HALLANDALE BEACH - The juvenile racing season kicks off at Gulfstream Park Thursday, when eight fillies are scheduled to contest a $65,000 maiden special weight dash at 4 ½ furlongs..

    Marva, a daughter of Iqbaal, is likely to vie for favoritism on the strength of trainer Wesley Ward’s celebrated prowess with juveniles and a sharp three-furlong breeze from the gate in 35.80 seconds at Gulfstream on West April 6,

    Reiterate, a daughter of Competitive Edge trained by Mark Casse; Sonar, an Arindel homebred trained by Juan Alvarado; and Majudie, a daughter of He’s Had Enough trained by Patrick Biancone; are among the entrants in the first race of the year for 2-year-olds that is carded as Race 4. First-race post time is set for 1:15 p.m.

    A second juvenile race, an open $65,000 maiden special weight sprint at 4 ½ furlongs, will follow on Friday’s card as Race 5.

    Jacks or Better Farm’s Positively Awesome, a homebred son of Awesome of Course-Sexing Stockings, is expected to attract a lot of attention from the bettors, being a half-brother to multiple Gr. 1 stakes-winner Jackson Bend ($1.8 million), who swept the 2009 Florida Sire Stakes Series, and Grande Shores ($665k). Positively Awesome is trained by Ralph Nicks.

    Ward-trained Zanno, a son of Verrazano, is also prominent among the eight colts (and an also-eligible) in the field. Zanno is out of Heaven’s Touch, a daughter of Montbrook who was saddled by Ward for a debut victory at Gulfstream in March of 2014.

    Juveniles will be prominent throughout the Spring/Summer Meet and will take center stage during the tradition-rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida. The three-leg series, which will be contested for $1.4 million in purses, will kick off Aug. 3 with the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $100,000 Desert Vixen, both at six furlongs. The $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, both at seven furlongs, will follow on Aug. 31. The $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both at 1 1/16 miles, will conclude the series on Sept. 28.

    Freshman Florida sires include Bahamian Squall, The Big Beast, Amira’s Prince, Chitu, Khozan, Young Bryan and Fury Kapcori.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Stands at $108,937   

          The 20-cent Rainbow 6 carryover stands at $108,937.34 for Thursday’s program, as the multi-race wager went unsolved for a fifth consecutive day Sunday.

            Thursday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, kicked off by the first race of the year for 2-year-olds, followed by four turf races with full fields and a mile event on the main track. comments powered by Disqus