Pat Day Mile appears to be in Instagrand's wheelhouse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Instagrand made it to Churchill Downs for the first Saturday in May after all. Perhaps the Grade 3, $400,000 Pat Day Mile is not the race most were thinking about for this colt, but the one-turn mile is perhaps the configuration that was the best fit all along.

Coming off two third-place finishes in Kentucky Derby points races to begin his year – including a 2 1/2-length defeat to Roadster in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby – Instagrand is likely to be favored against as many as 13 rivals in the Pat Day Mile, run 2 1/2 hours prior to the Kentucky Derby.

Instagrand, a $1.2 million purchase as a 2-year-old in training by Larry Best’s OXO Equine, won his first two starts by a combined 20 1/4 lengths last summer at Del Mar. He was then surprisingly put away for the rest of the year despite, according to his connections at the time, nothing being amiss.

Instagrand made his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Gotham – a one-turn mile – at Aqueduct, finishing third, 1 1/2 lengths behind winner Haikal. Instagrand tried to earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby by running in the Santa Anita Derby. After setting the pace into midstretch, he finished third.

“We didn’t make the Derby; there are plenty of other races for 3-year-olds,” said trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, adding that a good performance Saturday would likely earn Instagrand a shot at the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park in five weeks. “We thought he would fit in this race pretty well.”

There is rain in the forecast for Saturday, and Instagrand, a son of Into Mischief, is an unknown on an off track.

“I think all trainers are going to be concerned about the weather at Churchill on Saturday,” Hollendorfer said. “I will be also. I think this horse can handle that kind of going.”

Javier Castellano will ride Instagrand from post 10.

The last three runnings of the Pat Day Mile have gone to the price horses Funny Duck ($81.40), Wild Shot ($19.40), and Sharp Azteca ($28.20).

If not Instagrand, then who? Many in the field look the same – allowance or restricted stakes winners making the logical start in a Grade 3.

Manny Wah and Last Judgment are among the more interesting contenders.

Manny Wah, like Instagrand, is cutting back in distance following defeats in a pair of two-turn Kentucky Derby points races. In his last one-turn race, Manny Wah finished second in the six-furlong Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds in December. This will be his first start in 11 weeks.

“We gave him a pretty good freshening and were planning on coming back in this race,” trainer Wayne Catalano said. “It looks like [one turn] is what he wants to do.”

Last Judgment has won two straight, including a two-turn allowance race at Oaklawn on March 16. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the logistics of shipping back to Oaklawn and the difficulty of getting his preferred rider made him choose the Pat Day Mile over Saturday’s Oaklawn Invitational for Last Judgment, who will have John Velazquez aboard.

“Rather than shipping to Oaklawn to run a mile and an eighth and not really knowing who was going to ride him, we could fly in here and have Johnny,” Pletcher said.

Last Judgment, who has been training with Kentucky Derby contender Spinoff, will have to break from post 14.

Global Campaign won his first two starts before finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and being sidelined due to a minor injury. He would be a factor if able to draw in from the also-eligible list. Trainer Stanley Hough said he wants to run Global Campaign, but if he doesn’t get in, the horse would likely point to the Peter Pan at Belmont on May 11.