Carryover watch: Pick 6 prize pools at Gulfstream, Fair Grounds

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to play in a pair of Sunday Pick 6 carryovers at Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds.

Gulfstream Park, Race 6: $828,942 Pick 6 mandatory payout (2:48 p.m. ET)

Easily the most enticing carryover on the Sunday agenda is the $828,942 Rainbow Pick 6 prize pool up for grabs at Gulfstream Park. Although the Rainbow Pick 6 is normally a jackpot-style wager, Sunday’s carryover is slated for a mandatory payout among bettors who select the highest number of winners.

We’ve analyzed the sequence and identified a couple of nice-priced horses worth building tickets around:

Best single: Race 6: #4 My Sea Cottage (7-2)

In a competitive sequence lacking any obvious singles, My Sea Cottage—the morning line favorite to win a $50,000 starter allowance racing one mile on turf—is arguably the most trustworthy name to support.

My Sea Cottage ran great off a long layoff in a $35,000 claimer over this course and distance on Dec. 8. Sent straight to the front by jockey Luis Saez, My Sea Cottage carved out a quick pace before kicking away impressively to dominate by 5 3/4 lengths, earning a career-best 86 Brisnet Speed rating.

Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, My Sea Cottage retains Saez for his second run off the layoff, and it’s worth noting Casse and Saez have won at a 26% rate teaming up together over the last two months. My Sea Cottage has cranked out a couple of fast workouts over the Palm Meadows turf course this month and looks ready to record a second straight victory.

Value play: Race 10: #9 Love in the Air (5-1)

Love in the Air has been competing on dirt as of late, wiring a pair of stakes for Pennsylvania-breds at Parx Racing before finishing fifth in the Go for Wand H. (G3) at Aqueduct. But her turf form is similarly solid; she hasn’t missed the trifecta in five lifetime runs on grass, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Dr. James Penny Memorial (G3) last summer.

Love in the Air is returning to turf for Sunday’s contest at Gulfstream, a $62,500 allowance optional claimer taking place over one mile. The surface switch and class drop should place Love in the Air in the hunt for victory at a fair price. In addition to including her in the Pick 6, we’ll place a $10 win bet on Love in the Air. Bettors who opt-in to the TwinSpires Winter Money Back promotion will receive a refund if Love in the Air finishes second or third.

• $10 to win on #9 Love in the Air

Fair Grounds, Race 3: $2,819 Pick 6 carryover (post time 3:15 p.m. ET)

In addition to the action at Gulfstream Park, there’s a $2,819 non-jackpot Pick 6 carryover on the table at Fair Grounds.

The best chance for a single might come in Race 4, a $30,000 claimer for fillies and mares racing 1 1/16 miles on dirt. #4 Zing (2-1) has been in sharp form as of late, finishing third in a $40,000 claimer at Churchill Downs and third in a $17,500 allowance optional claimer traveling 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds two weeks ago.

These efforts produced Brisnet Speed ratings of 81 and 84. Considering none of Zing’s Sunday rivals has posted a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 80, Zing is the fastest horse in the field and a logical choice to take home top honors under hot jockey James Graham.

Good luck!