Small carryover anticipated for force out of Rainbow 6

A state-mandated force out of the Rainbow 6 pool is the highlight of Sunday’s nine-race program at Gulfstream Park that also features a $48,000 allowance and optional-claiming dash for Florida-breds to be decided at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta course.

The popular Rainbow 6 wager created quite a stir here last Saturday when a mandatory payout of a pool that had grown over 24 programs to $520,101 resulted in a final jackpot of just less than $4 million and ultimately a winning 20-cent payout of $18,453 to those fortunate enough to solve the tricky sequence.

Sunday’s force out of the pool, which is required by the state on the final day of the fiscal year (June 30), will surely not generate nearly as much excitement or interest, with the carryover likely to be well less than $100,000 even if the popular multi-race wager is not hit Friday or Saturday.

The Rainbow 6 begins in the fourth race and will be split evenly between the Tapeta course and the main track. Three of the first four legs are for maidens, including a five-furlong special weight dash for 2-year-olds topped by likely favorites Lou and I’mbiggerthanilook but also muddled by the presence of first-time starters Rockville and Oleg, the latter a full brother to $204,000 earner Olga.

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Only seven horses will contest the race-8 main event, but it is far from a gimme for Rainbow 6 players with a case to be made for the majority of the field. Smokin Cloud, for instance, has won his last two starts in game fashion, while Frosted Faith is exiting a relatively easy win over modest conditioned-claiming opposition. Both will be meeting statebred company for the first time in their careers.

Other key contenders include Rolling On, who had hit the board in four consecutive starts against similarly conditioned company before throwing in a clunker in his most recent try, plus the lightly raced but very consistent Rhum Saint Esprit along with fellow 3-year-old Embrace the Dream, whose 82 Beyer Speed Figure earned on graduation day in his debut over the Tapeta surface is among the highest in the lineup.

Those fortunate to still be alive in the Rainbow 6 heading into the finale will want to be well covered in a head-scratcher of a bottom-level conditioned claimer that lured 11 starters to go 1 1/8 miles over the synthetic track. Six of the entrants already own a win over the course.

Sibelius coming for Smile

The nomination list for the $120,000 Smile Sprint on July 6 is a small but relatively select one led by Sibelius, who captured the Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen during the spring of 2023 and also won the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector here in December.

Trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer has already informed the racing office he intends to bring his star sprinter back for his first start since a disappointing 11th-place finish in defense of his title in the Golden Shaheen three months ago.

Other notables on the nomination list include stablemates Caramel Chip and Run Classic, both of whom also made their most recent starts at Meydan, the former in the Grade 2 Godolphin Mile, the latter in the Golden Shaheen.

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Octane also will garner plenty of support having upset the Grade 3 Razorback this winter at Oaklawn Park. He most recently rolled to a decisive, one-sided victory returning locally for the Big Drama.

Four of the 13 horses nominated to the Smile – Cape Trafalgar, Comedy Town, Swirvin, and Mish – come from the barn of leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

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