Dynamic Sky, under a patient ride from jockey Joel Rosario, got up in the final jump to defeat a game His Race to Win by a nose in Sunday’s $150,000 Plate Trial, at Woodbine.
Dynamic Sky, trained by Mark Casse for owner John C. Oxley, was on the Kentucky Derby trail earlier this year winning the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. In March, he battled well-regarded Verrazano in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, finishing fourth, but fell off the U.S Triple Crown trail after a ninth-place run in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes, at Keeneland.
Bred in Ontario by Arosa Farms, Dynamic Sky came into the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial, the definitive prep for the $1-million Queen’s Plate, to be held on July 7 at Woodbine, off a rallying third-place finish in the Queenston Stakes.
Rosario rated Dynamic Sky in eighth position in the early going as Midnight Aria set splits of :48.57 & 1:14.06 under pressure from Holy Whirl Wind.
Midnight Aria, piloted by Jesse Campbell, led the 10-horse field into the far turn as Eurico Rosa da Silva urged His Race to Win into gear with Dynamic Sky, racing five wide, matching him stride for stride and the favoured Pyrite Mountain, ridden by Luis Contreras, following their lead.
His Race to Win sprung to the lead in the stretch run, as a rail running Midnight Aria, battled on gamely, but Dynamic Sky, and the dynamic Rosario, would not be denied a narrow nose score in a final running time of 1:50.59. Midnight Aria stayed on strong for show money over Pyrite Mountain.
Rosario, who guided Kentucky Derby champ Orb to a third-place finish in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, earned his first Woodbine win with the Plate Trial score.
“I thought he (Dynamic Sky) had a good chance (to win) as he had been running with good horses like Verrazano…we just got up in the last jump and got the money,” said Rosario.
A key equipment change by Casse helped Rosario control the powerful son of Sky Mesa.
“Mark took the blinkers off today and he was more relaxed and I could do exactly what I wanted to do with him,” said Rosario.
Rosario is in the midst of a career year having captured the $10-million Dubai World Cup, aboard Animal Kingdom, and the $2-million Kentucky Derby, with Orb, in the span of five weeks.
“It’s amazing that this happened all in the same year winning two of the biggest races in the world, the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby, in less than two months was awesome,” offered Rosario.
His Race to Win, who entered the Plate Trial off a maiden allowance score, impressed da Silva with his gutsy effort.
“My horse ran great. He’s improving and he’s going to get better. He ran such a great race,” said da Silva, who has the mount on likely Queen’s Plate favourite, and His Race to Win’s Sam-Son Farms stable mate, Up With the Birds.
Pacesetting Midnight Aria is also expected to continue on to the Gallop for the Guineas and would seem to relish the classic 1 1/4-mile distance of the Queen’s Plate.
“That’s what he wants. He’s a big long horse and he was happy out there on the lead,” said Campbell. “He ran huge and held strong to the wire.”
Dynamic Sky will look to become the 26th Plate Trial winner to win the Plate, a feat accomplished by three of the last five Plate Trial winners – Not Bourbon in 2008, Eye of the Leopard in 2009 and Big Red Mike in 2010.
Dynamic Sky banked $90,000 in victory improving his record to 3-2-2 from 10 career starts.
He paid $8.60, $4.90 and $4.30 pairing with His Race to Win ($11.20, $8.60) for an $89.20 (3-11) exactor. A 3-11-4 (Midnight Aria, $9.80 to show) triactor was worth $976.30. Pyrite Mountain completed a $1 Superfecta (3-11-4-1) worth $2,349.45. Philego was scratched.
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