Gulfstream Park: Longshots to play in the mandatory-payout $500,635 Rainbow Pick 6 carryover

Looking for a formidable handicapping challenge with the potential to yield huge payoffs? Look no further than Saturday’s Rainbow Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park, which features a $500,635 mandatory-payout carryover.

Gulfstream Park is estimating that the final pool size will exceed $3 million, so this is a betting opportunity you don’t want to miss. But constructing a winning ticket will be difficult, since the 20-cent wager features 63 entries (10.5 per race) and 1,317,690 possible outcomes before scratches. That’s a lot of combinations to ponder!

There are bound to be some surprising results along the way, so looking for live longshots might be the best way to survive the sequence and catch a big payoff. With this strategy in mind, here are three longshots worth considering in the Rainbow 6:

Race 10: #11 Demurely (8-1)

The six-furlong FTBOA Florida Sire Desert Vixen S. for juvenile fillies features a logical favorite in the form of #2 Noble Dreamer (2-1), who broke her maiden by 7 1/4 lengths while facing Florida-breds last month.

But if you like Noble Dreamer, then why not consider Demurely, who defeated Noble Dreamer in their mutual debut at Gulfstream Park two months ago? The event in question was a five-furlong maiden special weight open to all juvenile fillies (not just Florida-breds), and Demurely had little difficulty rallying to beat Noble Dreamer by 2 1/2 lengths.

Demurely hasn’t run since, but if she improves at all in her second career start, she can maintain her supremacy over Noble Dreamer and spring a surprise in the Desert Vixen.

Race 10: #8 Solar Girl (20-1)

Another longshot worth considering in the Desert Vixen is Noble Dreamer’s stablemate, Solar Girl. A daughter of juvenile Grade 1 winner Greenpointcrusader, Solar Girl is a half-sister to a stakes-winning sprinter, so she has the pedigree to flash speed and win from an early age.

Solar Girl failed to seriously challenge when debuting in a 7 1/2-furlong maiden special weight over the Gulfstream turf course two weeks ago, rallying mildly to finish sixth by 4 1/2 lengths. But she’s eligible to improve while switching to dirt and squaring off against fellow Florida-breds. Keep in mind, Joseph’s win rate with first-time starters (just 13% since 2018) jumps to 22% with second-time starters.

Race 12: #4 Merlin (15-1)

Among the nine juvenile colts and geldings entered in the $100,000 FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager S., Merlin is one of the least accomplished. The Juan Alvarado trainee has been beaten in all three of his starts to date, so he’s technically a maiden facing winners in a stakes.

But Merlin hasn’t been running badly by any means. All three of his starts were runner-up efforts against open maiden special weight company at Gulfstream Park, so he may find the competition a bit easier while squaring off against fellow Florida-breds on Saturday. His Brisnet Speed ratings are reasonably competitive, and he showed a nice finishing kick when rallying to finish second in a 5 1/2-furlong dash last month. Stretching out over six furlongs can help Merlin vie for victory at double-digit odds.

Good luck!