Jockey Jaramillo a Fast Winner on Return from Dubai

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – After being narrowly beaten in Saturday’s $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) at Meydan Racecourse, jockey Emisael Jaramillo’s whirlwind trip from the Middle East to South Florida ended in the Gulfstream Park winner’s circle Sunday.

Jaramillo, 48, guided Bona Venture Stables’ Irish-bred Ortley Avenue to a front-running 2 ¼-length victory in the first of 10 races, a 5 ½-furlong sprint for 3-year-old maidens on the all-weather Tapeta course. The winning time was 1:03.45.

The win came less than two hours after landing back in the U.S. following a 16-hour flight from Dubai to Miami.

“We landed at 10 a.m. and at 11:40 I was here to ride the first race,” Jaramillo said through an interpreter. “I came from the airport to the track.”

Venezuela’s all-time leading rider with more than 4,000 wins before coming to the U.S. in 2015, Jaramillo finished second by less than a length to 65-1 longshot Dark Saffron aboard Wesley Ward-trained Nakatomi in Saturday’s $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1), a race he won in 2019 with X Y Jet.

The Golden Shaheen went off around 7:40 p.m. at Meydan, 11:40 Saturday morning in Miami. Jaramillo was on a plane by 2:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. ET) and landed at Miami International Airport at 9:50 a.m. Sunday following the 7,877-mile flight.

“After the riding I prepared myself to take a rest. I watched a few hours of TV and took something to help me relax and sleep,” Jaramillo said. “I slept for 10 hours during the flight. The airplane is very comfortable."

Jaramillo had three other mounts Sunday, finishing fourth with It’s Only Words in Race 4, second on Triple Crown-nominated Amjaad for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher in Race 6, and second aboard Alley Oop Johnny in Race 9.

During Gulfstream’s recently concluded Championship Meet, Jaramillo ranked sixth in wins (40) and 10th in purse earnings ($1,467,765). Among his victories were Ashima in the Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf and K.C. Chief in the Mucho Gusto Starter Handicap.

“For me to ride at my home track is very exciting. To be able to return in time to ride here, and win, is very special,” he said. “I’m always mentally prepared for those long trips and to go from one place to another and continue riding.”

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $625,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $625,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the eighth consecutive racing day.

The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a mile-and-70-yard allowance for 3-year-old fillies on Tapeta in Race 7. Brad Cox-trained Sweet Treasure will seek her third straight victory without defeat while making her 2025 debut. The daughter of Twirling Candy, who is favored at 8-5 on the morning line, won at first asking at Horseshow Indianapolis last August before scoring a front-running victory in a Churchill Downs allowance in November. Both victories were on turf.

The Rainbow 6 carryover 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 usually 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 Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence.

A mandatory Rainbow 6 payout is scheduled for Sunday, April 13.

Notes: Jockey Edgard Zayas scored successive wins Sunday on Mean to Me ($5) in Race 5 and Richly Deserved ($5) in Race 6 … Paco Lopez also won back-to-back on Ship Cadet ($5.40) in Race 7 and Broderie ($3.60) in Race 8.