Dylan Davis makes all the right moves on Dynamic Pricing in the Perfect Sting
?q=100)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - With no choice but to go inside in the stretch of Friday’s Perfect Sting Stakes, Dylan Davis began looking for gaps in which to guide Dynamic Pricing. Davis found them, he just needed Dynamic Price to be willing enough to go through them.
The Grade 1-winning mare was more than a willing partner as she twice split horses in the final furlong to record a one-length victory in the $150,000 Perfect Sting for older turf females at Saratoga. Raqiya, who made the lead after tracking the pace, outlasted Proctor Street to get second by a nose.
It was 1 3/4 lengths back to Vino Rouge, who was followed in the order of finish by A Lilac Rolla, Les Reys, Zadorsky, and New Rome. Our Pretty Woman and Ribaltagaia were scratched.
On paper, Dynamic Pricing was the most accomplished horse in the field, having won the Grade 1 Just a Game two starts back before finishing third in the Grade 1 Diana last month. Still, the betting public made recent allowance winner Proctor Street the slight post-time favorite.
Not a fast starter, Dynamic Pricing was seventh of eight early under Davis. She was saving ground and always on the inside of Les Reys, ridden by Joel Rosario. Proctor Street, under Irad Ortiz Jr., was in fifth down the backside, while New Rome, under Ricardo Santana Jr., set a realistic pace of 23.42 seconds and 47.11 for the half-mile with Raqiya in second.
Around the far turn, Proctor Street began to make a wide move and Davis seemed anxious to follow. But Les Reys had Dynamic Pricing hemmed in. Davis then diverted to the inside and found room between Zadorsky and Vino Rouge at the eighth pole and then went between Raqiya and New Rome at the sixteenth pole and edged away to get the victory.
“She’s really competitive,” Davis said. “She took me through all those one-horse gaps, it was just enough. She was there for me. Thanks to the team, they had her ready.”
Dynamic Pricing, an Irish-bred daughter of Night of Thunder owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables and trained by Chad Brown, covered the mile in 1:35.45 and returned $5.60 as the second choice. She improved her record to 5-0-4 from 11 starts and increased her earnings to $914,625.
“I was a little concerned on the final turn when Proctor Street opened up three because this filly does take a stride or two to get in gear and maybe the other one had the jump on her,” Brown said. “But by the time they turned for home, she was already on her heels again so she showed a nice burst there around the turn and Dylan used good judgment to dive inside - a pretty brave move and it turned out to be the winning one.”
Brown doesn’t view Dynamic Pricing as a Breeders’ Cup horse, but at a mile “she’s a Grade 1 horse.”
Brown said races like the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland on Oct. 4 and the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar later in the fall are likely on Dynamic Pricing’s itinerary.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.