Paco Lopez. (Julia Sebastianelli/EQUI-PHOTO)
Paco Lopez Rides Winner No. 3999 Friday at Gulfstream
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jockey Paco Lopez moved to within one victory of the 4000-win career milestone during a one-day stopover Friday at Gulfstream Park, notching Win No. 3999 aboard Asher’s Edge ($2.60) in Race 3.
The 38-year-old is scheduled to ride this weekend at Keeneland to continue his quest for 4000.
Lopez had five mounts on Friday’s nine-race program and started his day with a fourth-place finish aboard Cajun Fool in Race 2. After scoring aboard Asher’s Edge in Race 3, he finished fourth on Roscoe Village in Race 5, fifth on Nando in Race 6 and fourth on Forwardly in Race 8.
The Veracruz, Mexico native, who rode his first winner at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, FL in 2007, has enjoyed so many of his career highlights at Gulfstream Park, including his first graded-stakes victory aboard Smooth Air in the 2009 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2), currently the Gulfstream Park Mile, and a Grade 1-stakes success aboard Lukes Alley in the 2016 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, currently contested as the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).
Lopez, who notched a Breeders’ Cup victory aboard Roy H in the 2018 Sprint at Churchill Downs, has ridden the winners of more than $150 million in purses.
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000
Saturday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected by grow to an estimated $75,000 at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the second racing day following a jackpot hit.
The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11, featuring a mile optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on turf in Race 10. A full field of 12 was assembled, including Todd Pletcher-trained Gilded Edge, a 3-year-old daughter of Justify coming off a maiden score at Monmouth Park.
In Race 8, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds drew a field of eight that includes first-time starters by City of Light, Authentic and Vekoma.
Note
Jose Pinchin-trained Wiggle An’ Wine tuned up for a scheduled start in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, the second leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series Oct. 19, with a bullet five-furlong workout Friday morning at Gulfstream.
The 2-year-old daughter of Awesome Slew was timed in 1:00.25, the fastest of 19 workouts recorded at the distance.
Wiggle An’ Wine finished second behind R Morning Brew in the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the first leg of the filly division of the series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions. She broke her maiden at first asking and finished second in the Sharp Susan in her first two career starts.
