Gulfstream Today: Takaful Enters Holy Bull Picture Following Thursday Work

By David Joseph —-

Takaful Enters Holy Bull Picture Following Thursday Work

Rainbow 6 Carryover of $26,412 for Friday Program

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Shadwell Stable’s Grade 2-placed Takaful returned to the work tab with a sharp half-mile breeze Thursday morning, and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said the $350,000 Lambholm South Holy Bull (G2) Feb. 4 at Gulfstream Park is among the races being considered for his next start.

In his first work since finishing seventh in the Jerome (G2) Jan. 2 at Aqueduct, and first in South Florida, Takaful went four furlongs in 47.90 seconds over the main track at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. It was the second-fastest of 47 works at the distance.

“He worked well and galloped out well, and we were very happy with him,” McLaughlin said. “What we’re going to do and where we’re going, we’re undecided right now. But, today went very well.”

Takaful, by 2006 champion 3-year-old Bernardini, has been beaten as the favorite in each of his past two starts, both at Aqueduct, following a front-running eight-length romp in his Oct. 29 unveiling at Belmont Park. Prior to the Jerome he was third in the Remsen (G2) Nov. 26.

“We’re trying to figure out what happened last time and whether it was the track,” McLaughlin said. “That’s hopefully what we’re zooming in on and we’re thinking he just didn’t like it.”

McLaughlin won the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth (G2) last year with Shadwell’s multiple graded stakes winner Mohaymen. He is keeping his options open for Takaful, including a drop out of stakes company.

“Possibly an allowance race and possibly the Holy Bull. We’re not sure, we just want to make sure all is going well and then we’ll look ahead and make a decision,” he said. “We want to make sure he’s doing great. He is and he always has, and that’s what’s such a head-scratcher about the last race. Hopefully he keeps going in the right direction and we can draw a line through it.”

Stakes-Placed Mo’ Green Gutsy Winner of Third Race Feature

D J Stable’s Mo’ Green opened her 4-year-old campaign in winning fashion, rallying along the rail after being passed in the stretch to forge a gutsy neck triumph in Thursday’s featured third race, a $49,000 optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 4 and older at one mile on the main track.

Favored at 9-5 in a field of six, Mo’ Green ($5.80) was unhurried early racing inside under jockey Paco Lopez before swinging two-wide around the turn and back to the rail after straightening for home, engaging in a duel to the wire with Meadow Rose. The winning time was 1:36.08 over a fast main track.

Mo’ Green, who broke her maiden last winter at Gulfstream and was sixth in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), was racing for the first time since her runner-up finish in the Margate Handicap Dec. 26. In her previous start, she was sixth following a troubled trip in the Monmouth Oaks (G3).

“She’s a talented filly. We’ve been very high on her,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “We gave her time when she got jammed up in the Monmouth Oaks and I thought she ran well [in the Margate]. She’s not really a sprinter. We were kind of waiting for this one today. We think she’s got a big future and we’re just taking it one race at a time. We’re day-to-day with our planning, but we’ve liked her from day one.”

Orseno said he is unsure where Mo’ Green will run back but will be seeking to stretch her back out for her next start.

“She’s a better two-turn filly. A two-turn race, preferably, is what I’ll be looking for,” he said. “There’s an invitational in New York that she’s going to be invited to, so we may end up there. If they have a mile-and-a-sixteenth race for her here, we’ll keep her right here. We come to Florida to race in Florida. We want to support the meet.”

Rainbow 6 Carryover of $26,412 for Friday Program

Though five horses were live heading into the 10th race finale, the 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved Thursday creating a jackpot carryover of $26,412.75 for Friday’s 10-race program.

Multiple tickets sold with all six winners Thursday returned $3,559.76.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only 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. However, on days when a mandatory payout is scheduled, the entire pool is shared by those holding tickets with the most winners.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 spans Races 5-10. First race post time is 12:35 p.m.

Who’s Hot: Jockey Emisael Jaramillo and trainer Jorge Navarro teamed up for a pair of winners, with Over the Limit ($5) in the fifth race and More Mia ($9) in the eighth. Jaramillo finished off his hat trick with Grace’s Drama ($10.60) in the 10th, which was the 400th career victory for trainer Ralph Nicks.

Rainbow 6 Carryover: $26,412.75

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets.