Pixelate rejuvenated for bid at Mint Million repeat

It was Labor Day 2021 when Pixelate unleashed a fearsome run to post a breakthrough victory in the Mint Million at Kentucky Downs.

Four starts and zero wins later, the Godolphin homebred might well be sitting on another big Labor Day weekend effort when he seeks a repeat as the likely favorite in the Grade 3 Mint Million, the highlight of a terrific Saturday card at the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.

Trainer Mike Stidham is bullish on the chances of Pixelate running back to his 2 1/2-length triumph in the 2021 Mint Million after the 5-year-old horse had a badly needed race at Laurel Park, where he was a late-closing third in the July 16 Prince Georges County. It was his first start in nearly seven months.

:: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now!

“He’d never had a break since he came in as a 2-year-old,” Stidham said earlier this week from Virginia. “He’s one of the horses in our barn that’s never had anything wrong with him. After we ran him in late December, we gave him a few months off and brought him back in what we felt was a good comeback spot.”

In winning the Mint Million last year, Pixelate capitalized on a quick pace, rallying from well back to earn a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure. It was his second graded win, following the Del Mar Derby in his 3-year-old season of 2020.

“It looks like there’s a decent amount of speed in there this year, too,” said Stidham. “I’m not saying they’ll go 44-and-change like they did last year, but it doesn’t matter all that much. He’s the type of horse that if they’re going too fast, he’ll sit a little farther back, but if they’re slowing it down, he’ll be closer up. It’ll all depend on how the race sets up.”

Florent Geroux will be aboard Pixelate leaving from post 3 in the one-mile Mint Million.

Probably the top challenger to Pixelate among his eight opponents is Atone (post 9, Tyler Gaffalione), a similarly steady 5-year-old. Although winless since last November, Atone has been competitive in his six starts since then, all while keeping high-class company.

“We’d like to add a couple lengths here and there to his PPs,” said Mike Maker, who trains Atone for Jordan Wycoff. “He’s been a really consistent horse for us. He should be one to reckon with.”

Gray’s Fable (post 4, Mickaelle Michel) rebounded from a couple of subpar efforts in winning the Evan Williams Aug. 7 on the Ellis Park turf in his last start. The come-from-behind score under a heady Michel ride was in stark contrast to his front-running win in the Opening Verse during Kentucky Derby week at Churchill Downs.

“It was nice to see him come from out of it the other day, to run such a quick time” – 1:34.93 for a mile – “and finish so strong,” said his trainer, Brian Lynch.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets.

Another possibility in the Mint Million is Mr Dumas (post 6, Reylu Gutierrez), another hard-trying veteran, who has finished third or better in 18 of 24 starts. The 6-year-old horse is trained by John Ortiz, who comes off a first-ever training title earned at the recently ended Ellis meet.

Rounding out the lineup are Tut’s Revenge, Cavalry Charge, Betwithbothhands, Kentucky Ghost, and Injunction.

The Mint Million, sponsored by WinStar Farm, is the first of at least three $1 million races to be run at this seven-day boutique meet. It goes as the 10th of 11 races on a Saturday program that starts at 12:25 p.m. Central. It will be run at 5:31 when preceded by a pair of $500,000 stakes for 2-year-olds, the Juvenile Fillies (race 7) and Juvenile Mile (race 8).

Remarkably, the other eight Saturday races – five maiden-specials and three allowances – all drew capacity fields of 12 plus the maximum of four also-eligibles. In all, there were 182 entries for the day, including also-eligibles and exclusions.

Two more seven-figure races will be run next Saturday on easily the biggest day of the meet, those being the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup and Grade 2 FanDuel Turf Sprint, while three more races will have their purses bumped up to $1 million if a Grade 1-winning horse is in the field. Those races are the Grade 3 Ladies Turf, Grade 3 Ladies Sprint, and Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson.

Purses for all Kentucky Downs races include sizable bonuses for horses eligible to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

The Saturday forecast for Franklin, Ky., calls for mid-80s highs and a 60 percent chance of rain.