Home sweet home.
That's what it might have felt like for Mystik Dan as his return to Churchill Downs May 31 was triumphant in the $270,000 Blame Stakes (G3). The path to victory Saturday proved visually similar to the one the son of Goldencents and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode 13 months prior to wear the roses in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1).
Breaking well, Hernandez found a pocket on the rail, which he rode throughout most of the 1 1/8-mile contest. Mystik Dan relaxed comfortably as Alexander Helios set honest fractions of :22.93, :46.82, and 1:11.14 with Antiquarian and Hall of Fame in pursuit.
As Alexander Helios tired outside the quarter pole, Hernandez left the rail temporarily to coast on by before returning to the inside as Antiquarian carried Hall of Fame wide. That was when the Blame Stakes turned into a replay of the 150th Kentucky Derby, Mystik Dan punching through to a multi-length lead at the head of the stretch and proving strong for the final quarter-mile.
"He makes my job fun," Hernandez said. "He's able to just sit in that pocket, and you're able to just read the race as it's going along. You know when you call on him that he's going to bust through and give you a nice run. That's what he did today."
This time, there was no Sierra Leone or Forever Young to make it interesting late. Mystik Dan cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory while Antiquarian outfinished deep-closing Post Time for the runner-up spot.
"I was high-fiving at the eighth pole," trainer Kenny McPeek said about the ease of victory. "The horse really deserved that."
Mystik Dan completed the distance in 1:48.45 and paid $8.12 to win.
Not only was the Blame his first start at Churchill since the Derby, but it was also the colt's first victory. Runner-up in the Preakness Stakes (G1), Mystik Dan was off the board in the Belmont Stakes (G1) before showing lackluster efforts off the bench when returning for the winter in the Malibu Stakes (G1) and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1).
McPeek backed off the colt following January's Pegasus, giving him a three-month freshening before running the best Equibase Speed Figure—116—of his career when runner-up by a nose to grade 1 winner Saudi Crown in the May 3 Lake Ouachita Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
"We really needed to stepladder this horse," McPeek said about restarting the colt's 4-year-old season in the spring. "He's moving like he did way back. ... I'm just really proud to have gotten him back to this."
McPeek gave credit to the Derby winner's owners: 4 G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm.
"The ownership has been fantastic," McPeek said. "Whatever we wanted to do, they were glad to do that. I'm just real fortunate to work for people who allow you to do the right thing."
Meanwhile, Gasaway was happy to throw the credit right back at McPeek.
"Kenny always told me that he thought the horse would be better as a 4-year-old," Gasaway said. "We had a few struggles, a few mishaps there starting off (his post-Triple Crown career). We thought the horse had more left."
WATCH: Mystik Dan Co-Owner Gasaway: 'We're Really Excited'
With the win, Mystik Dan became the first Kentucky Derby winner that crossed the wire first to win as an older horse since California Chrome , who won the Derby in 2014 and won seven races as a 5-year-old in 2016. He also became the first Derby winner to win a race at Churchill Downs later on since Silver Charm, who won the 1997 Derby and 1998 Clark Handicap (G1).
"I certainly think he's bigger and stronger than he was as a 3-year-old, which he should be," McPeek said. "He's never had any soundness issues; that's really not been a problem. I'm excited."
McPeek said a return to Churchill Downs June 28 for the $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) is a "very logical next step," but that the remainder of the year might not be typical of what some might expect. Despite races like the Whitney Stakes (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) being key targets in the classic division, Mystik Dan is unlikely to return to Saratoga Race Course.
"I don't think that he's a horse that's going to be racing in Saratoga this summer because I don't know that that track up there—he didn't seem to like it in the Belmont," McPeek said.
Instead, McPeek said he will target a campaign that centers around staying in Kentucky as he maps out a path to the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar Nov. 1, for which the Stephen Foster provides an automatic berth through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.
Regardless of what the summer holds, Hernandez felt the Blame win was important for the horse's confidence ahead of tests in deeper waters.
"Once you get beat up a couple times, it's just like a person," he said. "Once you get punched in the mouth a couple times, you never want to do it anymore. We're happy that he was able to come back and win today. You probably are going to see a little more step in his foot now and he's going to feel more proud of himself."
Video: Blame S. (G3)
Royal Spa Earns First Graded Victory in Shawnee
Also gaining confidence through success on the racetrack is Breffni Farm's homebred Royal Spa, who won the filly and mare counterpart to the Blame two races prior: the $271,000 Shawnee Stakes (G3).
Shuffled back to race sixth or seventh in the early stages, jockey Flavien Prat bided his time behind Wild Bout Hilary's fractions of :23.51, :47.06, and 1:11.21. Prat pressed the launch button at the three-eighths pole and Royal Spa responded as she catapulted outside her foes to be third at the quarter pole.
Gin Gin fought valiantly through the stretch after stalking the pace, but was ultimately no match at the wire as Royal Spa kicked clear by 1 1/4 lengths to complete 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.20. Alpine Princess was third.
The upset victory paid $28.78.
It was the first graded stakes win for the daughter of Violence out of the graded stakes-placed Mineshaft mare Bodacious Babe, one of about 10 mares in the Breffni Farm broodmare band.
"I couldn't breathe, it was very exciting," said Breffni Farm's Rhonda O'Rourke, the wife of Juddmonte general manager Garrett O'Rourke. "I'm just happy to see her succeed, she's been a lot of fun. More fun than we ever hoped she'd be."
Previously a wire-to-wire winner of the one-mile Heavenly Cause Stakes at Laurel Park April 12, her past efforts around two turns had left trainer Rodolphe Brisset unsure about where she fit, but the seven-week gap between races made him feel confident in her ability to see out the extra distance.
"The mare put some weight on, it looked like she blossomed the last two or three weeks," Brisset said. "She always showed talent. Very hard to figure out what she wants. Sometimes she runs really good 5 1/2 or six (furlongs) and then the first time I ran her two turns, she didn't run a jump. It kind of took us time to figure her out. She's getting older, mature."
The Shawnee acts as a prep for the $500,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs June 28, but Brisset said he was unsure if she'd enter as 1 1/8 miles might be too far.
A six-time winner from 18 starts, Royal Spa has now earned $728,592.
