SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It isn’t often a horse who won a Grade 1 stakes in June shows up in a listed stakes in August. Such is the case, however, with Dynamic Pricing, who two months ago won the Grade 1 Just a Game here but two starts later is entered to run in Friday’s $150,000 Perfect Sting Stakes going a mile at Saratoga.
Dynamic Pricing, who finished third in the Grade 1 Diana, likely would have run in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa, but the decision by the New York Racing Association to move that race off its usual Travers weekend spot to earlier in the meet prompted trainer Chad Brown to skip it.
“The Ballston Spa is in the wrong spot on the stakes calendar,” Brown said.
Dynamic Pricing, a 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Night of Thunder, came off a seven-month layoff to win the Grade 3 Beaugay despite an extremely wide trip on May 4 at Aqueduct. A month later, she split horses while five wide in the stretch and held off stablemate Excellent Truth to win the one-mile Just a Game.
Dynamic Pricing then finished a flat third behind Excellent Truth and She Feels Pretty in the Grade 1 Diana on July 12. The Diana made Excellent Truth one of three next-out stakes winners from the Just a Game. She Feels Pretty came out of the Diana to win the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine.
Dynamic Pricing won the Just a Game and last year’s Grade 2 Edgewood over turf courses labeled yielding, and there is some rain forecast for Friday.
“A little cut in the ground would certainly help her,” Brown said.
Dylan Davis rides from post 5.
Les Reys, in her first start in the U.S., defeated Dynamic Pricing in the Winter Memories Stakes last September at Aqueduct. After running fifth in the Grade 2 Valley View at Keeneland in October, Les Reys didn’t race again until July 10, when she finished fourth, beaten one length by Deep Satin, in the slower of two divisions of the De La Rose on this meet’s opening-day card.
“I hope it was more so that fitness got her beat than the distance,” trainer Miguel Clement said. “I do have a small reservation if the mile is stretching her.”
Les Reys won twice going a mile in France, in addition to her Winter Memories victory at that distance. Clement said he expects a step forward from Les Reys on Friday.
“I know she’s a longshot in the race, but she has a race under her belt and I think she’s training even better now than she was,” Clement said. “I think she can outrun her odds. She’s had three very good works in a row over the Oklahoma turf course under Joel [Rosario].”
Proctor Steet, trained by Brendan Walsh, is 2 for 2 at Saratoga, having won an entry-level allowance race here last year and a second-level allowance here last month. She is out of the dam Proctor’s Ledge, who in 2017 won both the Lake Placid and Lake George Stakes at Saratoga.
“I thought she showed a great turn of foot,” Walsh said of Proctor Street’s win here on July 24. “We’ve always liked her. She’s had a few little issues, but she looked the last time like she put it all behind her. If she does keeps improving, she’ll be very competitive Friday.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Proctor Street.
Trainer Whit Beckman said he is inclined to try Zadorsky on the turf for the first time in this spot, but he also said he wouldn’t mind if the race came off the turf.
Raqiya, who won the Grade 3 Goldikova at Del Mar last November, is making her first start since she finished last in the Beaugay.
Vino Rouge, A Lilac Rolla, New Rome, and Our Pretty Woman round out the field on turf. Trainer Graham Motion said Ribaltagaia is likely to scratch.
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