Mr Freeze digs in late, holds off Aurelius Maximus in Fayette

Favored Mr Freeze dug in stoutly in the stretch under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano to hold off Aurelius Maximus and win the $250,000 Fayette Stakes (G2) over 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Keeneland Race Course on Saturday. 

The game victory by Mr Freeze over a tough-luck Aurelius Maximus was his first since scoring in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) in February. A 5-year-old horse by To Honor and Serve, Mr Freeze entered the Fayette after a third-place finish in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and consecutive off-the-board finishes in the Met Mile (G1) and Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs on Sept. 4. 

“Today he ran like his old self," said winning trainer Dale Romans, who was second in last year's Fayette to Tom's d'Etat. "That was a rough trip for him. I wasn’t expecting him to be four wide on both turns and stalking horses, but he showed what a good horse he really is.”

Sent off the 8-5 favorite in a nine-horse field, Mr Freeze was caught wide on the first turn and remained stuck outside while stalking opening fractions of 24.00 and 49.06 set by longshot Mo Mosa, while Aurelius Maximus raced up close to his outside.

Down the backstretch, the leaders eventually were four abreast with Mr Freeze and Aurelius Maximus part of the quartet. With six furlongs completed in 1:13.45, Aurelius Maximus and Ricardo Santana Jr. ran into traffic. The tight quarters forced Aurelius Maximus to pinch back momentarily, losing momentum and precious lengths.

Mr Freeze proceeded to hit his best stride on the second turn and had opened up a clear lead entering the stretch, but it wasn't over yet. A resurgent Aurelius Maximus started the chase on the outside and the margin diminished until the wire, where a gutty Mr Freeze proved best by about a neck in 1:50.71 on a fast track.

Mr Freeze paid $5.20 to win while upping his record to 16: 6-4-2 with more than $1.5 million in earnings for owners Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister. Aurelius Maximus was followed across the wire by Title Ready and Coastal Defense. 

Romans said a trip to the Breeders' Cup could be forthcoming for Mr Freeze given this latest performance. 

“We’re going to have to talk about it. We talked about the Dirt Mile before, but we’ll have to talk about everything," said Romans, also referring to the Classic. "Everything’s on the table.”