Mystik Dan Back at Churchill Downs for Blame Stakes

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan returns to racing action at Churchill Downs for the first time since capturing the Run for the Roses in 2024, but the task of winning the $275,000 Blame Stakes (G3) May 31 will be no easy feat. The good news for Mystik Dan is that trainer Kenny McPeek appears to have him back in the form that earned him that Derby victory and runner-up performance in the Preakness Stakes (G1). The only horse to compete in all three jewels of the Triple Crown last year, Mystik Dan, a son of Goldencents, resumed racing in the winter off form, finishing last of six in the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park and ninth in Gulfstream Park's Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 25. A three-month freshening and class drop worked wonders, and Mystik Dan showed signs of his old self May 3 at Oaklawn Park, in which he stalked grade 1 winner Saudi Crown, battled him the length of the stretch, and came up just a nose short in the 1 1/16-mile Lake Ouachita Stakes. In defeat, his 116 Equibase Speed Figure was the highest of his career, eclipsing the 109 he ran in the 2024 Derby. Brian Hernandez Jr., who could not ride him in the Lake Ouachita due to mounts the same afternoon on Derby Day at Churchill Downs, returns in the irons. Racing for the partnership of 4 G Racing, Valley View Farm, Lance Gasaway, and Daniel Hamby III, Mystik Dan faces a tough challenge at the 1 1/8-mile distance over a surface he's proven to like. All 10 entrants are graded winners, with Hillwood Stable's Post Time and Lawrence Roman and David Jacobson's Banishing carrying grade 1 placings, making for an exciting rendition of a race that serves as a prep for the $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs June 28. Scratches from the Blame appear likely. Three entrants—Best Actor, Most Wanted, and Katonah—were subsequently re-entered in a June 1 allowance optional claiming race at Churchill Downs. Free Like a Girl Seeks First Graded Win in Shawnee The Shawnee Stakes (G3), meanwhile, acts as a 1 1/16-mile preview for fillies and mares pointing to the $500,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) on the Stephen Foster undercard. Where the Blame is filled with proven graded commodities, the story for some of the Shawnee runners is more about finally getting that first graded success. Free Like a Girl, a Louisiana-bred earner of more than $2.5 million, has held her own against top competition, like champions Idiomatic and Thorpedo Anna, for trainer Chasey Deville Pomier, who co-owns the El Deal mare with Gerald Bruno Jr., Carl Deville, and Jerry Caroom. However, the 19-time stakes winner and three-time grade 1-placed mare still seeks that first graded triumph. Likewise, Five Fillies Stable and Balios Racing Stable's Corningtone and Full of Run Racing II and Madaket Stables' Alpine Princess have been solid performers at the graded level, but still seek their first trip to the winner's circle at the level. Calumet Farm's Gin Gin finally broke through at that level April 18 in the Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at Keeneland by 5 1/4 lengths in her first start for trainer Brendan Walsh. A trainer change now comes from Michael McMillan's grade 3 winner Where's My Ring, who makes her first start for Peter Miller after she showed in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). Also in the field are graded winners Wild Bout Hilary, likely to play a role in the pace, and Hoosier Philly.