Streaking Pay Any Price may be poised for ‘best race of his life'

To say that Rich Averill was upset that Pay Any Price was excluded from the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint would be a vast understatement.

Averill, who owns Pay Any Price with the Matties Racing Stable, believes the 8-year-old gelding is as fast as any turf sprinter in North America – although, in hindsight, he’s not completely sure Pay Any Price could have stayed with Stormy Liberal and World of Trouble over a yielding Churchill Downs course in the final stages of the Nov. 3 race.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Averill said this week. “The soggy turf probably wouldn’t have suited him that day, and those two horses, numbers-wise, ran their best races ever. I really wanted to run in the Breeders’ Cup and thought our horse more than deserved the chance, but we’re putting it behind us and moving forward.”

Pay Any Price can further validate Averill’s grievance when he goes for his fifth straight victory Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs in the $100,000 Tampa Turf Dash, the first of two five-furlong turf stakes on a nine-race card at the Oldsmar, Fla., track.

Forecasters are calling for intermittent rain Saturday with heavier stuff coming down by late afternoon. Those predictions led Tampa racing secretary Allison De Luca to card the Turf Dash and its twin sister, the $100,000 Lightning City, earlier than normal, as races 3 and 5, respectively. First post is 12:38 p.m. Eastern.

Pay Any Price, with Edgard Zayas riding for trainer Georgina Baxter, will break from post 7 when he faces nine other 3-year-olds and up in the 15th running of the Turf Dash (post, 1:40). The chestnut Florida-bred has not been defeated since finishing second to Vision Perfect in early March at Gulfstream Park, reeling off four straight wins in front-running fashion, every time as an odds-on favorite.

“He’s doing unbelievable in his training,” said Averill, a Bradenton, Fla., construction firm owner who has been a three-time leading owner at Tampa, including at the 2017-18 meet.

“He was ready for the Breeders’ Cup, and he’s as ready now as he could possibly be. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he ran the best race of his life Saturday.”

Vision Perfect (post 9, Antonio Gallardo) did get to run in the BC Turf Sprint, finishing 13th of 14 at 18-1, and he’s clearly the chief threat here to Pay Any Price. Trained by Jason Servis, the 6-year-old horse will be looking to reprise the type of effort that not only bested Pay Any Price in March, but also gave him a win and a just-miss second in back-to-back Grade 3 turf sprints at Parx Racing over the summer.

Outside considerations in the Turf Dash include Tricks to Doo (post 1, Daniel Centeno) and Smart Remark (post 8, Samuel Camacho Jr.).

As tough as the Turf Dash looks, the Lightning City (post time, 2:45) might be even better.

Morticia (post 4, Feargal Lynch), who faced all comers from Florida to New York to Kentucky this year, figures to come favored in the Lightning City following back-to-back thirds in key divisional races behind Chanteline, who eventually ran sixth versus males in the BC Turf Sprint.

Trained by her co-breeder, Rusty Arnold, Morticia has been a model of class and consistency throughout her 16-race career by finishing third or better 14 times.

Other Lightning City contenders include Miz Mayhem (post 1, Zayas), a 3-year-old who ripped off five straight victories earlier in the year, all for Eddie Plesa Jr.; Broadway Run (post 6, Gallardo), never worse than second in four career starts, all for John Terranova; and Smiling Causeway (post 11, Centeno), who won the 2017 Lightning City as an odds-on favorite last December for Arnaud Delacour and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Turf Amazon at Parx in July.

Twelve fillies and mares will run in the Lightning City, with Lady’s Island, owned by Averill, being the lone also-eligible.