LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The best race Gate to Wire has run in his career came going one turn on dirt in the Swale Stakes, where he got to take advantage of a hot early pace and won by five lengths. Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs could set up in similar fashion when Gate to Wire makes his second start going one turn on dirt. Trainer Todd Pletcher is cutting Gate to Wire back in distance after he finished fifth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths by Sovereignty, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in March. Gate to Wire was entered in the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland on April 7 but was forced to scratch when he reared up in the saddling stall. Pletcher said Gate to Wire had no issues coming out of that incident. Pletcher ran Gate to Wire on turf and synthetic last year because he didn’t train that well on dirt earlier in his career. “He seems to have improved on the dirt in his training this year,” Pletcher said. “Obviously, the Swale was his best performance. To his credit, I thought even though the Fountain of Youth was a little long for him, he kept fighting. Hopefully, he’ll get a similar trip to what he had in the Swale.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. At the very least, Gate to Wire, who will be ridden by Flavien Prat, should get a solid pace in front of him. Madaket Road, who set the pace in the Florida Derby before finishing fourth; Macho Music, who was part of the pace in the Swale; and Innovator all appear to want to be forwardly placed. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Madaket Road, who has the rail. His trainer, Bob Baffert, said, “We’ll let him roll away from there.” Baffert also has Gaming, who has yet to return to the form that he showed last year when he won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Most recently, Gaming finished second to the loose-on-the-lead winner Clever Again, though Gaming ran spotty in that race. “It’s all mental with him,” Baffert said. “Johnny [Velazquez] told me he was acting really well, and as soon as he saw the gate, he started getting tense. He got in there, he broke, he was looking around. At the three-eighths pole, it looked like he was going to run last. Then, all of a sudden, he started coming and ran second.” Velazquez rides Gaming again from post 6. D. Wayne Lukas won last year’s Pat Day Mile with Seize the Grey, who came back to win the Preakness. Saturday, he sends out Innovator and Perfect Force. Lukas isn’t sure Innovator wants to go a mile, but his early speed may help stablemate Perfect Force, who won twice going six furlongs before finishing third in the Hot Springs, a two-turn mile. “Perfect Force really fits the race,” Lukas said. Built had the points to run in the Kentucky Derby, but his connections opted for this spot instead. Trainer Wayne Catalano felt the riders moved too early on the horse when he finished third in the Risen Star and fifth in the Louisiana Derby. Umberto Rispoli, who rides Journalism in the Kentucky Derby, will ride Built in the Pat Day Mile. Both Built and Journalism are owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. California Burrito, trained by Thomas Drury Jr., has a win and a second in two starts at Churchill, and he may appreciate turning back to a one-turn mile, where he will likely come from off the pace under Irving Moncada. Smoken Wicked, conditioned by Dallas Stewart, comes off a second-place finish to Colloquial in the Lafayette Stakes going seven furlongs on April 7. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.