Pegasus Turf Champion Atone Most Likely ‘Single’ for Both Wagers at Gulfstream on Saturday. (Lauren King)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool and the debut of the Tropical Turf Pick 3 will spice up Saturday’s 11-race program at Gulfstream Park, co-headlined by the $300,000 In Reality and $300,000 My Dear Girl, the final legs of the 2023 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series.
The Rainbow 6 went unsolved on Friday’s Championship Meet opening-day card for the seventh racing day following a jackpot hit for $136,295, leaving a jackpot carryover of $91,522.11 heading into Saturday’s mandatory payout.
The Tropical Turf Pick 3 will be offered each Saturday and Sunday. The multi-race wager with a $3 minimum and a low 15 percent takeout will include the last three turf races on each program.
The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11. The Tropical Turf Pick 3 will cover Races 1, 8 and 11 Saturday.
Atone, the winner of this year’s $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) who will make his return in Race 8, will likely be a popular ‘single’ for Rainbow 6 and Tropical Turf Pick 3 bettors.
The Rainbow 6 will be kicked off by a 1 1/16-mile $10,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up on Tapeta in Race 6, which attracted a full field of 12 and four also-eligibles. Trainer Jose D’Angelo is represented by the top two horses on the morning-line – Grande Soiree (5-2) is scheduled to make his first start off the claim after finishing second, while Gooch Go Bragh (3-1) finished a length behind Grande Soiree while finishing third. Kelsey Danner-trained C My Meister drops from optional claiming allowance company in a highly competitive race.
Race 7, a six-furlong sprint for $25,000 claimers who are non-winners of two races lifetime on the main track, seems every bit as challenging for handicappers. An evenly matched-field of eight 3-year-olds and up has been assembled, including Jose Hernandez-trained Threethirtythree, the 5-2 morning-line favorite who has raced against better, including the very speedy Mish last time out. Infamous Nono is slated to make his first start off the claim for trainer Jorge Delgado off a very troubled third-place finish at this level. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Cool Memory is coming off a strong maiden score, while Michael Yates-trained Minxy and Kathy Ritvo-trained Smokin Brew appear to be in sharp form.
Cool Memory’s maiden win.
Mike Maker-trained Atone will attempt to return to winning form in Race 8, an optional claiming allowance on turf for 3-year-olds and up. The 6-year-old Into Mischief gelding is winless in five starts since his Pegasus Turf score while competing at the highest levels. He is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita. The 6-5 morning-line favorite will be challenged by Michael Trombetta -trained No One to Blame, who has been no worse than third in five starts since returning from a long-layoff.
D’Angelo-trained Amstrong, who is undefeated in four starts on Tapeta, will take on older rivals in Race 9, the $100,000 Sabal Palm, a 1 1/16-mile overnight handicap on Tapeta for 3-year-olds and up. Volcanic has won four of five starts on the all-weather surface for Hall of Famer Mark Casse. Maker-trained Me and Mr. C. finished off-the-board in a Grade 2 turf stakes at Kentucky Downs after winning three straight stakes, including the Soldier’s Dancer at Gulfstream’s Tapeta course.
Joseph-trained R Harper Rose is the 4-5 morning-line field for Race 10, the My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile final of the Florida Sire Stakes final for 2-year-olf fillies sired by accredited Florida stallions. R Harper Rose is undefeated in four starts, including the $200,000 FSS Susan’s Girl, but has get to race around two turns. Joe Sharp-trained Honey Dijon rallied to finish second behind R. Harper Rose in the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl. Casse-trained Dancing N Dixie won around two-turns in her last two starts while racing on Tapeta.
Race 11, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on turf for3-year-olds and up, drew a full field of 12 and three also-eligibles. The competitive nature of the final leg of the Rainbow 6 can be determined by the fact that Casse-trained Highly Flammable has been installed as the morning-line favorite at 9-2. Trainers Rodolfo Sanchez-Salamon (Rebel Posse) and Brittany Russell (Nichiren) are represented by last-out winners on turf at Laurel. Danny Gargan-trained Listentothemusic has been working sharply for his return from a long layoff following a sharp maiden score at Gulfstream in January.
The innovative Tropical Turf Pick 3 gets under way in Race 1, a 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance that attracted 10 fillies and mares. Jimmy Toner-trained Texas Shuffle is the morning-line favorite following a third-place allowance finish at Laurel. Although the daughter of War Front has been in the money in eight of 11 starts, her only victory came over a sloppy Ellis Park main track in 2021. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Be My Sunshine, rated second at 5-2 in the morning-line, won impressively over the Gulfstream turf in her Jan. 8 debut. She is winless in five subsequent starts but has been racing competitively in Kentucky in recent starts. Brendan Walsh-trained Excellent Question (3-1) enters Saturday’s opener off a long-in-coming maiden score at Keeneland in her second start on turf.
While Atone may be a popular ‘single’ in the middle leg of the Tropical Turf Pick 3, most bettors are likely to ‘spread’ in Race 11.
