Eye of a Jedi has the force with him in Sea of Tranquility
Eye of a Jedi snapped a 10-race losing streak Saturday, emerging best in a three-way stretch battle in the $75,000 Sea of Tranquility at Gulfstream Park in South Florida.
Fourth at the quarter-pole under Jairo Rendon, Eye of a Jedi rallied down the center of the track to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Red Crescent, with Vincero, the 11-10 favorite, another neck behind in a field of six. The winner paid $14.20 as fourth choice.
The one-mile race was restricted to non-winners of a stakes and was completed in 1:36.53 over a fast main track.
:: Get PPs, Clocker Reports, picks, and more from DRF's Saratoga/Del Mar One-Stop Shop
Steve Budhoo is the owner and trainer of Eye of a Jedi, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Eye of the Leopard. From 20 prior starts, the gelding had accumulated nine seconds and thirds – and had run 10 times since posting the most recent of just two prior wins in September 2018.
“He was too far back last time,” said Budhoo. “Today, I gave the jockey instructions to stay closer to the pace. I said, ‘Win, lose or draw, we’ll be right there.’ ”
The Sea of Tranquility was part of the Rainbow 6 sequence (races 7-12), which was worth $2,887 for every 20-cent winner. The jackpot carryover into Sunday is $204,809.
Apprentice Cristian Torres rode a career-high four winners on the card, scoring in races 2, 5, and 7 before dead-heating for win in race 9.
The next six-figure stakes at Gulfstream are the first legs of the annual Florida Sire Stakes series on Aug. 3.