General a Rod Gets Back on the Beam at Gulfstream
Looking more like the horse that earned his way into all three Triple Crown races in 2014, Starlight Racing and Skychai Racing’s General a Rod returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in 10 months with a powerful 7 ½-length victory Thursday at Gulfstream Park.
Ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, aboard for each of his five races since being moved to trainer Todd Pletcher last winter, the 5-year-old son of Roman Ruler ran 1 1/16 miles over a sealed main track in 1:41.23, just .26 off the track record set two years ago by Social Inclusion.
“I just wanted to make sure he was in a nice place going into the first turn and he took it, and it was pretty easy after that,” Velazquez said. “It seems like he’s getting back to his form and he showed up really good today.”
Favored at even money in the $48,000 optional claiming allowance, General a Rod ($4.20) broke alertly from the rail post and settled along the inside as Flashy Jewel jumped out to a big lead down the backstretch through a quarter-mile in 23.20 seconds, a half in 45.59 and six furlongs in 1:09.77.
General a Rod began to close the gap on the outside approaching the far turn, moved up to challenge midway around the bend and moved effortlessly to the lead at the head of the stretch with Grade 3 winner Midnight Cello in pursuit. General a Rod sprinted clear of the field followed by Midnight Cello, Hesinfront, Norumbega and Flashy Jewel.
It was the first victory for General a Rod, second in the Fountain of Youth (G2), third in the Florida Derby (G1) and fourth in the Preakness (G1) in 2014, since winning the Challenger Stakes last March at Tampa Bay Downs. Most recently, he was no factor finishing sixth in a one-mile optional claimer Dec. 31 at Gulfstream.
“He’d been training well on the dirt the last couple times, so Todd said let’s call an audible and keep him on dirt. We were going to go to turf off of that subpar effort last time, but he was really galloping out and finishing real strong in the morning,” said Starlight co-managing partner Don Lucarelli. “The mud was an intangible here but as you can see he really liked it. We’ll leave it up to Todd what’s next. We had great expectations for this horse, so hopefully he can come through now. Something to build on.”
Rainbow 6 Carryover Reaches $230,679 for Friday, Super Hi-5 Carryover at $3,249.10
There will be a 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot carryover of $230,679.99 for Friday’s 11-race card. First-race post time is 12:35 p.m.
The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 11 straight racing programs since being hit for $76,799.38 on Jan. 13. Friday’s sequence covers races 6-11 and includes the featured 10th, a $44,000 one-mile optional claiming allowance with promising maiden winners Shagaf, Rally Cry and Bar None.
There were several ticketholders who held the winning 7-3-1-2-4-8 combination Thursday, worth $15,200.08.
The carryover 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.
In addition to the Rainbow 6, the $1 Super Hi-5 will have a carryover of $3,249.10 into Friday’s first race.
Who’s Hot: Jockey Rafael Hernandez posted a riding triple on Thursday, winning aboard Uncle Muggs ($31.80) in the sixth race, Hothersal ($9.40) in the seventh and 4-year-old first-time starter D’oro Tomorrow ($5.40) in the ninth. Apprentice Vicente Gudiel rode pair of winners, with Right On Ready ($6.20) in the second race and Blame Dixie ($5.20) in the fifth, and Joel Rosario swept the late daily double with Raisedtobeawarrior ($10.80) in the 10th and Smokin Red Hot ($9.40) in the 11th.
Rainbow 6 Carryover: $230,679.99
Super Hi-5 Carryover: $3,249.10 (first race)
Source: Gulfstream Park