claiming allowance romp Nov. 22 at Gulfstream, also sprinting seven furlongs. He now has six wins and one second in eight lifetime tries over his home track.
“[Jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] said he raised his head right before [the gate opened]. They settled him again and he did it as they opened the gate,” Joseph said. “Last time he broke a little tardy, too. I don’t know if he wasn’t settled. But that’s racing. He took a lot of dirt. He came from an impossible position, in my opinion, and he got pretty close. Credit the winner for holding on.
“You always want to win. Did we think we were going to win before the race? Yes. But considering the circumstances, he ran hard,” he added. “I looked back at a certain point and I was, like, ‘Whoa.’ I couldn’t believe how far back he was. He’s never been that far back in his life. As much dirt as he took, I was happy to see him run through that. He looked like he was finishing as good as you can finish.”
