Competitive Edge wins Pat Day Mile convincingly
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After Competitive Edge remained unbeaten with a 4 1/2-length score in the Grade 3, $200,000 Pat Day Mile, his first try at that distance, on Saturday at Churchill Downs, trainer Todd Pletcher raised a scary possibility.
“When he does make the lead, he tends to idle a little bit,” Pletcher said. “The scary thing is, as well as he ran, I think there’s more in the tank.”
Competitive Edge ($4.60) was considered an early classics prospect last year when he won his first two starts, including the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, by a combined 16 lengths. However, a hairline fracture to his left foreleg sustained in a workout shortly afterward sent him to the sidelines.
He returned in March to romp by 8 1/4 lengths in the Tamarac Stakes at Gulfstream Park before heading to Churchill Downs, where he was the favorite for the Pat Day Mile.
With regular rider John Velazquez aboard, Competitive Edge broke alertly and settled in second to track clear leader Hillbilly Royalty through splits of 23.15 and 45.96 seconds. The colt began to inch up on the pacesetter around the far turn through three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.12. Competitive Edge cut the corner wide, and when Velazquez set him down, the outcome was never in doubt, as he drew clear down the lane under steady hand urging. He stopped the clock in 1:34.18 for the mile.
“I was very impressed,” Pletcher said. “It was a pretty strong performance. First time going a mile, he seemed to handle it really well, finished up with good energy and a fast time. [Velazquez said his trip] was pretty straightforward. He had a perfect trip and said he was nice and settled for him. When he asked him, he responded.”
Pain and Misery came on to be second by 1 1/2 lengths over Gimme Da Lute, who edged out Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Lord Nelson by half a length for third.
Pletcher was picking up his third graded stakes win of Kentucky Derby weekend, having also taken the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes with Protonico and the Grade 3 Edgewood Stakes with Feathered on Friday’s card. He and Velazquez team up with Carpe Diem, the third choice on the morning line, in the Kentucky Derby later today.
The Pat Day Mile was formerly known as the Derby Trial and run on Churchill’s opening night. This year, the race was shifted to the Derby undercard and renamed to honor Hall of Fame jockey Day, the track’s all-time winningest rider. He took the 1992 Derby aboard Lil E. Tee.