Practical Joke moves closer to 3-year-old debut

Multiple Grade 1 winner Practical Joke breezed five furlongs in 1:00.45 Sunday at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. The Chad Brown-trained 3-year-old worked in company with 2016 Gotham winner Shagaf in preparation for his 2017 debut.

“He worked terrific. I’m very pleased with the way this horse has come along,” Brown said.

Brown said Practical Joke was “50-50 “ to run in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park March 4, the other option being the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct the same day.

Brown visited the Gulfstream winner’s circle following Sunday’s first race with Conquest Babayaga, who was making her first start for owner Louis Lazzinnaro and Brown after being acquired at the Keeneland November Mixed Sale last fall.

The 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, who hadn’t raced since winning a Woodbine turf allowance in September, got away slowly from the starting gate and trailed the six-horse field before making a strong move through the stretch to win by a length under Joel Rosario.

“She missed the break. Joel has been clicking with us so well this meet. He went to Plan B and put her in the right spot. She finished good. She’s been training real well,” Brown said. “She looks like she’s one we’ll have a lot of fun with.”

Conquest Babayaga, who ran 7 ½ furlongs in 1:28.93 over a firm turf course, has won two of three turf starts and was stakes-placed in the other.

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the fifth consecutive racing day Sunday, producing a carryover jackpot of $134,347.03 for Monday’s special 12-race holiday program. (Post time is set for noon).

The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 7-12 on a program that will offer 12 starter stakes.

Multiple tickets with five of six winners Sunday were each worth $616.74.

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.