Jackson makes rare appearance on grass in Gulfstream allowance
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The horse named Jackson hasn’t been quite as successful as Big City Man or Three Rules, but trainer Jose Pinchin is grateful to have yet another steady moneymaker in his Gulfstream Park stable.
Pinchin, 67, has been training for nearly 50 years, having moved from his native Jamaica to run his first starter in the United States in 2002. Big City Man was sold privately after winning three of his first four starts for Pinchin, eventually winning the rich Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2009, and Three Rules swept the 2016 Florida Sire Stakes series.
Jackson, a 5-year-old Florida-bred, has knocked out $484,595 in a more deliberate fashion, finishing first or second in 12 of 21 career races for Pinchin and his wife, Tracy, who bred and owns the horse. On Thursday at Gulfstream, Jackson figures among the core of favorites in the ninth-race feature, a $52,000 turf sprint with multiple conditions and a $62,500 claiming option.
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Remarkably, this is the first time Jackson has ever raced in anything other than a stakes since he won on debut in July 2018 at Gulfstream. He is eligible here by not having won since Aug. 5, one of several conditions governing the feature. He has raced just three times on grass, finishing second twice, including a September 2018 race won by Bulletin, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in his next start.
“He’s run good on the grass, but we haven’t tried him much,” Pinchin said. “He’s got a lot of class. Hopefully, this will be the right kind of spot for him.”
Jackson’s record is sufficiently impressive to attract the services of leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., a pairing that should knock down the horse’s odds a peg or two, given Ortiz’s popularity. They’ll break from post 5 in a well-matched field of eight that also includes Yes I Am Free (post 8, Emisael Jaramillo), in search of a third straight win for trainer Mark Casse, and Blind Ambition (post 2, John Velazquez), a former Casse trainee who stands to benefit from a Jan. 1 race over the local course for Kent Sweezey.
First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern on Friday, when mostly sunny skies and a high of 79 are in the local forecast. The nominal feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 5-10) that also includes a $40,000 statebred allowance for 3-year-olds (race 8) and is expected to offer a guaranteed pool of nearly $1 million.
The Saturday card will be anchored by a pair of $100,000 turf stakes for fillies and mares, the Grade 3 Suwannee River at 1 1/8 miles and the Ladies Turf Sprint at five furlongs.