Alex and JoAnn Lieblong had reason to smile on 6th December (Saturday) as their Grade 2-winning homebred Reef Runner continued his preparation for the Reef Runner Janus Stakes target at Gulfstream Park. After he finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar, his latest move offered the kind of reassurance owners and trainers looked for while moving toward another major assignment.
The gelded 4-year-old son of The Big Beast, trained by David Fawkes, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.11 over Gulfstream’s main track, ranking 13th of 26. It was his second work since he returned from a three-race stay in southern California, following a 59.47 five-eighths drill on Tapeta Nov. 29.
Lieblong said Fawkes had sent him the breeze video, calling it a “healthy-looking breeze,” and added that the trainer’s reaction told the story: “That just made my morning.” Working in company with multiple stakes winner Charlie’s Wish, Reef Runner matched times with his partner under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Fawkes described it as “excellent work” and said he was “very pleased,” noting that Charlie’s Wish gave the gelding good company and that the move was exactly what they wanted.
Fawkes said he was pointing Reef Runner to the Janus, run at five furlongs on the turf as part of a Dec. 20 stakes program worth $750,000 headlined by the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) and Ft. Lauderdale (G3), respective local preps for the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 24. Lieblong said, “After today he said the light has come on, for both Dave and the horse. The horse is just doing fantastic.”
Reef Runner carried a record of 6-5-5 from 21 starts with earnings of $552,405. He ran third in last year’s Janus, beaten less than three lengths behind Coppola and Arzak. His résumé included the 2024 Bob Umphrey Sprint on Tapeta and the Aug. 3 Warrior’s Pride overnight handicap on turf. He had been disqualified from first to second in the Aug.
30 Green Flash Handicap (G3) at Del Mar, an automatic qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, before he rebounded to win the Eddie Read (G3) at Santa Anita. “He’s just been a fun little horse,” Lieblong said. Fawkes said he expected to also run Asher’s Edge, who won the Bob Umphrey Sprint Sept. 20 and finished third in the Chasing Artie overnight handicap Nov. 22.
Sunday closed the second weekend of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet with a projected $175,000 Rainbow 6 jackpot pool. Post time for the first of 11 races was 12:20 p.m. The Rainbow 6 went unsolved Saturday for the fourth straight racing day following mandatory payouts of $13,268.58 Nov. 29.
The sequence spanned Races 6–11 and included a maiden special weight sprint for 3-year-olds and up featuring Kraken, a $325,000 son of Justify, and Noble J returning from an even longer layoff. The feature in Race 9 was an optional claiming allowance scheduled for one mile on turf, with Bay of Bengal entering off back-to-back wins for Graham Motion. Ironsides, Quereme Pass and Lachaise also exited wins.
Race 10 featured Skellig Michael, a five-length maiden winner at the course and distance Oct. 18, returning as the 9-5 program favorite, with Adios Now looking to improve after placing in five straight starts. The Race 11 finale was a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies scheduled for one mile on the turf, drawing an overflow field including also-eligible Barakah. Munnings Talks, a $300,000 daughter of Munnings, debuted from outermost Post 12. Squander, a $300,000 Quality Road filly, returned after a troubled sixth in her lone start Sept. 20 at Aqueduct.
Empress New Groove made her first start for Saffie Joseph Jr. after running second in debut, a 1 1/16-mile maiden event Oct. 30 at Keeneland. In the Rainbow 6, the jackpot pool was paid out only when there was a single unique ticket with all six winners. On days when there was no unique ticket, 70 percent of the pool went to bettors with the most winners while 30 percent was carried over. There was a carryover of $46,080.49 in the $1 Super Hi-5 wager in Saturday’s Race 11 finale.
Gulfstream runners also made news elsewhere. Zany, who broke her maiden Nov. 2 at Gulfstream by 6½ lengths for Todd Pletcher, drew off at Aqueduct to win the Demoiselle (G2) by 8½ lengths in 1:50.55. Solitude Dude, who broke his maiden Nov. 1 at Gulfstream by 9½ lengths for Saffie Joseph Jr., won Tampa Bay Downs’ $125,000 Inaugural Stakes in 1:09.07. Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano guided Rideallday to win the Mouttet Mile (G1) at Caymanas Park in Jamaica, where Emisael Jaramillo finished second aboard Legacy Isle.
Stay tuned to Racebuzz for more such updates.