Collected out of the money in Pa Derby Champion Stakes

Well, that was unexpected.

Making his first start since January's Pegasus World Cup, Bob Baffert-trained Collected finished out of the money in his return race, the $150,000 Pa Derby Champion Stakes, on Saturday's Pennsylvania Derby undercard at Parx Racing.

The 5-year-old by City Zip was off a step slow, forced wide into the first turn and faded when the real running began at Parx Racing. Aztec Sense, the 7-2 second choice behind 2-5 Collected, led at every call and went on to win his seventh straight race.

“I had no horse, man," said Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who rode Collected. "I don’t know if he was ready to run that hard. No excuse."

Smith knew Collected was done at the half-mile pole.

"He kind of went through the motions on me," the rider added. "He got a little worked up in the paddock. He just didn’t want to fight.”

He may have just needed the race, of course, but Collected was spotted here as a prep for the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. In the most recent odds listed by the Wynn Las Vegas, the Speedway Stable charge was a 10-1 co-fourth choice.

The last time he returned from a lengthy layoff, Collected struck in a listed stakes and went on to reel off four consecutive wins, including an upset of Baffert-trained stablemate Arrogate in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Before put on the shelf, Collected also ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He set the early pace before folding in the Pegasus but didn’t show the same speed Saturday.