Mr. Misunderstood Right at Home in Wise Dan Stakes

If ever there was a setting that brings out the best in Mr. Misunderstood, the course that sits beneath the Twin Spires is it.

Last season, the gelded son of Archarcharch earned his first career graded stakes win while racing out of his stall at Churchill Downs. After a three-race losing skid to start his 4-year-old season, Staton Flurry's dark bay runner got his sea legs back under him over his favorite surface and notched his biggest triumph to date June 16 when he bested a field that included reigning champion turf male World Approval in the $200,000 Wise Dan Stakes (G2T).

Beginning with his score in the Aug. 5 Super Derby Prelude Stakes, winning was the only thing Mr. Misunderstood did for the remainder of his sophomore season as he closed out his 2017 campaign with five consecutive victories—including the Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) in November. Facing older horses had proved a sticking point in his first three outings this year, however.

He suffered back-to-back losses to Synchrony at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and was sixth to Heart to Heart in the April 13 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland. That Maker's 46 Mile run where he was beaten just 2 1/2 lengths was a better one than the result suggested, considering how poorly Mr. Misunderstood broke that day. Trainer Brad Cox was quietly confident heading into the 1 1/16-mile Wise Dan that the home-course advantage would once again showcase one of his most honest runners.

"Running against older horses at the turn of the year … we knew he had to step up and move forward, and I wouldn't say that he struggled, but he was running against good horses at Fair Grounds," Cox said. "In the Maker's Mile, he did not get away good, and I think he could have gotten a placing that day. This was the race I had been pointing for since then, and he's been training extremely well. He loves this turf course. He's 3-for-3 here now."

Despite bumping with World Approval at the break in the Wise Dan, Mr. Misunderstood was able to sit in the garden spot in fourth around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch as Mr. Cub set fractions of :24.70 and :48.75, with even-money favorite World Approval stalking second and Flatlined a close third.

As Mr. Cub came off the final turn with a 1 1/2-length advantage, jockey Florent Geroux angled Mr. Misunderstood off the rail and got a sustained response as he went to some left-handed urging. Sent off at 5-2 odds, Mr. Misunderstood kept coming and prevailed by half a length over the late-running Inspector Lynley, with Mr. Cub just a head back in third.

"When I tipped him out, he really dug in," Geroux said. "He didn't run bad in his last start, but we knew he was better than that. He proved today he's right up there with some of the best turf horses in the country."

World Approval came into the Wise Dan off a fifth-place finish in the March 10 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T), which snapped the gelding's four-race winning streak. After the son of Northern Afleet faded to finish sixth in the seven-horse field Saturday, trainer Mark Casse was left searching for answers concerning his reigning Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) winner.

"(Jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) said he spun his wheels the entire time," Casse said. "He said he couldn't get a hold of the track, and he's never done that before. He said every time he'd start to accelerate, he'd start to lose his footing.

"He trains and looks as good as ever, but so far, his last two performances haven't looked like it. It's our job to figure that out."

Bred in Kentucky by Athens Woods out of the Afternoon Deelites mare Jodys Deelite, Mr. Misunderstood covered the distance in 1:41.83 over a course rated firm and improved his record to 10 wins from 17 starts, with $574,714 in earnings.

"He's just a very honest gelding," Cox said. "He's a cool horse to be around, and he gives you what he's got every time. He got a good trip today, and it worked out. We'll see how he comes out of this, and we'll see what takes place over the next couple months."