Skippylongstocking has been a worthless win bet in Grade 1 stakes, in which he’s 0-for-11. That’s about the only serious negative for a 7-year-old horse who’s been a money machine for owner Daniel Alonso. After costing only $37,000 at a 2-year-old sale, “Skippy” has earned more than $3.75 million. What a deal.
And it’s not as if he’s been a dud in top company. Last year, the son of Exaggerator made $273,000 with a third-place finish behind stablemate White Abarrio in his third try in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). He missed second by only a neck, a major improvement over his first two attempts, when he ran seventh and last.
He earned a spot in this one by overcoming traffic trouble to take the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec. 22 at Gulfstream, his 10th stakes win. Skippy returned to form after running seventh and eighth in August in the Whitney Stakes (G1) and Charles Town Classic (G2).
“He came back,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said, “and you never know if they’re going to come back after they run two bad races. But his works were as good as he ever worked, and we were quietly optimistic that he would run well. And he redeemed himself.
“Now we’re back on track. He was coming off the layoff, and there’s no reason to say he was at his best. He should move forward off of that.”
He’ll be chasing White Abarrio again at Gulfstream, that 7-year-old’s favorite track, where he’s 8-for-10 with one second. Alonso and Joseph wouldn’t mind another third by Skippylongstocking.
Notes: Skippylongstocking breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02.65 on Jan. 9 at Palm Meadows Training Center … Joseph, a 38-year-old native of Barbados, swept the Triple Crown with Areutalkintome in 2009, the youngest trainer ever to do it. He is based year-round at Gulfstream … His father, Saffie Sr., and a grandfather were trainers. The family’s racing roots go way back. In 1966, 21 years before Saffie was born, his aunt Claudette received a trophy from Queen Elizabeth II.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
