Pay Any Price sets five-furlong turf course record in Silks Run
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Pay Any Price put his abundant speed on display over an abundantly firm turf course Saturday at Gulfstream Park, the end result an easy 3 3/4-length victory over 3-5 favorite Power Alert along with a new course record for his performance in the $75,000 Silks Run Stakes.
With jockey Edgard Zayas hustling him along right from the start, Pay Any Price ($12) outsprinted Canadian Flyer to the lead after an eye-popping 20.63-second opening quarter-mile split. Pay Any Price, a 7-year-old son of Wildcat Heir haltered by his present connections for a bargain $25,000 here last summer, held off a mild bid from Power Alert entering the stretch and was never seriously menaced thereafter. His final time of 53.61 for five furlongs was .14 of a second faster than the previous mark of 53.75 set by Starfish Bay more than seven years ago.
Power Alert, who entered the Silks Run perfect in five starts over the local turf course and winner of the last two runnings of the Silks Run, raced well-placed but was no match for the winner down the stretch. He was easily second-best, finishing two lengths clear of 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint champion Mongolian Saturday for second.
Pay Any Price is owned by Averill Racing LLC and trained by Ralph Ziadie. The win was the fifth in eight career starts on turf and fifth in seven tries over the local strip.
“When I rode him before [three starts ago] he was very bad before the race – sweating and all. I think he left his race there that day,” said Zayas. “Today he acted very professional before the race. I think that was the key to winning. We had the favorite inside and behind me. I gave my horse a breather after I sent him to the lead so he could finish a little bit more than he did in his last race. This time, when I gave him a little bit of relief in that second quarter, he was running at the end.”