Bentornato remains undefeated in the Dr. Fager Sep. 9 at Gulfstream Park (Coglianese)
Sequence Features Three FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Races
Undefeated Bentornato, R Harper Rose Favored in Co-Headliners
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.— A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool is set for Saturday’s 11-race program at Gulfstream Park.
The Rainbow 6 has gone unsolved for four racing days following an Oct. 8 mandatory payout. Should the popular multi-race wager go unsolved through Friday’s program, the jackpot pool is expected to surpass $300,000 heading into Saturday’s wagering.
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11, featuring three FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes events worth a purse total of at least $500,000.
The $200,000 Affirmed, starring undefeated Bentornato, in Race 10 and the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, showcasing undefeated R Harper Rose, in Race 8 will co-headline Saturday’s sequence, supported by the $100,000 Gil Campbell Memorial, featuring a showdown between graded-stakes winner Dean Delivers and win-machine Big and Classy, in Race 9.
The Affirmed and Susan’s Girl, which will both be contested at seven furlongs, are second-leg races in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions. The one-turn-mile Gil Campbell Memorial will offer a $50,000 FTBOA bonus for a registered Florida-bred winner.
Jose D’Angelo-trained Bentornato, who won the $100,000 Dr. Fager in the first leg of the FSS series, is scheduled to face 11 rivals in the Affirmed, including stakes-winning Mattingly, who will be making his debut on dirt, and Christophe Clement-trained Hurricane Nelson, who has shipped from New York for an attempt to break his maiden after a pair of encouraging second-place finishes at Saratoga and Aqueduct.
Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained R Harper Rose, who missed the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series due to a slight fever, is slated to seek the third straight victory of her brief career against 11 rivals, including D’Angelo-trained Welcome Back, who captured the $100,000 Desert Vixen in the first leg of the FSS series.
Michael Yates-trained Dean Delivers, who finished third in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga last time out, defeated Big and Classy, the winner of eight of his last 10 races, by 2 ½ lengths in the six-furlong Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream July 1.
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.
There will be a $75,000 gross jackpot pool guarantee Friday for the 20-cent Rainbow 6, whose sequence will span Races 3-8, bookended by a pair of highly competitive optional claiming allowance races that figure to challenge bettors to find a ‘single.’.
A six-furlong optional claiming allowance on dirt will kick off the sequence with eight fillies and mares, seven of whom have finished in the money in their most recent starts.
Friday’s sequence will be wrapped up by a mile-and-70-yard optional claiming allowance on Tapeta with a field of 10 well-matched fillies and mares. Joseph Jr.-trained Tamarindo is a lukewarm 7-2 morning-line favorite coming off a second-place finish on turf at Kentucky Downs.
