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Gulfstream: Rainbow 6 Pool Guaranteed At $700,000 Friday, Mandatory Payout Saturday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $700,000 for Friday's program at Gulfstream Park. If there is no single winner Friday, there will be a mandatory payout of the pool Saturday on Florida Sire Stakes Day.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 12 consecutive racing days since a June 30 mandatory payout.

Saturday's program will kickoff the lucrative FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes with the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $100,000 Desert Vixen, but first comes Friday's Rainbow 6 sequence that will span Races 5-10 on the twilight program with a first-race post time of 2 p.m.

A 6 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance in Race 7 will headline the Rainbow 6 sequence and will feature the return of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Isolate. The 3-year-old son of Mark Valeski is scheduled to make his first start since finishing third in the Nashua (G3) at Aqueduct last November. The Kathy Ritvo trainee entered the mile Nashua off a pair of victories at Gulfstream to kick off his career, including a 10-length romp in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance.

On Saturday the Dr..Fager and the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, both to be contested at six furlongs, will co-headline the first leg of the series that will continue Aug. 28 with the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan's Girl for fillies, both slated for seven furlongs, and Sept. 25 with the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both to be run around two turns at 1 1/16 miles.

Stonehedge Farm LLC's Gil and Marilyn Campbell, who have won 15 FSS races, expect to be represented in both the Dr. Fager and the Desert Vixen, which they won last year with Breeze On By and Go Jo Jo Go, respectively. Michael Yates-trained Dean Delivers, a son of Cajun Breeze who won his debut by 7 ½ lengths in a five-furlong maiden special weight race June 26, is scheduled to run in the Dr. Fager. Kathleen O'Connell-trained Silver Smile, a daughter of Long Island Sound who scored by 3 ½ lengths in her June 3 debut, is slated to run in the Desert Vixen.

Breeze Easy LLC and trainer Joe Orseno are also expected to be represented in both first-leg stakes. Hope in Him, a son of Chitu who was purchased for $190,000 at the OBS March sale, enters the Dr. Fager off a front-running debut victory by five lengths June 4. Stone Beauty, a daughter of Neolithic, is slated to make the second start of her career in the Desert Vixen off a 1 ¾-length debut score July 16.

Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Big and Classy, Lea Farms LLC's Lightening Larry and Bella Inizio Farm's Laki Lio, all coming off solid maiden victories, are among the likely starters in the Dr. Fager.

Roger Laurin's Demurely, Quintessential Racing Florida LLC's Royal Rocker, and Champion Equine's My Sassenach are among the fillies expected to contest the Desert Vixen.

The Florida Sire Stakes has a rich history dating back to 1982, when it was created by Ocala Breeder and owner Dan Lasater. The six-race series has produced six Eclipse Award champions: Awesome Feather (2010 Juvenile Filly), Big Drama (2010 Sprint), Holy Bull (1994 Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Male), Smile (1986 Sprint), Brave Raj (1986 Juvenile Filly) and Not Surprising (1995 Sprint Champion).

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Gulfstream Park: Guaranteed Pool Of $500,000 In Friday’s Rainbow 6

Gulfstream's nine-race program Friday features four turf races, a maiden special weight event for 2-year-old fillies, another maiden special weight event for 2-year-olds, and a guaranteed pool in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 of $500,000.

The very competitive afternoon card begins at 2 p.m.

The sequence begins with Race 4, a mile claiming event for fillies and mares at a mile on the main track and a 9-5 favorite in I'm a Coco Pebbles. The fifth race features a dozen claimers going a mile on the turf, including stakes winner High Noon Rider and stakes placed Harbour Master, Ambassador Jim and Rocket Joe Copper.

Race 7 brings together 2-year-olds going 7 ½ furlongs on the turf. The field includes Winging It, a son of Into Mischief who brought $200,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sale in June, and Fivefive Six Champ, a son of First Dude making his third start after bringing $165,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sale of 2-year-olds in March. Pharoah's Prophecy makes his debut for trainer Mike Maker while More Adventurous, a son of More Than Ready, goes out second time for David Fawkes.

The Rainbow 6 sequence ends with Race 9, a $12,500 claimer at a mile on the turf for fillies and mares. Earnestine N Hazel is a 7-5 morning line favorite who drops in company and goes out first time for leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

Racing continues Saturday with a 12:20 first race post. The 12-race program will include the $75,000 Monroe for fillies and mares on the turf.

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Trainer Kent Sweezey Building Momentum Toward Best Overall Year

As he continues to balance divisions at Monmouth Park and Gulfstream, doing so well enough to be in the top 10 of the trainer standings at both tracks, J. Kent Sweezey is quick to point out that it's more than just a one-man operation.

So his success, he insists, is really team success, with the latest being yet another milestone in a season that is well on its way to being the best year of his five-year training career: Epic Bromance's third-place finish (at odds of 61-1) in last Sunday's $500,000 United Nations at Monmouth Park.

It marked the first time the 35-year-old Lexington, Ky. native had hit the board in a Grade 1 race since he went out on his own in 2017. Epic Bromance was beaten just three lengths by race winner Tribhuvan.

“It's great, of course, but when you have a split string like I do and you have success or win races – and if we win at Monmouth and I'm at Gulfstream, or vice-versa – owners in both places understand it's the team,” said Sweezey. “It's not just me out there doing all of the work. It's the rest of the guys doing their jobs so I can manage everything.

“Until you show up and have the results we're having I think there are a lot of questions. I think this year has answered some of those questions. We have a really good team in both places.”

A year after winning just seven times from 59 starters at Monmouth Park, Sweezey is already 7-for-24 at the current meet, including a victory in the Boiling Springs Stakes with Por Que Non.

Those numbers are good enough for 10th in the Monmouth trainer standings (he is ninth in the Gulfstream standings). It's a long way from when he first arrived at Monmouth Park in 2018 with a small string of horses. He now has 70 overall.

“I think it's the best progression I could have hoped for,” Sweezey said. “We started out with only a few horses the first year we were at Monmouth, then came back with a lot more and the year after that is when we filled the barn that we're in right now.

“I think things are going as well as I could have hoped for. I've got some graded stakes horses in the barn, I have horses for new people I have not had before. Our stock has risen because we have better horses but we still have bread-and-butter horses that are winning races for us and keeping this thing going.”

Sweezey, who has 39 winners from 232 starters with earnings in excess of $1.2 million overall this year – he won 59 races worth more than $1.4 million a year ago – is looking to add to his success at Monmouth in the coming weeks.

He will send Grade 3 winner Phat Man into the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes on Aug. 21 and is pointing Epic Dreamer to the Oceanport Stakes on Aug. 8. He may have another starter in the Oceanport as well, having recently purchased millionaire 5-year-old gelding A Thread of Blue at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale for Horses in Training.

A Thread of Blue, a Grade 3 winner, won the Saratoga Derby in 2019.

“He's a new shooter in the barn that we're looking forward to seeing run,” said Sweezey. “I think he has a lot of miles left in him. We might run him in the Oceanport as well.”

Meanwhile, Sweezey will keep juggling his two divisions, hoping the early momentum he has built up continues through the summer. When Monmouth Park resumes racing on Friday he will send out Destinique in the fourth race, a $12,500 claimer.

“You have to keep the ball rolling,” he said.

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Jesus’ Team, Sole Volante Reunite Sunday In Gulfstream’s City Of Dania Stakes

A lot has happened since the last time Jesus' Team and Sole Volante clashed at Gulfstream Park 13 months ago. Jesus' Team went on to become multiple Grade 1 stakes-placed while competing against some of the best horses in the world, while Sole Volante went on to run in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1).

The two 4-year-olds will reunite in Sunday's $60,000 City of Dania at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., a mile overnight handicap in which Jesus' Team will carry 127 pounds, nine pounds more than the horse that had defeated him in a stakes-quality optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream June 10, 2020.

While acknowledging the disparity in weight assignments, trainer Jose D'Angelo is willing to accept the challenge for Jesus' Team first start since Grupo 7C Racing Stable's color-bearer finished sixth in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 27.

“I think he's come along very good. He is good and sharp. I think it is a good spot for him coming off a layoff,” D'Angelo said. “I know he has to carry a lot of weight, but I think it is not a big deal.”

Jesus's Team won a $25,000 claiming race in his first race after winning a $35,000 maiden claiming race and first race after being transferred to D'Angelo. The son of Tapiture finished second, beaten by three-quarters of a length by Sole Volante, in his next start before eight consecutive stakes races. D'Angelo and Jesus' Team hit the road to face the best company in the country for the rest of the year and faring extremely well. The Kentucky-bred colt went on to finish third in the Preakness (G1) and Jim Dandy (G2) before finishing second behind Knicks Go in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

“For me, it was amazing. Jesus represents to me the best horse I've trained,” said D'Angelo, who was the leading trainer in Venezuela before venturing to South Florida in 2019. “He gave me the best moments of my life, professionally speaking. When you come to this country. You see all the big horses and big trainers. To have a horse that has the ability to take you there with him, it was amazing.”

Jesus' Team returned to Gulfstream to capture the Claiming Crown Jewel in his final start of 2020 before making his 2021 debut in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), in which he again finished second behind Knicks Go. Unfortunately, the D'Angelo trainee seemed to lack the same competitive spirit in Dubai.

“The race was not a good race for him. The horse wasn't training very good in Dubai,” D'Angelo said. “Sometimes that happens, and you never know.”

After enjoying some rest and relaxation and putting on some weight, Jesus' Team has produced a series of strong breezes at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, in preparation for the City of Dania.

Samy Camacho is scheduled to ride Jesus' Team for the first time since his second-place finish behind Sole Volante last year.

Patrick Biancone-trained Sole Volante will be seeking his first win in five starts since his decision over Jesus' Team last year. The son of Karakontie went on to finish off the board in the Belmont and Derby before a couple of uneventful efforts on the turf. Following a four-month break, he raced evenly to finish fourth in a mile optional claiming allowance on the main track May 22.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone's gelding had established himself as a Triple Crown prospect early last year when he won the Sam Davis (G3) and finished second in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2)

Luca Panici has the return mount on Sole Volante, who will be equipped with blinkers for the first time.

Harold Queen's Noble Drama, a multiple stakes winner and fan favorite at Gulfstream; Rodney Lundock's Pro Quality, who was just a neck behind Noble Drama; Lawson Racing Stables' I'm a G Six, an impressive winner of a mile optional claiming allowance last time out; Willow Lane Stable Inc.'s Highestdistinction, who is slated to make his 2021 debut Sunday after winning his last two starts of 2020; and IAB Stables and Walter Fralick's Quenane, a veteran campaigner with 14 career wins; round out the field.

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