Dry Powder Dominates Gulfstream Feature, Wins by 6 3/4 Lengths

Relaxing off the pace and then sweeping three-wide into the homestretch, Dry Powder turned Thursday's Race 9 at Gulfstream Park into a one-horse show, covering the one-turn mile in 1:37.95 and drawing off by 6 3/4 lengths under substitute rider Dylan Davis.

The 4-year-old Gun Runner filly owned by Gold Square LLC and trained by Chad Summers never appeared threatened. Velvet Vortex set the early fractions and held on for second, though she finished 2 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Midtown Lights, a gap that illustrated just how thoroughly Dry Powder had separated herself from the field. The allowance for older fillies and mares was the Thursday feature, and Dry Powder made it feel like an exhibition.

Davis was not the original booking. Irad Ortiz Jr. had been scheduled to ride but removed himself from the mount following a spill earlier on Thursday's card in which he sustained hip discomfort. Davis stepped in and, according to trainer Summers, executed the plan without deviation.

"Dylan felt like he had plenty of horse the whole way. We just didn't want to get into a speed duel," Summers said. The trainer elaborated on the strategic thinking behind the patient trip, crediting owner Al Gold's close study of the filly. "Al's watched all her races and everything and he was like, 'I think we've got the best horse if we can just stay out of our own way.' I thought Dylan did that. She stumbled a little bit, but it was OK, it kind of put us in the spot where we needed to be. Dylan felt like he had plenty of horse and got a little something out of the gallop-out, so she got a little more fitness."

The stumble Summers referenced appeared to be a non-event in terms of outcome, and the gallop-out comment suggests the connections left Gulfstream feeling the filly had more to give.

Dry Powder's résumé entering the race was already substantial for a 4-year-old. She broke her maiden on debut at Gulfstream last year, then prepped at Parx in the Cathryn Sophia Stakes with a 4 1/2-length victory before finishing second by a neck in the Cotillion (G1). She closed out her 3-year-old campaign with an off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar, then returned in 2026 with a third-place finish in the Barbara Fritchie at Laurel Park. That combination of a Grade 1-placed record and versatility across both turf and dirt surfaces gives Thursday's allowance win a forward-looking quality: this was a horse finding her footing again, and doing so emphatically.

The final margin of 6 3/4 lengths in a race that unfolded as methodically as Summers described suggests Dry Powder was well within herself at the wire.