Gulfstream Park Barn Notes: Senor Buscado Preps for Saudi Cup
Gulfstream Park Barn Notes: Senor Buscado Preps for Saudi Cup(Senor Buscador / Photo by Holly M. Smith)
From the Gulfstream Park Media Team:
Senor Buscador, who finished just a neck behind National Treasure while finishing second in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 27, breezed four furlongs Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park.
The 6-year-old son of Mineshaft has remained at Gulfstream before shipping to the Middle East for a start in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 24.
Junior Alvarado was aboard for Sunday morning’s breeze, his final local workout, which was timed in 50.14 seconds.
“It went just the way Todd and I wanted. He went out there and stretched his legs. We wanted to keep him happy. He went around the track very happy, enjoying his workout and gallop out on his own,” said Alvarado, who is scheduled to ride Senor Buscador in the Saudi Cup.
Alvarado was aboard for the Todd Fincher trainee’s impressive rally from 11th in the Pegasus World Cup.
“It was a race I knew I had a very good chance to win, my only concern was making up that much ground on this track,” Alvarado said. “He showed up. He came down the lane running hard. He just came up a couple jumps short. He showed up. He proved he was at the same level with those horses.”
Senor Buscador is a multiple Grade 1 stakes-placed multiple graded-stakes winner with nearly $1.5 million in career earnings.
Alvarado would go on Sunday to win two races, including the $100,000 Ladies Turf Sprint aboard favored Silent Stone.
Wednesday’s Rainbow 6 Pool Estimated at $225,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool is expected to grow to an estimated $225.000 Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.
The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the third racing day following a jackpot hit for $215,855 Thursday.
Wednesday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a full field of 3-year-old fillies in Race 5, a mile maiden special weight event on turf. The field including three well-connected first-time starters – Christophe Clement-trained Fear and Friday, a daughter of Kitten’s Joy; Chad Brown-trained Expatriate, a daughter of Cairo Prince; and Bill Mott-trained Swans Cove, a daughter of Ghostzapper. Race 7, a 6 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-old fillies will headline the Rainbow 6 sequence. AMO Racing USA’s Launch enters the race off a second-place finish in the Jan. 7 Glitter Woman. Mott-trained Roswell returns off a sharp debut score at Gulfstream Jan. 14.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is 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.
Who’s Hot
Junior Alvarado guided Stone Silent ($4) for a victory in the $100,000 Ladies Turf Sprint in Race 9 after beginning his day with a triumph aboard American Rockette ($6) in Race 3.
Gene McLean began his professional career in 1977 as a sportswriter and columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky., and was recognized as one of the state’s best writers, winning the prestigious “Sportswriter of the Year” honor in 1985. Now the President and Publisher of The Pressbox, McLean sets the vision for the site and still finds time to handicap races, interview trainers and keep his finger on the pulse of the industry,
