Romans: Mr Freeze 'fits' in Churchill's competitive Clark
"But he fits," Romans said of 4-year-old Mr Freeze, who will represent his barn after working a local half mile in 49.2 seconds Monday morning.
The chestnut colt by To Honor and Serve is set to face 11 rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Clark, Churchill's fall meet feature run under the lights, with post time 5:56 p.m. ET.
A scan of the past performances shows Mr Freeze is a pace factor from post No. 9 under jockey Robby Albarado. They drew favorably, placed outside of other speedsters such as Major Cabbie (No. 4), Fact Finding (No. 6) and Mr. Buff (No. 7).
Mr Freeze, who won the West Virginia Derby (G3) at age 3, became a multiple graded stakes winner when he captured Churchill's Ack Ack (G3) in September.
Between those victories, the Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister runner had a "throat issue" to address.
"It’s rare to have that much success from fixing it," Romans said, "but it did the job for him."
Mr Freeze returned from a layoff in August to win in allowance optional claiming company. Following the Ack Ack victory at a mile, he finished second to Tom's d'Etat in Keeneland's Fayette (G2). The Clark marks a rematch between the two, who were separated by 4 1/4 lengths.
After Mr Freeze completed his work, Romans said the colt "trained great." A race headliner, Bravazo, will be coming off a layoff and also breezed Monday at Churchill, finishing up four furlongs in 48.6 seconds.
Other notables in the field include the 2017 Clark winner, Seeking the Soul; recent Breeders' Cup Classic participant Owendale; and Draft Pick, a Grade 1-placed runner shipping in from the west coast.