LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aside from the main event itself, the $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes was arguably the most anticipated race on Saturday’s Kentucky Derby card at Churchill Downs. And boy did it ever live up to the hype.
In a driving, splashing, blanket finish that saw four horses abreast and separated by less than a half-length at the wire, it was Mindframe ultimately proving narrowly best, getting up in the final strides by a neck over both Banishing and the 8-5 favorite Nysos, who dead-heated for second money. It was just a head farther back to fourth-place finisher Book’em Danno with Mullikin, who struck the lead briefly in midstretch, succumbing grudgingly to finish another length behind in fifth.
“It was a hell of a race,” Mindframe's trainer Todd Pletcher exclaimed on his way to the winner’s circle moments after the order of finish was finally posted on the tote board. “It was a deep race. Arguably the toughest race on the weekend.”
The seven-furlong Churchill Downs did not quite unfold in Mindframe’s favor during the early going, the runner-up in both the 2024 Belmont Stakes and Haskell Invitational dropping back near the rear of the 11-horse field in the run down the backstretch.
“He broke great and was actually close for the first 100 yards or so, then kept getting shuffled back a bit and I was a little worried at that point,” Pletcher admitted. “But I told Irad (Ortiz Jr.) to ride him with confidence, that it’s a long stretch, and he really got rolling late.”
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Mindframe was still seventh and about six lengths off the lead when swinging six wide to commence his rally turning for home. He then finished best of all out past the center of the sealed and sloppy racetrack to wear down the leaders in the shadow of the wire.
Banishing was dead last at the quarter pole, came wide off the turn, angled to the inside while continuing his bid a sixteenth from the wire and fell just short with his final surge. Banishing finished on even terms with the previously undefeated and un-tested Nysos, who also fanned wide off the turn, loomed boldly a sixteenth out before hanging a bit at the end.
The victory was the fourth, and first Grade 1, for Mindframe, who has never finished worse than second in six starts. He earned his first graded stakes victory earlier this year when a popular winner of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile making his first start since finishing second behind his nemesis Dornoch 7 1/2 months earlier in the Haskell.
Mindframe (99 Beyer Speed Figure), a 4-year-old son of Constitution, is owned in partnership by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. He completed the distance over the very wet footing in 1.22.64 seconds and paid $9.08 as the second choice.
“He’s such a good horse, he always trained spectacular,” said Pletcher. “We really wanted to get that Grade 1 for him and felt this was a great opportunity to give him another chance at it.
Mindframe’s victory came just 24 hours after Fierceness, who is also owned by Repole and trained by Pletcher, won the Grade 1 Alysheba on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. Those victories by two of the leaders of the older handicap division helping to erase some of the disappointment for both Pletcher and Repole after having Grande scratched from the Kentucky Derby early Friday morning.
Trainer Bob Baffert was visibly disappointed immediately after the race but pleased with the effort by Nysos, making his first start since winning the Grade 3 Robert Lewis by 7 1/2 lengths 15 months earlier at Santa Anita.
“It was a tough spot to put him in [off the layoff],” said Baffert. “That was a real good horse that beat him. You can’t rush him and I could tell the mud was bothering him a little bit. He’d never run in the wet before. But he ran very well.”
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