Vulnerable favorites to oppose in Gulfstream's $190,967 Rainbow 6 carryover

The biggest carryover up for grabs on Sunday is a $190,967 Rainbow Pick 6 jackpot at Gulfstream Park. While there isn’t a mandatory payout on the agenda, any bettor skilled (or lucky?) enough to construct a unique winning ticket can claim the whole pool.

Of course, assembling such a ticket requires beating favorites and playing outside the box with longshots. With this in mind, let’s explore a pair of vulnerable favorites worth opposing in Sunday’s Rainbow 6 sequence:

Race 5 ($12,500 claiming): #6 Wild Cat West (5-2)

Granted, Wild Cat West ran just fine over this track, distance, and class level on March 7. Returning from a three-month layoff, the stoutly bred son of Mineshaft tracked the pace, took command approaching the quarter pole, and battled on gamely to finish second by less than one length.

However, Wild Cat West will face 11 rivals on Sunday, and he’s far from a standout in terms of Brisnet Speed ratings. Several of his opponents have posted similar (or faster) figures, including a handful of longshots offering enticing odds. One could do worse than oppose Wild Cat West with a horse like #4 Morning Trial (12-1), who finished third sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over this track and class level on March 19. If the son of Morning Line improves at all while stretching out over one mile, he can threaten at a nice price.

But even if all the longshots falter, short-priced runners like #2 Social Equality (4-1) and #3 Here Comes Bullet (7-2) appear just as likely as Wild Cat West to visit the winner’s circle, so relying on the favorite in this competitive heat seems like a risky approach.

Race 8 ($6,250 claiming): #7 Liesel (5-2)

Liesel is bound to be a popular play after employing pace-tracking tactics to win a $12,500 maiden claiming race over this track and one-mile distance by 2 1/4 lengths. The Jorge Delgado-trained filly sits atop the Brisnet Prime Power ratings and hasn’t missed the board in her last six starts dating back to September.

But Liesel has never faced winners, and three starts back she was beaten 10 lengths by #9 Shakem (3-1), who went on to finish second in a one-mile, $12,500 claiming race on March 13 at Gulfstream. Throw in the fact Shakem has run faster than Liesel on the Brisnet Speed rating scale, and you can make a case Shakem is the more dangerous contender on Sunday.

Good luck!