Mandatory-payout Rainbow 6 pool will be in the millions by Sunday
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – One huge day just wasn’t enough for Pegasus weekend at Gulfstream Park.
Less than 24 hours after the $3 million Pegasus World Cup and six other graded stakes were to be run here Saturday, a mandatory disbursement of the Rainbow 6 pool is scheduled for Sunday at Gulfstream.
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 spans races 6-11. First post for an 11-race card is noon Eastern, with the Rainbow 6 starting at 2:35.
Sunday's pool will start with a $727,305 carryover, and track officials expect it to grow to $3 million or more as a result of the forceout.
The Rainbow 6 was last swept Jan. 13 for $159,442. It was last forced out Jan. 8, when more than $1.26 million was bet, despite the pool having been emptied unexpectedly the previous day when a single winner was worth $1.2 million.
Unseasonably cool but dry weather is in the local forecast for Sunday, meaning turf racing should proceed as scheduled. Races 3, 6, 8, and 10 are carded for turf.
Race 6
This looks like somewhat of a tricky start to the sequence – unless, as frequently happens, Chad Brown or Todd Pletcher sends out a winner.
It’s a 1 1/16-mile turf race that drew an oversubscribed lineup of maiden 3-year-old fillies. There are innumerable variables in play, including five first-time starters in the main body of 12, but the factors that many bettors will rely on are quite simple – Brown sends out the uncoupled duo of Ughrouda and Public Service for their respective debuts, while Pletcher counters with Beside Herself, who adds blinkers and Lasix after finishing third in each of her first two starts.
Race 7
Don’t Get Khozy seems logical enough in a field of seven in this seven-furlong starter allowance when following a 3-for-4 run with respectable efforts in three ungraded stakes. But several of her rivals have earned comparable Beyer Speed Figures in recent tries and should attract their share of action, too.
Our Fantasy, second as an odds-on favorite in a similar race four Sundays ago, is among those challengers, along with Let’s Be Honest and Race Day Speed.
Race 8
This is the male counterpart to race 6, and once again there’s the ominous factor of Brown and Pletcher to consider as they step in with well-bred beginners in Bandimere and Celestial Gaze, respectively. Neither colt would qualify as a surprise, and both figure to be leveraged heavily on many tickets.
Logical alternatives include Curbstone, whose last two starts at 2 make him a major player for Brendan Walsh, or Ridewiththedevil, a first-timing Curlin colt trained by George Weaver.
Race 9
This might be the most difficult race in the sequence. It’s a 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta starter allowance with most of the nine older horses entering in sharp form, and although the Ortiz brothers might have a slight edge when riding two of the deserving favorites, Indy Lyon (Irad) and Unprecedented (Jose), there are others to be heard from.
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To wit: Cuy earned eye-catching 97 and 98 Beyers in Tapeta wins last fall, while Frenchmen Street, City Drifter, and Tropicat all ran very well Dec. 29 in what could prove a key race toward this.
Race 10
Mid Day Image got a 96 Beyer in upping his career turf record to 7 for 12 by wiring the always-deep Claiming Crown Emerald off a 12-week layoff, which makes his most recent defeat over the Tapeta easy to forgive. If he and jockey Paco Lopez are permitted an easy lead in this hybrid allowance going a mile on turf, they could be long gone. Otherwise, Call Curt, Kobla Mas, and Risk Manager are useful options.
Race 11
No easy pickings in the nightcap, as none of these $10,000 claimers going a mile and 70 yards on the Tapeta have shown themselves to be all that reliable.
Captain Thunder, well drawn in post 2 with leading jockey Luis Saez, drops substantially in class and surely will garner play, while Uhtred picks up Irad Ortiz Jr. after being claimed out of back-to-back races. They’re two of maybe a half-dozen viable selections in what should be an exciting end to the week.