Joseph finds another perfect spot for Mystic Lake in Dashing Beauty
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As trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. continues to pick softer spots for the 4-year-old filly Mystic Lake, she will again be heavily favored in the $125,000 Dashing Beauty Stakes at Delaware Park on Thursday.
“She’s doing well,” Joseph said. “This looks like a good spot for her and hopefully, all goes to plan.”
A lot can be said of best laid plans, but it’s all a little easier with a 3-5 morning-line favorite. Mystic Lake’s advantage in the field of six is decisive from practically every standpoint. The early lead is hers if she wants it. In five starts at seven furlongs, she has won four times with a runner-up finish. Her graded stakes résumé gives her an overwhelming class edge.
It was the same story in Texas last time out, when Joseph shipped her to Lone Star Park for the $100,000 Memorial Day Sprint. She never trailed a step and won by two lengths, paying $3.20 to win.
Joseph didn’t always intend to embark on this conquest through listed stakes company with Mystic Lake. The three-time graded stakes winner was doing well earlier this year against comparable rivals, winning the Grade 2 Inside Information at Gulfstream Park before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland.
But when his filly took a noticeable step back in May, finishing ninth in a sloppy running of the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff, Joseph decided to change his focus.
“She came off a tough race at Churchill where she didn’t run well, but she was obviously able to come back and win in Texas,” Joseph said. “It was kind of a fast release and that helped. That was a race to get back on track.”
If Mystic Lake takes care of business as the heavy favorite in the Dashing Beauty, the trainer intends to bring her back to Charles Town in August.
Last year, Mystic Lake ran one of the best races of her career in West Virginia, winning the Grade 2 Charles Town Oaks by 5 3/4 lengths. The $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, should suit her perfectly.
If anyone can cut Mystic Lake’s run short at Delaware, it’s trainer Linda Rice and St. Benedicts Prep. The 5-year-old mare is the only other runner in the Dashing Beauty with graded stakes experience, though she came up short in three straight attempts earlier this year. Last month, Rice finally guided the mare to her first stakes victory in the $125,000 Alma North at Laurel Park.
Rice previously intended to ship St. Benedicts Prep to Delaware for the $100,000 Rehoboth in May, but she ultimately decided to scratch from that race. Poor weather was partially to blame, but it didn’t help that Joseph entered the 4-year-old filly R Disaster, who was coming off a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Vagrancy at Aqueduct.
Joseph successfully scared away several key rivals that day, as R Disaster kicked away to a 6 1/2-length victory at 1-2 odds. It’s possible that Mystic Lake is an even more daunting presence in the Dashing Beauty, and if she takes her turn in the winner’s circle on Thursday, Delaware could quickly become her trainer’s new stepping-stone of choice.
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