I haven't seen the race in a quite a while. I do recall that he got slammed into (another horse?) out of the gate. I also remember that he had an uneventful inside trip (in my mind) after that point.

Not a question of whether he can get a mile or not. I'm just trying to figure out why he basically collapsed mid to late stretch. And I definitely didn't think that Scat Daddy was much of a horse going into the Champagne.

He was trying to get in while struggling to change in the stretch last out, against a field he dominated. But, once he changed late, he was still trying to get in.