Saffie Joseph Jr. (Coglianese Photo)
• Saffie Joseph Jr. Collects 10th Gulfstream Title in a Row
• Edgard Zayas Back on Top of Jockey Standings
• Comedy Town, Beth’s Dream, Fly the W Dominant Players
• Rated by Merit, Win N Your In, Gabaldon Prominent Juveniles
• Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $150,000
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Saffie Joseph Jr. collected his 10th Gulfstream Park training title in a row Sunday as the 2024 Royal Palm Meet came to a close after showcasing many outstanding performances by horses and humans alike.
Joseph broke his own Royal Palm Meet record with 93 victories, eclipsing the 71 winners he sent out during the 2021 stand. Jose D’Angelo with 43 winners finished a distant second behind Joseph, who has won the past three Championship Meet titles.
Edgard Zayas regained the top spot in the jockey standings for the Royal Palm Meet with 112 winners. Zayas rode 137 winners in 2020 and 119 winners in 2021 while winning Royal Palm Meet titles before finishing behind Miguel Vasquez (2022) and Leonel Reyes (2023) the past two seasons. Emisael Jaramillo was second best with 91 visits to the winner’s circle.
While Joseph and Zayas had wrapped up their respective titles long ago, the owner’s title was far more competitive among Ken Ramsey, Vicente Stella Stables LLC and Moshe Mark, who ended the meet in a three-way tie.
The Joseph-trained Comedy Town suddenly emerged as a main-track attraction. The 6-year-old gelding, who had run his first 24 races on either turf or Tapeta for a number of trainers with moderate success, established himself as unexpected dirt specialist while winning three straight races on the main track, including the Smile Sprint and the Benny the Bull Stakes.
Drayden Van Dyke, who scored aboard Comedy Town in the Benny the Bull, has fit in very nicely since joining the jockey colony at Gulfstream in early June, clicking at a 23-percent winning rate with 31 trips to the winner’s circle.
Victor Barboza Jr.-trained Beth’s Dream dominated the older fillies and mares division while winning three straight races, including the Aug. 17 Sheer Drama, all by open lengths. Bobby Dibona-trained Fly the W, an 8-year-old gelded son of Ghostzapper, won four straight starter allowances during the meet before finishing second last time out while carrying 130 pounds.
While the older horses more than held their own, the Royal Palm Meet has been marked by juvenile excellence. St. Elias Stable’s Rated by Merit made an eye-popping debut July 13 winning by 9 ¾ lengths. The Michael Yates-trained son of Battalion Runner ran six furlongs in 1:10.50, earning a 92 Beyer Speed Figure that was the highest for all 2-year-olds until Todd Pletcher-trained Ferocious, a $1.3 million colt, earned a 96 two weeks later.
Carlos David-trained Win N Your In distinguished herself with a 7 ½-length debut victory July 6. The juvenile daughter of Win Win Win went on to capture the Aug. 10 Sharp Susan Stakes by 4 ¾ lengths. Win N Your In and Rated by Merit are both eligible for the upcoming FTBOA Florida Sires Stakes series.
D’Angelo-trained Gabaldon registered a front-running victory in the $100,000 Royal Palm Stakes, a five-furlong dash on turf for 2-year-olds, May 11. The son of Gone Astray, who earned free entry into one of Royal Ascot’s juvenile stakes and a travel stipend, came up just short of victory while finishing second the Windsor Castle Stakes June 19.
Mark Casse-trained Bullet won the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies by 2 ¼ lengths after rallying from far back in the five-furlong dash. The daughter of War Front went on to win the My Dear Stakes on Tapeta at Woodbine in her next start.
The 2024 Sunshine Meet will get underway Friday and run through Nov. 24. The first two legs of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series will be featured. The $100,000 Dr. Fager and the $100,000 Desert Vixen, six-furlong divisions for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions, will kick off the series next Sunday, Sept. 7. The $200,000 Affirmed and $200,000 Susan’s Girl will both be run at seven furlongs Oct. 19. The final leg of the FSS series will both be run at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 30 during the 2024-2025 Championship Meet that will start Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28.
Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $150,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool is expected to grow to an estimated $150,000 Sunday at Gulfstream Park on opening day of the Sunshine Meet.
The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the seventh racing day following an August 17 mandatory payout.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is 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 goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
