Jockey Junior Alvarado Expected to Resume Riding Thursday

Among Mounts is First-Timer Spirit of Hope, Half to Cody’s Wish
Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $450,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Jockey Junior Alvarado, regular rider for 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, is expected to return to action Thursday at Gulfstream Park after being shaken up lae on Saturday’s Holy Bull (G3) program.

Alvarado, 39, was replaced on his three scheduled mounts Sunday. He took off his final two mounts Saturday, both in stakes, after being thrown to the turf when his horse, Multiverse, clipped heels on the first turn in Race 9, an optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up. Multiverse was not injured.

Agent Mike Sellitto said Sunday that Alvarado, who was transported to the hospital following the spill, received stitches on his knee but was otherwise unharmed. He was cleared to ride Sunday but took the afternoon off to further his recovery.

Alvarado won earlier on Saturday’s program aboard 5-year-old Roar Ready for trainer Victor Barboza Jr. and was second on Patrick Biancone-trained Redland Rebels in the $175,000 Kitten’s Joy. In his absence, Tessellate ran sixth under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano in the $175,000 Forward Gal (G3) and 61-1 longshot Spicy Princess ran second with Edgard Zayas in the $175,000 Sweetest Chant.

Entering Sunday, Alvarado ranked fourth with 26 wins and third with more than $1.7 million in purse earnings from 145 mounts at the Championship Meet, which began Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27. Among his victories are Destino D’Oro in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2), Grand Job in the Inside Information (G2), Knightsbridge in the Mr. Prospector (G3) and Fred Hooper (G3) and Layabout in the Tropical Park Derby.

Alvarado is named in four of 10 races Thursday including Godolphin homebred Spirit of Hope, a 4-year-old half-sister to 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish making her career debut, in a Race 6 maiden special weight going one mile on the main track.

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $450,000

Godolphin 4-year-old homebred filly Spirit of Hope, a half-sister to 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish, will make her career debut as part of a 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence estimated to reach $450,000 when the Championship Meet resumes Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager last returned multiple mandatory payouts of $71,527.70 on Pegasus World Cup Day Jan. 24. The largest Rainbow 6 jackpot payout of the Championship Meet was $416,348.44 Jan. 8.

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.

Thursday’s Rainbow 6 opens in Race 5, a starter optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass where both Cairo Comedy and last out winner Divine Blue are in for the $35,000 tag against six rivals. Call the Bullpen, third or better in four of six starts, also exits a victory going one mile on the Gulfstream turf Jan. 9 for trainer Carlos David.

Race 6 is a maiden special weight for older fillies and mares going a one-turn mile on the main track, where Spirit of Hope drew the rail in a field of six for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. By Street Sense out of the Tapit mare Dance Card, the bay filly has been working steadily since late November at Payson Park for her unveiling.

Among the competition are two $475,000 auction purchases seeking to break through for their Hall of Fame trainers. Shug McGaughey sends out Tejanita, by Tapit, for her sixth start having most recently run fourth in a six-furlong maiden event Jan. 3. Whitethorn, a daughter of Not This Time, races second time for Todd Pletcher after finishing second in a one-mile maiden spot Dec. 27 on the Gulfstream turf. She has two seconds and a third in three starts.

Sophomore fillies are scheduled to go five furlongs on the grass in a Race 7 optional claiming allowance led by My Sweetheart, stakes-placed on turf and dirt, and last out winners Ifyousaidso, Pillar of Beauty and Tosca. Race 8 is a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather Tapeta featuring a trio of six-figure yearlings including Scope, by Hall of Famer Gun Runner, who is joined by his Pletcher-trained stablemate Lanum, a first-time starter by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Who’s hot: Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. added two wins to his Championship Meet-leading totals Sunday with Snowyte ($5) in Race 4 and Paris Surprise ($3.80) in Race 7 … Micah Husbands also doubled, aboard If I Can Dream ($6.20) in Race 2 and Fly Erik Fly ($13.80) in Race 9.