Dynamic Pricing surges to Beaugay Stakes triumph; On Command takes License Fee
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The last move on soft turf was the winning one in the Grade 3 Beaugay Stakes at Aqueduct on Sunday, as 4-year-old filly Dynamic Pricing dodged some late trouble to win by a half-length in a blanket finish.
"It was nice off a layoff that [Dynamic Pricing] was ready and avoided the trouble in this race,” trainer Chad Brown said. “She was able to get her season started the right way."
Brown entered three runners in the field of eight for the Beaugay, but jockey Irad Ortiz and Dynamic Pricing were the only ones with racing luck against a rogue rival. Raqiya, a 4-year-old filly trained by Todd Pletcher, stumbled out of the gate and then practically bolted to the early lead, completing the opening quarter-mile in 22.67 seconds.
Raqiya’s early pace would have been quick for a sprint, let alone a 1 1/16-mile stakes race. Jockey Frankie Dettori managed to slow her down through a half-mile in 47.97 seconds, but the damage was done. As she was fading, she bore out badly on the far turn and crowded Spaliday, another Brown runner, who had rushed up to challenge her when the pace slowed on the backstretch.
Dynamic Pricing was just behind those two when they crossed paths, closing from sixth and swinging wide into the stretch. Spotting potential trouble ahead, Ortiz had to angle her even wider for a better position down the center. The jockey was concerned that he would also become a victim of Raqiya’s rapid regression through the field.
"Believe me, I wanted to move earlier, but I couldn't,” Ortiz said. “Then I hit the clear and I saw [Raqiya] having trouble to make the turn. I said 'Oh my God.' So now I don't want to check my horse, stop the momentum, so I said by the time I get there, he is either going to blow the turn or make the turn. [Frankie Dettori] controlled the horse. I got the time to go around them and get there on time."
Delayed slightly by the action in front of her, Dynamic Pricing came charging for the leaders under a furious drive. Edict, a 5-year-old mare trained by David Donk, closely tracked Raqiya in the early going and led into the stretch, but the 27-1 longshot had to settle for second when Dynamic Pricing nabbed the lead in the final yards. Brown’s filly finished in 1:42.12 and paid $9 to win.
Heredia, a 6-year-old mare making her North American debut for trainer Graham Motion, finished third by a length, a sharp return from a 575-day layoff.
On Command wins License Fee Stakes
Amelia Green, Todd Pletcher’s assistant for nearly a decade, is familiar with the feeling of collecting trophies in the winner’s circle. On Sunday, she stood on her own, having won the first stakes race of her solo training career when 4-year-old filly On Command led the entire way to take the $150,000 License Fee Stakes at Aqueduct.
"It's definitely a little different,” Green said. “Until you're here, you can't really describe it. I'm just so proud of the filly and my team in the barn, they do all the hard work and work hard every day. She's been training so good. Since I've got her in the barn, she's never put a foot out of line. I'm just so proud of her and happy for the connections."
In her first 27 starts as a trainer, Green now has seven victories and 17 finishes in the money. Her stable may be small for now, but her rate of success is among the best in New York this year. It was only a matter of time before that translated to a stakes victory.
When the field of six left the gate on the outer turf course, several horses balked at the chance to take the early lead until jockey Katie Davis took charge on the far outside. Completing the opening half-mile in 44.85 seconds, On Command took a 2 1/2-length lead without much pressure. The 10-1 outsider had never raced against winners on the turf.
Davis was surprised by the ease with which her filly managed to control the lead on the far turn. The jockey imagined several horses to her outside in the closing stages, but no one approached her. On Command won by a comfortable length and completed the six-furlong race in 1:07.65.
“I took a look back and I was going to move because I thought they were really on me, but they weren’t, so I gave her another breather,” Davis said. “Then I hit the top of the stretch and she kicked on.”
Love Appeals and Dontlookbackatall, heavily favored 5-year-old mares trained by Christophe Clement, both failed to fire from off the pace.
Time to Dazzle, a 4-year-old filly trained by Mark Casse, followed the leader all the way around the track and finished second, while 15-1 longshot Hollywood Walk made a late bid for third. On Command paid $22.80 to win, and a 50-cent trifecta in the six-horse field paid $304.
The filly’s dashing win in the License Fee was Green’s first stakes victory, but it was also Davis’s sixth in New York. The jockey said that she was excited by Green’s early success and wished to be a part of it going forward. She noted the importance of a stakes-winning collaboration by two women in an industry typically led by men.
“It’s nice that women support each other,” Davis said. “To know that they have confidence in me and I have confidence in her – I just love the way she trains. She gets on her own [horses], she knows what’s underneath her, and I praise her for that. She’s a great up-and-coming woman trainer and she’s going to have a lot of success."
Green said that On Command could possibly try the Grade 2 Intercontinental at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga in June, but there are no firm plans yet for her next start.
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