Pixelate wins the Prince George’s County Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Godophin LLC’s Pixelate, fifth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf and beaten a nose last time out here in the Henry Clark Stakes, ran down Logical Myth down the stretch to win Sunday’s $100,000 Prince George’s County by a length at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Md.
Trained by Michael Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, Pixelate covered a good 1 1/8 mile turf course in 1:53.56. Eons finished third and Argonne fourth.
Stidham called the win “very satisfying because he’s there every time.”
“He’s laying his body down for us every time,” he added. “When he loses, it’s not by much so when he wins it’s extra special. Joe [Bravo] had him in the right spot, moved at the right time and I was delighted with the effort.”
The 1 1/8-mile Prince George’s County for 3-year-olds and up on the grass was the third of five stakes worth $475,000 in purses on a 10-race program. Having debuted in 2019, it was not run during a pandemic-shortened 2020 stakes schedule.
It was preceded by the $100,000 Searching Stakes, also on turf, and $75,000 Ben’s Cat Stakes and followed by the $100,000 Shine Again Stakes and $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes. The Ben’s Cat for Maryland-bred/sired horses and Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies were both moved from the grass to the main track and kept at five furlongs.
It was a clean break for everyone in the Prince George’s County with the multiple-dirt stakes winner Alwaysmining going to the front and taking the field into the first turn past a :24.74 opening quarter followed by Doc Boy, also carrying the Godolphin colors, Logical Myth and Bravo rating Pixelate in fifth along the rail.
Alwaysmining led the field down the backstretch past a :50.68 half and 1:15.25 three-quarters before Logical Myth moved up along the outside the leader entering the final turn and took the lead entering the stretch. But Bravo moved Pixelate up along the rail outside a tiring Alwaysmining around the turn entering the stretch and then drove past Logical Myth inside the final sixteenth.
“He was really strong on the first turn,” Bravo said. “When we got down the backside he started breathing underneath me and I knew he was comfortable. Turning for home I had to get him outside. Stidham did all the hard work and got him really ready. I want to say Thanks to Godolphin. What a month they’ve had. They’ve won everything. It’s just nice to wear their colors.
When asked if he was told anything before riding Pixelate for the first time, Bravo replied, “Don’t get beat, jock.”
Pixelate, the favorite, returned $4.20.
Prince George’s County is the second most populous county in Maryland behind Montgomery, bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. Within its borders are both Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. and Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Md.
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