Ford Roadster Brings Alonso Back to Winner’s Circle

9YO Light Fury Rewards New Connections with 16th Win
Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $325,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Owner Daniel Alonso, who visited the Gulfstream Park winner’s circle with his multiple graded-stakes winner Skippylongstocking following his gutsy victory over his Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained stablemate White Abarrio in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 24, returned Saturday with a 2-year-old colt with future-star potential.

Alonso’s Ford Roadster ($25.20), a strapping son of Roadster, engaged 3-10 favorite Strike from the start of Race 2, a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds, and continued on to fight off his stubborn rail-running opponent to register a half-length debut victory.

“It looks like the Roadsters can run,” said Alonso of the first-crop sire who stands at Ocala Stud.

Strike, who fought gamely to the finish, is also a son of Roadster, a son of Quality Road who won the 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1). Liberty Wings, a son of Awesome Slew, finished a head back in third.

Ford Roadster, a Florida-bred gelding trained by Ramon Minguet, ran 4 ½ furlongs in 52.77 seconds under apprentice Yolber Torres.

“He had been training well and he seemed to be a healthy horse,’ Alonso said. “We’re glad he got it done.”

Alonso said he’s looking forward to Skippylongstocking’s next start in the Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs May 1. The 7-year-old Skippylongstocking, a $5.7 million earner, is coming off a victory in the Essex Handicap (G2) at Oaklawn Park.

9YO Light Fury Rewards New Connections with 16th Win

When he claimed Light Fury out of his previous start for himself and co-owner Robert Mooney, trainer David Fawkes didn’t intend on bringing the 9-year-old gelding back to the races.

“We took him to retire him,” Fawkes said. “He’s 9, and we said whether he runs again or not, when he’s done he’ll have a good home.”

Light Fury, however, had other ideas and found himself a place he has called home many times – the winner’s circle.

The gray or roan son of Grade 1-winning millionaire Wicked Strong and grandson of 1996 Florida Derby (G1) winner Unbridled’s Song led every step of the way and drew off through the stretch for a five-length victory Saturday. It was his 16th win from 59 career starts, pushing is bankroll to $334,294.

It also ended a string of disappointing efforts including being eased in his prior start, a six-furlong dirt claiming sprint Feb. 6 where he ran for a $6,250 tag. Light Fury was in for $10,000 Saturday going a mile and 70 yards on the all-weather Tapeta, over which he improved to 10-for-21 lifetime.

“We just walked him for a month and kind of brought him back. He’s a neat older horse that had gone off form. We said the horse is better than that, so we took him,” Fawkes said. “He’s just an old, class horse that got a second chance, and he won for fun.”

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $325,000

When live racing resumes at Gulfstream Park Thursday, the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $325,000.

There were four ‘live’ tickets going into Sunday’s last race of the Rainbow 6 sequence that spanned Race 4-9, good for a potential jackpot payoff of $293,961.98. The popular multi-race wager went unsolved, however, for the 12th racing day following a March 29 mandatory payout when Edwin Gonzalez guided 3-5 favorite Fully Entitled to victory in Race 9. Gonzalez swept the last three races on Sunday’s card, scoring aboard Gallop d’Hermes ($19.80) in Race 7 and Replevin ($13.20) in Race 8.

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 sequence, which will span Races 3-8, kicked off in Race 3 by a seven-furlong maiden special weight for fillies and mares that drew a field of seven, including a pair of Brad Cox trainees – Godolphin’s Delightfully, a debuting daughter of Tapit, and Shadwell Farm’s Nahia, who finished second in her recent debut around two turns.

A field of nine older horses has been assembled for a five-furlong starter allowance on Tapeta in Race 7. Trainer Rohan Crichton and jockey Edwin Gonzalez will team for a third straight victory with Rachel’s Coach, who has won six of her 11 starts on Tapeta.

In the Rainbow 6, the jackpot pool 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. On mandatory payout days, the entire pool is disbursed to the bettor or bettors holding tickets with the most winners in the six-race sequence.