It’s mandatory payout day for the Rainbow 6

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – June 30 marks the end of the fiscal year in Florida – a noteworthy point on the calendar for local horseplayers as it also triggers a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 pool Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

A carryover of more than $131,000 will seed a pool that is likely to exceed $1 million when the last 20-cent wager is placed on Thursday’s Rainbow 6 sequence, which begins with the third event on an abbreviated eight-race program. Field sizes range from just seven to nine starters, giving players with even a modest budget a fair chance at cashing in on the popular gimmick.

Here is a rundown of the Rainbow 6 sequence.

Race 3: Maiden claimers start things off with Grand Player the logical choice off a well-graded and troubled debut effort nearly three months earlier. A very limited work tab since that outing might mean also looking elsewhere for coverage with Go Home Happy and Celestial Glaze fitting the bill. Go Home Happy comes off a six-month hiatus but sports a very sharp gate work prepping for his return, Celestial Glaze is hard to ignore off a career-best effort last time and a bullet drill of his own.

Race 4: Plenty of coverage may be necessary to make it through this wide-open affair that brings together a fairly unpredictable bunch of bottomlevel conditioned claimers. Mongolian Mission is a question mark making only her second start on dirt, but she ran well enough over the surface the first time to merit consideration on the turnback in distance. Everthree is relatively lightly raced while exiting a career-best Beyer Speed Figure performance against

similar when finishing a length behind Chutzpah, who could be ready for her best yet making the third start of her current form cycle. Can anyone say “All” button?

Race 5: An intriguing field of maiden special weight runners considering the presence of three first-time starters in the lineup. Sonicus, idle since December, tired late in a key race and now gets a full makeover, Lasix and blinkers, from leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. for her return. She worked a near-bullet half for this. Madeforsummer is impossible to ignore off that last outing off the layoff and with a bullet work of her own subsequent to that try. Of the new faces, Kitty Maclean looks live having turned in a couple of solid local works after doing most of her prep work on a farm. Sadie’s Amendment fetched six figures as a 2-yearold and hasn’t missed a beat in the morning prepping for her debut. Not impossible.

Race 6: Back to the Tapeta for Leg 4 and another small but well-matched group. Bali Baby comes off a big effort last time over the surface when finishing sandwiched between a pair of very impressive next-out allowance winners, Sequin Lady and Poiema. Mount Sinai is another who ran well in a very key race, which produced three next-out winners over the surface, and is likely to benefit from what figures to be a pretty honest pace.

Race 7: Another race featuring a ton of speed and a compact but well-matched field. Rough Entry is a must-use dropping in company after facing so much better in all recent tries. Joe Di Baggio lost all chance last time following a sharp effort two back and does have the ability to sit off and pass rivals late. Jeopardy James is another who could benefit from the projected race flow but has been off a long while since a well-graded victory at Tampa against softer.

Race 8: Would love to have plenty of coverage if still alive going into the finale. For those with shorter bankrolls, I’m offering up Valiant Avenger as one option after chasing home a pair of next-out winners when second-best on a couple of occasions earlier this season. K.C. Chief is another returning to Tapeta off a disappointing try on grass. Ran too good two back to ignore.

◗ The most noteworthy performance here last week was turned in by jockey Edgar Perez, who posted five victories on Friday’s program, including an easy 3 1/2-length tally aboard tepid favorite Sequin Lady in the afternoon’s main event, an optional-claiming and allowance dash for 3-yearold fillies over the synthetic surface.

Perez, whose engagements are handled by former rider Rene Douglas, is currently fourth in the standings for the meet with 36 victories. Miguel Vasquez continues to hold down the top spot with 58 tallies entering Thursday’s card.

◗ Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. blew out his two candidates for Saturday’s Summit of Speed program, Allworthy and Drain the Clock, over a fast track here Monday. Allworthy, who will face the unenviable task of taking on reigning female sprint champion Ce Ce in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Invitational, breezed three furlongs in 36.94 seconds, while Drain the Clock completed the same distance in a quick but easy 35.30 in preparation for his role as a likely heavy favorite in the Grade 3 Smile.