Gulfstream Today 1.9.25: Davis Enjoying Fast Start to Championship Meet

By David Joseph —-

GULFSTREAM TODAY

1.9.25

Davis Enjoying Fast Start to Championship Meet

Rainbow 6 Solved for $100,735 Payout Thursday

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Jockey Dylan Davis, riding full-time during the Championship Meet for the first time since his apprentice season, continued his fast start with a trio of winners Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

Davis, 30, notched his hat trick with wins aboard Boot’s On the Moon ($4.80) in Race 2 for trainer Ron Spatz, Altamira Sur ($17.60) in Race 6 for trainer Jose D’Angelo, and Silvology ($7.60) in Race 7 for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Over five racing days including two in December, Davis has six wins, two seconds, five thirds and more than $300,000 in purse earnings from 25 mounts.

“I always try to give my horses the best possible chance I can and come in with good optimism. You can see the odds all you want but that doesn’t dictate the way I ride,” Davis said. “I always try to put my horse in the best spot I think is necessary and work with the trainer, and everything worked out. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life, trying to do the best I can. I’m happy everything’s working out coming here.”

Davis is a son of retired jockey Robbie Davis, a career winner of nearly 3,400 races, whose two sisters, Katie and Jackie, currently ride in New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. In 2024 he set career highs with 213 wins and $16.44 million in purse earnings and scored his first Grade 1 victory on Carson’s Run in the Saratoga Derby Invitational.

“I was just really waiting for the right opportunity to come back down here. I’ve always wanted to, just trying to move my career to the next level,” Davis said. “Coming down and winning right off the bat is incredible. It gives me a lot of confidence and, though I’ve been here before, reestablish myself. It’s just great.”

Before moving his tack to New York, where he established himself as the leading rider in wins and money won in 2024, Davis rode the 2013-2014 Championship Meet at Gulfstream where he tied Jose Lezcano for the seventh-most wins (41) and banked $967,028 in purse earnings. During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, when Gulfstream was one of the only venues racing, he won 14 races.

“I’ve been here before with the bug and during Covid, so it’s not new to me. I know how to ride this track. But it’s new again so I’ve got to relearn it with the guys. I’m looking to have a lot of success here and keep it going throughout the year,” Davis said. “[2013-2014] an incredible winter. I don’t know why I didn’t come back here but I was trying to build my base in New York and Kentucky and come back again.”

Davis registered his first win of the 2024-2025 Championship Meet Dec. 26 aboard La Mehana in the Via Borghese, and began riding full-time at Gulfstream in the New Year. He had two winners Jan. 4, both double-digit prices for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

“It’s tough to leave New York because I’ve had a lot of success there and a lot of people have backed me,” Davis said. “I think there’s a lot more opportunity for me if I come here for the wintertime for the bigger races like the Kentucky Derby and being a regular in those kinds of races. That’s what I’m looking to do.

“I have a lot of opportunities from trainers like Mark Casse, Christophe Clement, Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher [and] Saffie Joseph who said they would ride me if I came down,” he added. “That made the decision to come down a lot easier.”

Davis, scheduled to ride Saturday at Aqueduct, is named in six races Friday and four races Sunday and Jan. 15 at Gulfstream.

“I’m really excited to be here,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a good winter and hopefully be able to lay the groundwork for next winter.”

Rainbow 6 Solved for $100,735 Payout Thursday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved by one lucky bettor for a $100,735.42 payout Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

R.A. Hill Stable, Pine Racing Stables and Kelsey Reinhardt’s Neat Trick ($7.40) was a front-running winner of the Race 9 finale, a maiden special weight for fillies and mares 4 and up, to complete the winning 6-2-1-5-5-2 combination.

Other winners in the sequence were Dial Home ($12.80) in Race 4, Adios Papa Chico ($125.80) in Race 5, Altamira Sur ($17.60) in Race 6, Silvology ($7.60) in Race 7 and Turbulent Force ($12.80) in Race 8.

It was the third time during the Championship Meet that the Rainbow 6 jackpot has been paid out. Other payoffs were $489,592.94 Dec. 15, $244,071.70 Dec. 21 and a mandatory payout of $36,102.88 Jan. 5.

The Rainbow 6 begins anew Friday spanning Races 4-9. The sequence begins with a claiming event for maiden 3-year-old fillies sprinting five furlongs on the all-weather Tapeta course. The 8-5 program favorite is Inallprobability, racing first time on synthetics after a pair of turf starts at 2. Among the competition are first-time starters Gua Sha, by Liam’s Map, and Hard Spun filly Chacarera.

Race 7 is an optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 4 and up scheduled for 1 3/8 miles on the grass where Grade 3-placed Justdeny is entered to make her first start since mid-October for trainer Danny Gargan. Aspen Dawn stretches out off a rallying third by less than a length in a one-mile allowance against older horses Dec. 28.

The Race 9 finale, carded for 1 1/16 miles on turf, drew a field of nine 3-year-old fillies led by Irish-bred Origami, who finished third in the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) Dec. 1 at Del Mar in her North American debut. Ramsey Pond returns after finishing third in the 7 ½-furlong Wait a While Nov. 28 on the grass at Gulfstream. Designer Bag graduated in a one-mile maiden special weight Dec. 12 at Gulfstream.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool 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.

Who’s Hot: Jockey Luis Saez bookended Thursday’s card with wins aboard Mo Harmony ($4.60) in Race 1 and Neat Trick ($7.40) in Race 9.

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