Pay Any Price closes year with Turf Dash win

Pay Any Price frequently raced for a tag during the early part of his career, and was haltered for $25,000 by his current owners in July 2016. That now looks like a bargain for what they've gotten. Pay Any Price earned his fourth stakes victory of the season Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, leading at every point of call and holding on for a half-length score in the $100,000 Turf Dash.

Pay Any Price, a 7-year-old Florida-bred gelding by Wildcat Heir, has won 6 of 8 starts in 2017. The gelding, trained by Ralph Ziadie for Averill Racing and Matties Racing Stable, won this year's Silks Run Stakes, setting a Gulfstream Park course record, over Power Alert and Mongolian Saturday. He later added the Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint and the Claiming Crown Canterbury Stakes. He also finished second in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico – beaten a neck by Richard's Boy, who went on to finish a close second in last month's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, a race Pay Any Price was forced to miss with a foot abscess.

“He was a complete basket case [when we claimed him],” co-owner Rich Averill told Tampa Bay publicity of the gelding’s development this year. “You couldn’t saddle him without a fight, he wouldn’t go in the barn, he wouldn’t train and you could only work him out of the gate. [Ziadie] just got him to relax and be comfortable and be a normal horse. Now, instead of exerting all his ability on other things, he is exerting his talent on the races. He is just a different horse.”

Pay Any Price ($3), with Edgard Zayas in the irons, was pressured by American Sailor through splits of 21.29 seconds for the quarter and 43.86 seconds for the half. He put his challenger away and led by 1 1/2 lengths in upper stretch, then held off closing longshot Jaguar Poz for his half-length score. He finished the five furlongs in 55.63 seconds, exactly one second off Bold Thunder's course record set in January 2015.

It was another length back to Conquest Enforcer, a clear third by 2 1/2 lengths over American Sailor.

Ziadie indicated that Pay Any Price will target the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint on Jan. 27.

Smiling Causeway wins first stakes in Lightning City

Earlier on the card, Smiling Causeway scored her first stakes victory in the $100,000 Lightning City, a turf sprint for fillies and mares.

Smiling Causeway, who broke from post 2 under Daniel Centeno, raced off the pace inside and had 2 1/2 lengths to make up turning for home. The filly split fading pacesetters Everything Lovely and My Sweet Dove near the furlong marker, and finished willingly to hit the wire 1 1/2 lengths in front. She stopped the clock in 55.82 for the five furlongs.

Longshot Wealthy Shipman closed outside to be second by three-quarters of a length over Cousin Claire.

Smiling Causeway ($3.80) has never been worse than second in six career starts for trainer Arnaud Delacour. In both her stakes tries prior to the Lightning City, she had lost to well-regarded multiple stakes winners, finishing second to Morticia in the Stormy Blues at Laurel Park and getting beaten less than a length by Rubilinda in the Christiecat at Belmont Park.

Smiling Causeway, by Giant’s Causeway, is a half-sister to champion She’s a Tiger and to multiple Grade 1 winner Smiling Tiger. Delacour, who is based at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, said a long-range goal for his charge is the The Very One Stakes on Preakness weekend at Pimlico.