Gulfstream Park: Sunset Time might hold key to Rainbow 6 wager Thursday

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The hottest topic around Gulfstream Park these days, other than the upcoming Florida Derby, is undoubtedly the Rainbow 6, with the jackpot eclipsing the $3 million mark last weekend.

With the daily pools regularly approaching or even exceeding $500,000, and field sizes starting to shrink as the championship meet nears an end, the chances of having the standalone, single winning ticket necessary to take down the jackpot continue to diminish. That means being able to ferret out a single or two during the sequence is of the utmost importance.

Thursday’s featured ninth race, a $48,750 optional claimer, drew a field of nine fillies and mares to go a mile on the main track but could be one of the keys to the Rainbow 6. On paper, the race looks wide-open, with several legitimate contenders, including Oasis at Midnight, the undefeated Successful Luck, and Calder allowance winner Awesome Vow among the logical choices.

But if recent workouts are any indication, Sunset Time might be worth taking a chance on as a single in the main event.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Sunset Time will be making her 2014 debut Thursday and her first start since going up to Tampa Bay Downs to win a $25,000 claiming race that was switched from turf to the main track Dec. 29. Sunset Time has not missed a beat in the morning since that victory, culminating a series of fast works by going five furlongs in 59.05 seconds Feb. 23 while serving as a target for no less a stablemate than Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up Judy the Beauty, who used this work as a final prep for her victory last Sunday in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita.

Sunset Time is not the only member of the field who has been keeping good company in the morning. Billboard Babe, second under similar conditions in her 3-year-old finale in December, served as a rabbit for her mate Mucho Macho Man on Feb. 15. She shaded 35 seconds for her opening three-eighths while trying to keep pace with the Breeders’ Cup Classic champ before falling well back during the latter stages of a 59.98-second move. She is expected to race on or near the pace Thursday.

Oasis at Midnight, a good-looking daughter of Midnight Lute, trained better than she performed earlier in the meet before waking up with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure effort when finishing second behind Majestic River going two turns Feb. 25. Oasis at Midnight should benefit from what figures to be an honest pace, with stretch-out sprinter Malibu Mudslide – making her first start since being haltered by trainer Marty Wolfson just one week earlier – Billboard Babe, and Awesome Vow in the lineup.

[Clocker Reports: Get Mike Welsch’s clocker reports from Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows]

Incentives on Florida Derby Day

In an effort to assure large fields on Florida Derby Day, track management is offering purse incentives for all non-stakes races on the card. Purses for turf races with 10 or more starters leaving the paddock will be increased by $10,000. In addition, the purses for dirt races with eight or more starters will be increased $5,000, and those with 10 or more runners will be increased by $10,000.

There will be eight stakes races March 29, seven of which are graded, topped by the $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby. Post time for the special program will be noon.