Joseph runners look live in Rainbow 6

There isn’t so much as one allowance on a nine-race twilight card Friday at Gulfstream Park, but there’s always the Rainbow 6 to hold bettors’ interest at the year-round track in South Florida.

A pool guarantee of at least $250,000 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 was expected when this raceweek begins Friday. The actual carryover stands at $156,833.

The sequence begins in race 4 with a very competitive maiden-special sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Defended and Arella Star are among the likely favorites as the respective two-three finishers from the same July 1 race, but well-bred first-time starters such as Guardian Angel, Penumbras Maker, and Skip to My Lute make for a tricky opening leg.

Race 5, a one-mile starter allowance/$16,000 claimer, drew such familiar names as Hard Belle and Mr Tito’s, with a 4-year-old gelding named Chucky from the meet-leading Saffie Joseph Jr. barn among their top challengers.

Following another starter allowance/claimer going two turns on Tapeta (race 6), a pair of “beaten” claiming events go as races 7 and 8, with the sequence ending with a hybrid maiden route as race 9. Tamarindo, a Florida-bred trained by Joseph, would seem to have an edge in the finale when exiting a straight maiden special and now competing versus a mix of statebreds and $40,000 claimers.

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First post Friday is 2:55 p.m. Eastern, with the Rainbow 6 starting at 4:38 and the last race going at 7:22. Sunshine and a high of 89 are in the forecast.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot was last emptied July 8. Gulfstream currently is racing only on dirt and Tapeta as the turf course undergoes an extensive renovation that began in mid-June.

Morrison with a three-spot

Apprentice rider Ailsa Morrison notched the first three-win day of her career last Friday, booting home Drinks On Me ($5.40), Royal Mahogany ($7), and Centsational Grace ($7.60) from her six mounts.

Morrison, 24, began her racetrack career in 2018 in her native Canada when galloping horses for Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield. She continues to ride with a seven-pound allowance, with her apprenticeship due to expire in February. Mike Sellitto is her agent.

◗ The highlight of the coming weekend at Gulfstream is the $75,000 Bear’s Den for 3-year-olds on Saturday. Entries for the about 1 1/16-mile Tapeta race were to be drawn Wednesday.

The Miss Gracie, the filly counterpart to the Bear’s Den, was won last Saturday by Omixochitl with an 80 Beyer Speed Figure. Edgar Perez was up for trainer Fausto Gutierrez.