Gulfstream: G2 Princess Rooney Highlights Spring Stakes Schedule –

By David Joseph —-

G2 Princess Rooney Highlights Spring Stakes Schedule

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – The $250,000 Princess Rooney (G2) highlights the Spring Meet stakes schedule at Gulfstream Park, where the seven-furlong stakes for fillies and mares will be featured during Summit of Speed Weekend.

Ce Ce captured the ‘Win and In’ event last year before going on to win the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Del Mar.

The Princess Rooney will be renewed on Saturday, July 2, kicking off a Fourth of July Celebration that will also feature the $100,000 Smile Sprint (G3), a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, Sunday, July 3, and the $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up that will be renewed on the Tapeta course July 4.

Before the maintenance work on the turf course begins, 10 of the 16 stakes on the Spring schedule are scheduled to be run on turf.

On Saturday, May 7, Kentucky Derby Day, two stakes are scheduled to be renewed on the turf course to kick off Gulfstream’s spring schedule – the $75,000 Honey Ryder, a mile race for 3-year-old fillies, and the $75,000 English Channel, a mile race for 3-year-olds. The Sunday, May 8 Mother’s Day program will feature the $75,000 Monroe, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for fillies and mares.

On Saturday, May 21, Preakness Stakes Day, Gulfstream’s program will feature the $75,000 Mr. Steele, a 1 1/16-mile race on turf for 3-year-olds and up, and the $65,000 Musical Romance, a 6 ½-furlong stakes for Florida-bred fillies and mares on the main track.

The June 11 card at Gulfstream on Belmont Stakes Day card will feature a pair of 3-year-old stakes – the $75,000 Not Surprising, a 1 1/16-mile turf race, and the $75,000 Game Face, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for fillies.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $200,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $200,000 for Thursday’s program at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for five racing days since a lucky ticketholder hit the jackpot for a $220,289 payoff on Saturday, April 16.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will be well-represented during Thursday’s Rainbow 6 sequence that will span Races 3-8. Engine’s Ready, a Live Oak Plantation homebred son of Hard Spun, is scheduled to make his debut in Race 3, a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming maiden race on turf for Florida-bred 3-year-olds and up or for horses entered for a $40,000 claiming price. The Florida-bred Engine’s Ready, who is rated second in the morning line at 7-2, is a half-brother to Our Flash Drive, a daughter of Ghostzapper who captured last year’s Selene (G3) and Ontario Colleen (G3) on Tapeta and turf, respectively, at Woodbine. Gilberto Zerpa-trained Space Runner, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, closed well to finish fourth after a troubled start last time out on turf after being narrowly beaten by a next-out winner in a second-place finish on Tapeta.

Casse-trained Sumting Right, a recent impressive maiden winner, is scheduled to meet seven other fillies and mares in Race 6, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for non-winners-of-two $35,000 claimers. The 3-year-old daughter of Vancouver, who came up just short on Fair Grounds long stretch in her Feb. 14 debut, withstood race-long pressure to graduate by a length over Gulfstream’s turf in her second career start last time out.

Casse will be represented by two starters in Race 8, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up on turf, Old Chestnut and Ghoul. Old Chestnut, stakes-placed last year over Gulfstream’s main track, was beaten by two lengths in a fifth-place finish in the Silks Run while coming off a seven-month layoff. Brazilian-bred Ghoul is scheduled to come off a three-month layoff for his third start since joining Casse’s barn. Frank Russo-bred Belgrano, who was beaten a neck by multiple-stakes winner Yes I Am Free in the Silks Run, is rated as the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is 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.

ABOUT THE STRONACH GROUP AND 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The company’s consumer facing brand 1/ST (pronounced “First”) powers The Stronach Group’s forward-thinking 1/ST RACING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, 1/ST EXPERIENCE, and 1/ST PROPERTIES businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred horse racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING drives the best-in-class horse racing operations at the company’s premier racetracks and training centers including: Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series – and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); the Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course – home of the legendary Preakness Stakes – Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the newly formed operating group for all of 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, GWS and XBTV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is horse racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. 1/ST PROPERTIES is responsible for the development of the company’s live, work and play communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred horse racing on and off the track. For more information, please email david.joseph@gulfstreampark.com and visit www.1st.com.