| Saturday, November 15, 2014
Dynamic Sky rallies along the fence to take G3 Red Smith
By Sean Morris
After being given a perfect trip by veteran rider Cornelio Velasquez, Canadian shipper Dynamic Sky held on late to get the money in the Grade 3, $250,000 Red Smith Handicap on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Dynamic Sky, trained by Mark Casse for John Oxley, broke alertly and settled in mid-pack along the rail in the 1 3/8-mile turf event, as Micromanage led the field through splits of 25.91 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, 50.99 for the half, and 1:16.66 for three-quarters over the "yielding" going.
Rounding the far turn, 7-2 second-choice Legendary inherited the lead, but was quickly overtaken by long shot Margano at the top of the stretch, as Dynamic Sky and Velasquez dove to the rail for running room. When a seam opened, Dynamic Sky burst through and kicked clear in the lane, with enough left to hold off the oncoming 4-5 favorite, Big Blue Kitten.
The decision reversed the outcome of the Grade 1 Canadian International, run a month earlier at Woodbine, in which Big Blue Kitten finished ahead of Dynamic Sky by two lengths. The two finished second and third, respectively.
"[The Canadian International] was a really tough race, obviously," said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant to Casse. "He got a great trip today, and everything seemed to come together for him. He didn't have the best start in the [Canadian] International, which put him behind in the race, but today everything went exactly as planned. Cornelio took him off the pace a little bit and had him sitting perfectly. When that hole opened, he just went right on through and had a ton of horse. It was perfect; you couldn't ask for a better trip."
Dynamic Sky completed the distance in 2:18.85, and returned $14.20 on a $2 win wager. The son of Sky Mesa boosted his career earnings to $938,797.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Big Blue Kitten finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Dynamic Sky. The 6-year-old son of Kitten's Joy, who won the Grade 1 United Nations and Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational in 2013, will remain in training next year, according to his trainer, Chad Brown.
Margano - a full-brother to 2006 Kentucky Derby hero Barbaro - finished third, and was followed under the line by Unitarian, Legendary, St. Albans Boy, Calvados, Can'thelpbelieving, Manighar and Micromanage.
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