Mandatory payouts as fall meet closes Saturday

Laurel Park will close out the year, and its fall meet, in style Saturday with a five-stakes card that will match some stakes-hardened New York shippers against their Mid-Atlantic brethren.

Since Saturday is the final day of the season – the winter meet begins Sunday – there will be mandatory payouts on the Rainbow 6, late pick five, and Super High 5. Going into Friday’s card, the Rainbow 6 had a carryover of $9,946, and the pick five stood at $7,804.

If the carryovers survive until Saturday, they could offer a good opportunity for smaller players because the sequence of five stakes and a $25,000 maiden-claiming race looks straightforward, and the Laurel card will be flying below the radar. Gulfstream Park, whose Rainbow 6 pool is more than $300,000, will also be making mandatory payouts Saturday.

The $100,000 Dave’s Friend, a six-furlong stakes that is slotted as race 8 on Laurel’s nine-race card, will match Grade 3 Fall Highweight winner Heaven’s Runway against Chief Lion, who is coming off a front-running victory in a high-level optional claimer over the Aqueduct inner track.

Chief Lion seems the lone speed in an apparently paceless race and holds a distinct advantage over Heaven’s Runway, a deep closer. Trained by David Jacobson, Chief Lion ran very well two starts back when he finished a close third in the $200,000 Fabulous Strike Stakes at Penn National. He went too fast early that night – 21.45 and 43.68 – but still held on bravely in the stretch.

He set much more reasonable fractions in his follow-up win. Jevian Toledo, the leading rider at the Laurel fall meet, will take over Saturday.

Heaven’s Runway, trained by Rudy Rodriguez, comes off a sharp rallying victory over the Jacobson-trained Stallwalkin’ Dude in the Fall Highweight. He carried a relatively light 123 pounds in that race, 11 less than Stallwalkin’ Dude, and his bid was set up by quick early fractions. He will face a different pace scenario Saturday.

The $75,000 Jennings Stakes, a one-mile race for Maryland-breds, is race 5 on the Laurel program, is the second leg of the Rainbow 6, and starts the pick five.

John Jones, who has established himself as one of the best older horses in Maryland since being claimed for $25,000 by trainer Lacey Gaudet in July, appears a clear favorite. Although he had his four-race winning streak snapped in the $190,000 Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 3, he ran very well to finish third, beaten two lengths, in that 1 1/8-mile race.

The one-turn mile of the Jennings looks perfect for him. He should be on or near the lead throughout under jockey Luis Garcia.

Sonny Inspired is cross-entered in both the Jennings and the Dave’s Friend, but trainer Phil Schoenthal said Thursday he was leaning toward skipping both races and pointing to the $75,000 Fire Plug Stakes on Jan. 14, a race Sonny Inspired won a year ago.