Grade 1 Winner Tops Nominations List for July 6 Sprint<br> Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Jun Park and Delia Nash’s Sibelius is scheduled to return to action in the $120,000 Smile Sprint July 6 at Gulfstream Park.

Sibelius, who captured the 2023 Dubai GoldenShaheen (G1), is the most accomplished name on the list of 13 nominated to the Smile, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up.

The 6-year-old son of Not This Time, who scored a four-length victory in the Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream during the Championship Meet, has been freshen since finishing sixth in this year’s Dubai Golden Shaheen March 30.

“He’s going to run,” trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer said at Gulfstream Park Thursday. “He’s been training great. We gave him a bit of time in Kentucky for a bit of fresh grass after Dubai. We freshened him up and brought him back here to South Florida. He’s been training steadily forward in preparation for the Smile.”

Sibelius has had a series of four breezes since returning to training at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

Trainer Jose D’Angelo is represented by two prominent nominees with last-out appearances in Dubai – Tom Durant’s Run Classic, who finished seventh in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, and Blanco Stable’s Carmel Chip, who finished sixth in the Godolphin Mile (G2).

C2 Racing Stable LLC’s Mish, who fell a neck shy of holding off Sibelius in the Pelican at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 10, is also among the most prominent nominations, The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee has finished first, second or third in his last 11 starts. Arindel’s Octane, who captured the Big Drama at Gulfstream by 6 ¼ lengths last time out, has a victory in the Razorback Handicap (G3) on his resume.

The $100,000 Soldier’s Dancer, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up that will be a supporting feature to the Smile Sprint July 6, attracted 10 nominations, including Gray Oak Stables, Michael Iavarone and Julia Iavarone’s Fly the W, an 18-race winner who is coming off back-to-back starter allowance wins for trainer Bobby Dibona.

The $95,000 Carry Back, a seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds to be run Jan. 5, drew 11 nominations, including Frank DeLuca’s Frankie’s Empire, who won the seven-furlong Swale and finished third in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth (G2) during the Championship Meet. The Michael Yates-trained son of Classic Empire bounced back from a sixth-place finish in the March 30 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) with a 1 ¾-length score in a June 2 overnight handicap at Gulfstream.

Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George Isaacs’ Catalytic, who finished far back in the Kentucky Derby (G1) after running a distant second behind Fierceness in the Curlin Florida Derby, is also nominated to the Carry Back.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $75,000 Friday at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Thursday for the second racing day following Saturday’s mandatory payout.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will Span Races 4-9, featuring a mile-and-70-yard optional claiming allowance for 3-year-old Florida-bred fillies on Tapeta, in Race 8. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Southern Palace, who scored an off-the-pace debut victory June 7, will face seven rivals.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool 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.

A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is scheduled for next Sunday, June 30.