Gulfstream Today 12.7.18: Breaking Lucky Impressive in Feature Triumph

By David Joseph —-

Breaking Lucky Impressive in Feature Triumph

Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Climbs to $123,876
Clasico del Caribe Headlines Saturday’s 11-Stakes Card

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Breaking Lucky broke through with a dominating triumph in Friday’s featured eighth race, a $48,000 optional claiming allowance, at Gulfstream Park, scoring his first triumph in two years.

Although it had been a long time between trips to the winner’s circle, the 6-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky had been Grade 1 stakes-placed three times and competed in last year’s $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream.

“He needed that. Horses need that once in a while. It was a long time since he’d won a race. It was a big performance,” trainer George Weaver said.

Owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, R. A. Hill Stable and Eric Young, Breaking Lucky won his first race since capturing the Seagram Cup (G3) at Woodbine Aug. 1, 2016. The 9-5 favorite in a deep field of 11 veteran stakes performers produced eight graded-stakes placings during his career.

His front-running 8 ¼-length victory in Friday’s mile feature came in his third start for Weaver, who took over from Reade Baker in June. Breaking Lucky finished third in a Saratoga optional claiming allowance in August off an 11-month layoff before finishing a disappointing eighth in the D. Wayne Lukas (G3) at Churchill Downs.

“We didn’t know what to expect. His last race at Churchill wasn’t his typical race. We’ve only had him since June,” Weaver said. “We didn’t know what to expect, but I had a good feeling and that things were in our favor in this race.”

Breaking Lucky ran a mile in 1:36.59 after setting fractions of 23.10, 46.06 and 1:10.55.
“It was nice to see him run big over this track, so we’re look at all our options going forward and look at the stakes program down here,” Weaver said.

Mr. Atila, who saved ground while stalking the pace, finished second under Edgard Zayas, 2 ¾ lengths ahead of Eye of a Jedi. Multiple graded-stakes winners Shagaf and Imperative were never factors.

Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Climbs to $123,876

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the fifth straight program at Gulfstream Park Friday, producing a carryover jackpot of $123,876.95 for Saturday’s 11:50 a.m. all-stakes program featuring the return of the $600,000 Clasico Internacional del Caribe.

Multiple tickets Friday with all six winners were each worth $2,267.40.

The carryover jackpot 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.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11, kicked off by the $75,000 Wait a While, a mile turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies, which will be followed by the five Clasico International del Caribe stakes. The $300,000 Clasico del Caribe will complete the Rainbow 6 sequence in Race 11.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $1,937.69.

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 The Stronach Group is also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.