When last we saw Dynamic Holiday she was easily capturing the Herecomesthebride Stakes (gr.3) at Gulfstream Park for her fourth consecutive victory and third consecutive stakes win overall. That was March 13th, now, four months later, she makes her long awaited return for trainer Graham Motion in the Grade 3, $150,000 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs.
Earlier in the year the Harlan’s Holiday filly won three straight stakes races on the turf, including the Florida Oaks and Tropical Park Oaks. Dynamic Holiday defeated future Grade 1 winner Her Smile in the Florida Oaks as well as Niji’s Grand Girl before her two length victory in the Herecomesthebride Stakes. She will be traveling 1 1/8 miles for the first time in the Virginia Oaks and will be looking to prove she is one of the best turf sophomore fillies in the nation.
[Leading turf filly Winter Memories ranks as #1 on HRN's 3-year-old fillies ranking page, while Dynamic Holiday comes in at #34; Does she deserve to be higher?]
Wyomia is an intriguing entry here as the vast majority of her running has been done on traditional dirt and synthetics, thought she did finish sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr.1) last year. The Vindication filly was a Kentucky Oaks candidate after winning the Suncoast Stakes, where she easily defeated future Black-Eyed Susan Stakes winner Royal Delta, and finishing a close second in the Ashland Stakes (gr.1). She skipped the Oaks in favor of training up to the Black-Eyed Susan and subsequently received a thorough thrashing from Royal Delta, finishing fifth. Now she gets a surface switch and enters of a bullet four furlong work, albeit a still somewhat slow move in :49.80. It would be nice to see her bounce back with a good effort but I’m not sure how much she likes the turf.
Sassy’s Dream finished a well beaten ninth in the Herecomesthebride Stakes and then captured an allowance race, finished second in the Edgewood Stakes and won another allowance race in her last start. Familiar rival Smart Sting is also entered in the Virginia Oaks and enters off two consecutive third place finishes in the Edgewood and an Optional Allowance Claiming race. She has turned in some excellent five furlong works while training at Woodbine and could be ready to once again round out the trifecta.
Excited won the Hilltop Stakes before finishing second to Bizzy Caroline in the 1 1/8 miles Regret Stakes (gr.3) at Churchill Downs. She is another left over from the Herecomesthebride Stakes, finishing third in that race behind Dynamic Holiday. As a daughter of Giant’s Causeway you have to at least respect her chances to hit the board here.
Summer Savory enters off two straight wins in Maiden and Allowance scores at Arlington Park. She’ll need to step up her game considerably to make an impact but she’s got recent form on her side.
Mystical Star was last seen finishing a distant fifth behind Winter Memories in the Sands Point Stakes (gr.2) at Belmont Park after winning a 1/18 mile allowance race by a head at Keeneland. With only four lifetime starts and two wins there’s plenty of room for this young athlete to improve and as a daughter of Ghostzapper we know there’s plenty of family talent running through her veins.
Pink Pallet completes the field and you have to go five races back to find a win on her record. It’s the Jamestown Stakes at Colonial Downs last July so you have to chalk one up to her for track experience, but she won by double disqualification and finished more than three lengths behind the top two. She last finished sixth in an Allowance Optional Claiming race at Colonial Downs.
The majority of the field likes to rate close to the pace or on the lead so a close bunched group of fillies is probable, which means whoever gets the jump first in the stretch could have an advantage. Dynamic Holiday has been that horse in her last four starts. I’m not sure how the time off will have affected her but there’s a couple of fillies worth looking at to try and beat her. Wyomia is really interesting to me, she’s shown exceptional talent when she wants but enters off a poor run. If she bounces back she could toss her hat back in the major leagues ring. Smart Sting could offer some nice value to hit the board as well as Excited and Summer Savory.
All in all it looks like a field Dynamic Holiday should have little trouble handling, but if she falters someone’s going to be there to pick up the pieces.
