Florida Fabulous makes highly anticipated second career start Friday

Coming off a head-turning career debut against state-breds in February, Florida Fabulous will make her second start in Friday’s ninth race, a one-mile allowance optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies. 

 

e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Florida Fabulous, a daughter of High Cotton, ran her rivals off their feet in a Feb. 16 maiden special weight. Ridden by Paco Lopez, who has the return mount, Florida Fabulous set the pace in the mile race and scampered home a 10 3/4-length winner as the odds-on favorite. 

 

Although the Florida-bred filly, who was bought at auction for $400,000, wired the field in her debut, her trainer, David Fawkes, said he’s not concerned about the prospect of the unseasoned — at least racing-wise — Florida Fabulous dealing with a scenario where she was positioned behind horses.

 

“Nothing bothers her much,” Fawkes said. “She had a couple works where I buried her behind horses. I mean, the rider came back filthy, and she didn’t mind it at all. In her work last week, I put [debut winner Madame Uno], the horse that paid $50, and another horse together five lengths in front of her, and she just sat behind them, then swung out and just ran by them.  She went 59 [seconds] that day and they went a minute and change. She was covered in dirt and didn’t mind it at all. She’ll switch off behind horses. Whatever we want her to do, she’ll do. I’m not really worried.”

 

Florida Fabulous, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, drew the rail in the five-horse field, which also includes the Todd Pletcher-trained Spice Lady, who looked professional in capturing her career debut Feb. 26.

 

In other news from the Fawkes’ barn, the trainer reported that Cajun Delta Dawn, who captured two legs of the Florida Sire Stakes series last season, is scheduled to breeze over the weekend and is nearing her 2017 debut.

 

 

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 25th consecutive program at Gulfstream Park Thursday, resulting in a carryover jackpot of $1,543,676.97 for Friday’s card.

 

Multiple tickets with all six winners Thursday were each worth $1,129.48.

 

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only 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.

 

There was a carryover of $1,445,652.70 heading into Thursday’s six-race sequence that spanned Races 6-11 and generated a handle of $408,502.

 

The Rainbow 6 was last solved Feb. 23, when a unique ticket was worth a $324,179.78 jackpot payoff.

 

 

Gulfstream Park has scheduled guaranteed pools for the 20-cent Rainbow 6, the 50-cent Late Pick 4 and the 50-cent Late Pick 5 on Saturday’s $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) program.

 

The Rainbow 6 (Races 9-14) will offer a $2 million jackpot pool guarantee if the popular 20-cent wager goes unsolved on Friday. The Late Pick 4 (Races 10-14) pool will be guaranteed at $750,000, while the Late Pick 5 (Races 10-14) will offer a $500,000 pool guarantee.

 

Saturday’s 14-race program will offer nine stakes worth $2.45 million in purses. The 66th running of the Florida Derby will anchor all three multi-race wagers with guaranteed pools. Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Gunnevera was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a field of 11 entered in Gulfstream’s signature race Wednesday.

 

As a reminder, advance wagering for Saturday’s Florida Derby card will be available at Gulfstream Park Friday, beginning at noon.