Lamplighter Jack Continues to Shine on Gulfstream Tapeta<br> Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $500,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – John Oxley’s Lights of Broadway put on a show of determination in the stretch run of Saturday’s $65,000 Armed Forces, scoring his first stakes victory by a neck under Sonny Leon at Gulfstream Park.

The Armed Forces, a mile-and-70-yard stakes for 2-year-olds on Tapeta, co-headlined Saturday’s 11-race program with the $55,000 Pembroke Park, a 1 1/16-mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up on the all-weather surface.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Lights of Broadway had broken his maiden in his second career start at Gulfstream Sept. 10 over the Armed Forces’ distance and surface.

“He really ran well last time and came out of it well, so we said, ‘Why not take a shot?’ And we did,” said Casse’s South Florida assistant Nick Tomlinson. “Coming back off two weeks was definitely a concern, but he showed a lot of heart today. We’re really happy with him. He’s a bit of a late developer. He has some growing to do, but hopefully we’re starting to see the best of him.”

Lights of Broadway settled in fourth on the backstretch Maximo showed the way during a 47.44-second half-mile. The Kentucky-bred colt advanced around the far turn, following Cheerful Charlie, who pulled up alongside Maximo on the turn into the homestretch before opening up a clear lead approaching mid-stretch. Cheerful Charlie continued on gamely under Marcos Meneses but was unable to hold off Lights of Broadway at the wire.

Lights of Broadway ran a mile and 70 yards on Tapeta in 1:41.96 as the 2-1 favorite. Cheerful Charlie finished 1 ¼ lengths clear of Tigre.

Lights of Broadway is a son of City of Light, who captured the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

“I would love to see him on the turf. The City of Lights seem to be doing well on turf,” Tomlinson said. “We don’t have the option now, but when the time comes, we’re definitely not going to be afraid to take it.”

Lamplighter Jack Continues to Shine on Gulfstream Tapeta

Melvin Simonovich’s Lamplighter Jack continued to shine on Gulfstream Park’s Tapeta surface Saturday while registering a gate-to-wire victory in the $55,000 Pembroke Park.

The Joe Orseno-trained 4-year-old gelding collected his fifth victory in his last five races on the all-weather surface, rebounding from a fifth-place finish on turf in a Kentucky Downs allowance in his most recent start.

Lamplighter Jack, who had won his last four Tapeta races in front-running style, went right to the lead and set uncontested fractions of 24.25 and 48.84 seconds for the first half-mile of the 1 1/16-mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up. Calibrator made an outside bid on the turn into the homestretch, but Lure Him In, the 123-pound highweight ridden by Miguel Vasquez, made a much more imposing challenge to his outside. A stakes winner on Gulfstream’s Tapeta course during the Championship Meet, Lure Him In closed resolutely in the stretch but was held at bay by Lamplighter Jack. The son of Fed Biz scored by a neck after running 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.26 under Edgar Perez at the 9-5 favorite.

“He bounced out of the race in Kentucky fine. Was he where he was before he went to Kentucky? There’s no way to know until you run him,” Orseno said. “He was running. They came to him and he’s all heart.”

Lure Him In finished 1 ¼ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Calibrator.

Lamplighter Jack, who set a blistering pace at Kentucky Downs before weakening and finishing four lengths behind the winner, has won two of five career starts on turf.

“We’re race to race with him. The thing is: he’s equally as good on turf. People don’t think it, but he’s a good turf horse too,” Orseno said. “At Kentucky Downs, he went too fast. Edgar knows him, but he got away from him. It was a different type of race. At Kentucky Downs it was too quick running up and down hills.”

Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $500,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $500,000 on Sunday’s program at Gulfstream Park.

First-race post time is set for 12:25 p.m.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for the 18 racing days following an Aug. 13 mandatory payout.

Sunday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11.

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.