LEXINGTON, Ky. – Given his 9-1 odds, it wasn’t altogether stunning that Chez Pierre won the Maker’s Mark Mile. No, it was how the French-bred gelding dusted heavily favored Modern Games when setting a stakes record Friday in the 35th running of the Grade 1 turf race at Keeneland. Flavien Prat was aboard Chez Pierre, a 5-year-old French-bred gelding for the Lael Stables of Barbaro fame and trainer Arnaud Delacour. “We thought maybe last year he could be a major horse,” Delacour said after Chez Pierre prevailed by 3 1/2 lengths in the $518,575 Maker’s Mark, finishing in 1:33.46 over firm going. “Today he showed it.” Chez Pierre returned $20.84 to win as fourth choice in a field of eight older horses. Modern Games, the star Godolphin homebred who entered the one-mile race with a 3-for-3 record in North America, all in Grade 1 events, could do no better than second as the 2-5 favorite when under a hard drive from jockey William Buick to edge Up to the Mark by a neck. On a cloudy and warm afternoon, Chez Pierre sped away to the early lead, with Dr Zempf in closest attendance and the rest spread out behind them. Into the far turn and then leaving the quarter pole, after conceding the lead to a keen Dr Zempf for maybe three furlongs, Chez Pierre re-rallied to take full command while Modern Games, an even-paced fourth most of the way, struggled mightily to get within hailing distance. :: Bet Keeneland with Confidence: Get DRF PPs, Picks, and Betting Strategies. Shop Now.  Then, down the stretch, it was a one-horse race. “That other horse [Dr Zempf] actually helped me a lot down the backside because then I had a target,” said Prat. “Turning for home, I kicked him out, and he really accelerated well.” Chez Pierre was somewhat overlooked Friday after incurring his first career defeat Feb. 4in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes over the Tampa Bay Downs turf. Before that, he had begun his career with five straight wins – three in his native France, then two more in the U.S., the second coming in the ungraded Henry Clark Stakes at Laurel Park nearly a year ago. Delacour said before the Maker’s Mark that Chez Pierre stood to benefit from his comeback in the Tampa Bay, in which he finished a somewhat troubled sixth as the favorite off a layoff of more than nine months. Boy, was he right. “He was way more relaxed today,” said Delacour. At Tampa, “he may have been too fresh coming back. He needed the race and was too aggressive. I think he moved forward today because of his fitness.” This was the first graded win for Chez Pierre, a bay son of Mehmas. He earned $298,375, as both he and Modern Games missed out on their shares of the sizable bonuses restricted to Kentucky-breds when competing for the equivalent of a $500,000 purse. The winning time lowered the former stakes mark of 1:33.54 set in 2004 by Perfect Soul. Trainer Charlie Appleby was on hand from his Newmarket base to saddle Modern Games, who was making his first start since his rousing victory here last November in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The 4-year-old Irish-bred colt previously won the 2021 BC Juvenile Turf, then the Woodbine Mile last September, in his prior tries on this continent. “He ran a good solid race,” Appleby said afterward. “He just had a lot of ground to make up. He’ll probably go back to Europe for the summer, then we’ll work back from Santa Anita again,” referring to the Nov. 4 BC Mile at Santa Anita. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Behind Up to the Mark, the 5-1 second choice under Irad Ortiz Jr., the full order was Cabo Spirit, Speaking Scout, Dr Zempf, Emmanuel, and In Love. Emmanuel, who entered off back-to-back Grade 3 wins in Florida, had no mishap, breaking a bit tardily and never entering contention as the 8-1 third choice. Delacour said he has no definitive plans for Chez Pierre other than “the most difficult part has been done. Now we’ll give him some maintenance works and map out the summer for him. Today he obviously likes the firm turf, so we’ll try to spot him in races on firm turf.” The $2 exacta (3-7) paid $45.46, the $1 trifecta (3-7-2) returned $74.92, and the 10-cent superfecta (3-7-2-8) was worth $77.91. The Maker’s Mark anchored a 10-race card that also included the $208,188 Limestone Stakes, won by favored Love Reigns ($7.38) for Wesley Ward. The two stakes were part of a Keeneland Turf Pick 3 that returned $2,614.26 for the $3 minimum. Undercard races included a win by Distinctlypossible ($3.44) in a $110,000 allowance for Chad Brown and a huge upset by Praise and Honor ($98.90) in a $121,723 allowance for Jonathan Wong. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.