+ Friday’s Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $900,000 + Mandatory Rainbow 6 Payout Scheduled for Sunday’s Card
Gulfstream Today
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.– Preakness Stakes (G1) winner National Treasure schooled in the Gulfstream Park paddock and walking ring during the opening race on Thursday’s program – with Godolphin LLC’s First Mission in close attendance.
National Treasure and First Mission are scheduled to meet in a race for the first time in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat, the headliner of Gulfstream’s 13-race program with seven graded stakes, including the $1 million 1/ST BET Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2).
The late-developing First Mission will make his Grade 1 stakes debut in the Pegasus, a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up, after closing out his 3-year-old campaign with a sharp second-place finish by a nose to fellow Pegasus invitee Trademark in the Clark (G2) at Churchill Downs.
“It couldn’t have gone better so far. He shipped in here early Tuesday morning and had a good gallop over the track Wednesday and another good gallop Thursday,” trainer Brad Cox’s assistant Trace Messina said. “I couldn’t have gone better so far.”
National Treasure paddock schools. (Lauren King)
Neither First Mission, rated second at 7-2, nor National Treasure, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, turned a hair while schooling for a highly anticipated clash in the Pegasus.
National Treasure, who was nosed out of a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) by Cody’s Wish last time out, arrived at Gulfstream Wednesday.
“The horse is doing good,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes.
Senor Buscador, who shipped directly to Gulfstream after finishing second behind Pegasus invitee Hoist the Gold in the Dec. 2 Cigar Mile (G2) at Aqueduct, schooled during Race 2. The Todd Fincher-trained son of Mineshaft, who is well acquainted with Gulfstream’s paddock and walking ring, has breezed locally on four occasions in preparation for the Pegasus.
Friday’s Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $900,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $900,000 for Friday’s 10-race program at Gulfstream Park.
The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 18 consecutive racing days following a mandatory payout of $31,356.08 Dec. 30.
Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10.
A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 pool has been scheduled for Sunday’s card at Gulfstream.
On mandatory-payout days, the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence. The carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winner, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
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Jockey Luca Panici doubled aboard Krabi ($12.80) in Race 4 and Jerry’s Turn ($9.20) in Race 9.
