Lead: Phipps Stables’ 4-year-old Kentucky homebred colt Reflecting was sent off the 7-to-5 favorite in a field of nine older horses to line-up for the seventh race allowance feature Thursday at Gulfstream Park, but required a heady ride by jockey Jose Lezcano to keep him out of trouble to win the 1 7/16 miles turf marathon.

Lezcano had the son of Elusive Quality rating just behind longshot leaders setting a dawdling pace up the backstretch. With a half-mile to go as the field bunched up, Lezcano let Reflecting go to the lead while other contenders found trouble behind him.

Winning trainer Shug McGaughey said, “It was a funny run race with the strange pace. He (Lezcano) did a good job of keeping him out of trouble. This horse is still learning and knowing he can go this distance gives us more options. We’ll see where we go from here. He still has conditions.”

Reflecting held a safe margin of 2 ¼ lengths at the finish over Naipaul Chatterpaul’s Game Ball with Brian Miller’s Gossip Column another 2 ¼ lengths back in third. Reflecting paid $4.80 for $2 to win and was timed the unusual distance in 2:23:79 over ‘firm’ ground after winning for the second time in nine starts.

Who’s Hot: Jockeys Javier Castellano, Luis Saez and Joe Rocco, Jr. each won two races, both of Rocco’s trained by Michael Matz.

Rainbow 6 Carryover: $1,007,646.23