Joseph aims for 2nd Penn Derby upset with West Coast Cowboy

Trainer Saffie Joseph lit up the tote board at Parx Racing when he won the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) with Math Wizard. He is hoping for another surprise Saturday when he saddles West Coast Cowboy in this year’s Grade 1 worth $1 million.

West Coast Cowboy is 12-1 on the morning line. When Math Wizard pulled off his upset, he was a whopping 31-1 when he went to the starting gate for the 1 1/8-mile race.

As Joseph prepares West Coast Cowboy, a son of 2017 champion 3-year-old male West Coast, for this year’s Derby, his mind, naturally, drifts back to Sept. 21, 2019.

“Most definitely,” Joseph said by phone from Kentucky, where he’s attending the Keeneland September yearling sale. “That was my first graded stakes race win – ever – and it was a Grade 1. It was a good race. We beat a Preakness winner (War of Will) and we beat Improbable (who won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga in 2020). That race definitely brought a lot of joy and it’s one of the highs of my career. It will last forever.”

West Coast Cowboy is owned by Gentry Farms and will be ridden Saturday by Tyler Conner. Conner first rode the chestnut when he finished second in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby behind Red Route One.

West Coast Cowboy has two wins in seven starts. He also ran third in the Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 4 and seventh in the Florida Derby (G1) April 1, both at Gulfstream Park.

“He is a big, strong horse that seems to be improving,” Joseph said “He is not at the top level yet, but he seems to get better and better every time he runs. Sometimes you just have to take chances. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time it doesn’t. You can’t be afraid to run them in the race.”

Joseph’s trip to Parx for the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby certainly proved that theory.

“For sure,” he said. “It’s rare when you have a special moment like that. It never goes away.”