Dynaforce rebounds in Beverly D.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Dynaforce had been something of a disappointment since running off to win the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational last fall. But the 6-year-old mare did plenty to erase those wistful memories Saturday when getting a textbook stalking trip under Kent Desormeaux and going on to victory in the 20th running of the at Arlington Park.

Bred and owned by Dr. John A. Chandler, Dynaforce was always poised to strike when racing just behind Tizaqueena for the first seven furlongs or so of the 1 3/16-mile Beverly D., which was run over a turf course rated good. Down the stretch, as Tizaqueena gave way grudgingly, Dyaforce took over and then held off Alnadana and jockey Christophe Soumillon to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths.

"She was coming into her third race of the season, and she was coming up to this in good shape," said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who was in from Saratoga. "We got a little lucky with the rain and how that softened the ground up for us some."

Dynaforce returned $17.20 after finishing in 1:58.29, the third-slowest time in race history. She earned $441,000, taking her career bankroll to $1,080,772.

Dynaforce earned a berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf with her victory in the Beverly D., a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In race.

Dynaforce, a 6-year-old mare by Dynaformer, had won 4 of 14 prior starts, with her four-length romp over a yielding course in the Flower Bowl marking easily the highlight of her career. She then was seventh in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in October and was off nearly seven months before finishing fifth in the Gallorette on the May 16 Preakness undercard at Pimlico. Shipped to Chicago to prep specifically over the Arlington course, she was third behind Pure Clan and Tizaqueena in the July 11 Modesty Handicap.

"I'd given her plenty of time off, and it had taken her time to come back to herself," Chandler said.

Pure Clan, the 3-2 favorite, closed belatedly under Julien Leparoux to be third, a neck behind Alnadana and just a nose ahead of Tizaqueena. Then came Points of Grace, Denomination, Mad About You, and Black Mamba.

For Desormeaux, the Beverly D. victory was his second in a row and a record third overall. He previously won aboard Kostroma (1992) and Mauralakana (2008). Mott had one previous Beverly D. win, with Snow Polina in 2000.

Before Dynaforce, Kostroma was the only horse as old as 6 to win the Beverly D.