Gulfstream Today 1.15.20: Premier Star Romps; Florida Derby (G1) Prep Next

By David Joseph —-

GULFSTREAM TODAY 1.15.20

Premier Star Romps; Florida Derby (G1) Prep Next

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Grows to $2.477 Million

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Sonata Stable’s Premier Star romped to a thoroughly dominating 5 ¼-length victory Wednesday at Gulfstream Park, stamping himself as a hot prospect for the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) March 28.

“From Day 1 I knew I had something special,” trainer Jorge Navarro said. “When I had him at Monmouth, I called the owner and said, ‘This is the real deal.’”

The 3-year-old son of Tapiture remained undefeated in two career starts with a front-running score in the Race 7 feature, a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance, following up an impressive debut triumph at Gulfstream Park Dec. 8.

“Now, it’s the path to the Florida Derby,” Navarro said. “The owner wants to do the right thing by the animal. We’ll see if we can make the Florida Derby. I know that’s far ahead. We’ll take it step by step. I think we have a nice horse.”

Premier Star quickly opened an uncontested lead along the backstretch on his way to posting fractions of 22.49 and 45 seconds for the first half mile under Irad Ortiz Jr. The Kentucky-bred colt, who was purchased for $100,000 at the 2017 OBS June sale, continued on to draw away despite racing somewhat greenly through the stretch.

“Irad said, ‘He was looking for company.’ Once they hit the stretch, he was like, ‘What do I do next?’ Irad said, ‘Jorge, I have so much horse, but he doesn’t know what to do,’” Navarro said. “We’ll correct that.”

Premier Star was sent to post as the 1-5 favorite on the strength of a 1 ¾-length debut victory over Caracaro, who came back to win a mile maiden race Jan. 11 by six lengths.

Premier Star ran seven-furlongs in .1:23.15. Americanus, a debut winner who finished off the board in the Nashua (G3) at Aqueduct last time out, finished second under Javier Castellano, six lengths ahead of Peruvian Boy.

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Grows to $2.477 Million

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 33rd consecutive racing day of the 2019-2020 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park Wednesday, producing a carryover jackpot of $2,477,361.22 for Thursday’s program.

Multiple tickets with all six winners Wednesday were each worth $161.98

The Rainbow 6 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.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot stood at $2,371,994.66 at the start of Rainbow 6 wagering Wednesday, when a total of $439,119 was bet into the multi-race pool.

Who’s Hot: Leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr. rode a pair of winners, scoring aboard What’s Inside ($3) in Race 6 and Premier Star ($2.40) in Race 7.

Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot: $2,477,361.22.

Super Hi 5 Carryover: $2,011.08

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, 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. For more information contact David Joseph at david.joseph@gulfstreampark.com or call 954.457.6451.