Asia Stays Unbeaten With Allowance Score
Mrs. John Magnier’s Asia split horses in mid-stretch and held off a late bid from Presto Magic to win Friday’s featured ninth race by three-quarters of a length.
Trained by Wesley Ward, the 3-year-old filly settled behind horses from post 7 before finding room late. She ran five furlongs in 56.17 seconds over a firm turf course for her second victory in as many starts, both under jockey Rafael Hernandez.
Out of the mare One Hot Wish, also trained by Ward, Asia ($4.80) went off as the favorite in a field of eight. She debuted with a professional three-quarter-length triumph Jan. 31 at Gulfstream.
“She’s a nice filly. She’s done everything right so far,” Ward said. “We thought we’d be in front, but sometimes you have to call an audible. He did a good job there and it ended up working out and making us looking like a genius.”
Who’s Hot: Jockey Rajiv Maragh visited the winner’s circle twice, with Welcome Speech ($3.80) in the first race and Alfredo Romana ($4.60) in the fifth.
Rainbow 6 Carryover: $50,000 GTD
Pick 5 Carryover: $50,000 GTD
Saturday’s 12-race program at Gulfstream Park will offer guaranteed pools in each of the Late Pick 4, Pick 5 and Rainbow 6 exotic wagers.
The pool for the 50-cent Late Pick 4 covering races 9-12 will be guaranteed at $100,000, while both the 50-cent Pick 5 (races 8-12) and 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 7-12) will have $50,000 guaranteed pools.
On Thursday, one lucky bettor solved the Rainbow 6 for a jackpot payoff of $1,079,444.22, the largest of the current Championship Meet which opened Dec. 6. Friday’s 3-6-3-7-7-1 combination returned $346.32 to multiple ticketholders.
Highlighting Saturday’s card at Gulfstream are the $75,000 Any Limit for 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs on the main track (race 4), and the $75,000 Silks Run at five furlongs on the grass for older horses (race 11).
First race post time is 1 p.m.
Source: Gulfstream Park