Big field in feature adds spice to Rainbow 6 sequence

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There will be a carryover of nearly $1.3 million in the Rainbow 6 when racing resumes Wednesday at Gulfstream Park. But that will be a mere drop in the bucket should the jackpot, which has not been hit over the past 20 programs, survive just three more days with a mandatory disbursement of the entire pool now scheduled for Saturday.

Wednesday’s sequence includes the $51,000 main event, a one-mile optional-claiming race that lured a field of 11 including Marconi, who was last seen around these parts finishing fifth behind Promises Fulfilled in the 2018 Fountain of Youth.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Marconi has not started since his eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland in April. He will be making his first try against non-graded stakes opposition since winning his maiden so impressively in his 2-year-old finale at Aqueduct in December of 2017.

“He’s a horse with some talent, but the Triple Crown races were a little too soon for him last year,” said Pletcher of Marconi, a half-brother to 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man. “He’s a big horse who needed a little more time to fill out and mature. He’s been training well and a little more professionally than he did as a 3-year-old, and while this race is probably a little short of what his ideal distance is, it’s a good place to get the season started and to use as a stepping-stone for longer races down the road.”

For those who think Marconi could be vulnerable in his return, there are plenty of options to choose from when making out those Rainbow 6 tickets. Among the more likely choices are the red-hot Fortune Cookie, speedy Guns of Steel, improving Sargeant Drive, and consistent The Scotsman.

Fortune Cookie brings a modest two-race win streak into the main event while showing marked improvement since returning to his favorite track earlier in the meet. Fortune Cookie, first or second in seven of 10 starts at Gulfstream Park, withstood a long stretch drive to register a head verdict going seven furlongs against high-level starter allowance opposition here on Jan. 11.

Guns of Steel has been a disappointment despite getting loose on easy leads in his last two starts, faltering late to finish off the board as the 2-1 favorite in the Claiming Crown Iron Horse and as the 3-5 choice against middle-level claiming types here last month.

Sargeant Drive has been freshened by trainer Shug McGaughey since finishing fourth in a key entry-level allowance test on Nov. 14 at Aqueduct, from which the winner and runner-up both returned to win and post identical 93 Beyer Speed Figures.

The Scotsman is coming off a pair of second-place finishes earlier in the session and has hit the board in five of six outings since winning his maiden by 14 lengths under a $20,000 claiming tag here last summer.

Those punching the all button in the Rainbow 6 will also receive Botero, Mr Atila, Gray Beau, Bourbon Resolution, Colour Guard, and Be Gone Daddy.