Gulfstream: How to bet the $14,412 Super High 5 carryover

Gulfstream Park is celebrating New Year’s Eve with a Sunday card highlighted by a $14,412 Super High 5 carryover.

The prize pool for the $1 wager is up for grabs right off the bat in Race 1, a $12,500 maiden claimer for two-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs on dirt. Nine horse have entered, which works out to 15,120 possible Super High 5 outcomes, but overall the race doesn’t appear too difficult to handicap.

We’ll start things off by keying morning line favorite #8 Sixteen Cigarettes (2-1) on top. The Carlos David trainee has been facing tougher competition. Last time out he pressed the pace in $25,000 maiden claimer sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over Gulfstream’s Tapeta track before fading to finish seventh. Two starts back, he dueled for the lead in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight over the Gulfstream dirt before giving way to finish sixth.

Dropping in class for a $12,500 maiden claimer should make Sixteen Cigarettes tough to catch under apprentice jockey Jon Rivera, who rides with a seven-pound weight allowance. The fact David strikes at a 43% rate with horses dropping multiple levels down the class ladder cements Sixteen Cigarettes as the most likely winner.

Who should we use underneath? The Antonio Sano trainees #5 Builder Jak (5-2) and #6 Macuto (3-1) are logical. Builder Jack finished fourth in his debut against $12,500 maiden claiming company over the Gulfstream dirt on Dec. 10, while Macuto is dropping in class out of maiden special weights running long at Gulfstream.

We have to respect the field’s two first-time starters as well. #4 Purecrazigroove (20-1) is trained by Jena Antonucci, whose debuting runners crack the top three a respectable 35% of the time. And #7 Designated Hitter (12-1) breezed a quick half-mile in :47 2/5 at Gulfstream Park last Sunday, suggesting he has some ability.

We’ll round out our tickets with #2 Stable Storm (8-1) and #9 Dancing Bullet (15-1). Stable Storm finished fourth in his debut over this class level and may improve while switching from Tapeta to dirt and transitioning from a route to a sprint. Dancing Bullet faltered in a $16,000 maiden claimer racing one mile at Gulfstream last time out, but debuted with a runner-up finish in a $12,500 maiden claimer sprinting six furlongs.

• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 5,6 with 5,6 with 2,4,7 with 2,4,7,9 ($18)
• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 5,6 with 2,4,7 with 5,6 with 2,4,7,9 ($18)
• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 5,6 with 2,4,7 with 2,4,7,9 with 5,6 ($18)
  Total: $54

Good luck!