Mr. Money doubles down to win Churchill's Matt Winn with ease

Trainer Bret Calhoun and owner Chester Thomas could be on the precipice of a lucrative summer after Mr. Money’s dominant victory Saturday in Churchill Downs’ Grade 3, $150,000 Matt Winn Stakes.

The colt, a last out winner of the Pat Day Mile (G3) on Kentucky Derby day, stalked pace-setting Knicks Go, pounced through the turn and drew off to a decisive 6 1/2-length score.

“He’d run a big race in the Pat Day Mile — pretty fast speed figures,” Calhoun said. “It was a big jump forward for him, so we thought we’d just give him enough time to recover from that, run out of his own stall one more time on a track that he loves and then shoot for some of these summer derbies. It worked out well.”

To say the least...

Mr. Money, a son of first-crop sire Goldencents, tracked Knicks Go through a quarter mile in 24.19, a half in 47.80 and then pulled nearly even when through 3/4 of a mile in 1:11.35.

Jockey Gabriel Saez didn’t have to ask for much as his mount hit the wire in 1:42.28 for 1 1/16 miles with Signalman second and Proverb third in the field of seven.

Calhoun said the July 13 Indiana Derby (G3) "makes a lot of sense" for Mr. Money's next start. The same connections also campaign By My Standards, the Louisiana Derby (G2) winner who's back on the work tab and will remain on a separate path.

“Our goal is to keep this horse fresh for as long as we can," Calhoun said of Mr. Money. "There’s a lot of money for these 3-year-olds over the course of the summer.”

Mr. Money was the original Kentucky Derby contender for this group after a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Churchill Downs. But he scratched from Fair Grounds’ Lecomte (G3) due to a minor illness the day of the race.

Calhoun said his colt never quite got his fitness back, at least until a breakout performance in the Pat Day Mile. On Saturday, Mr. Money stretched from seven furlongs to carry his speed two turns and declare himself a sophomore to watch this summer.