Mystic Guide taken out of training, future uncertain
The racing career of 2021 Dubai World Cup-winner Mystic Guide is on hold again, if not over.
Mystic Guide, a Godolphin homebred trained by Michael Stidham, won the World Cup last March by nearly four lengths, but after returning to action with a close second-place finish in the Suburban Stakes on July 3, Mystic Guide was diagnosed with a chipped knee that required surgical repair. Mystic Guide, now 5, came back into light training this past fall and posted timed three-furlong Fair Grounds workouts on Dec. 12 and Dec. 26. But Stidham wasn’t happy with the horse following the most recent work, and Mystic Guide is out of training after being sent to Kentucky for a full physical examination.
“We’ve had to slow back down on him,” said Stidham. “We don’t know for sure whether we’re going to continue on with him or not. His future to continue racing is on hold for now.”
Mystic Guide has a regal pedigree, by Ghostzapper out of the A.P. Indy mare Music Note, a five-time Grade 1 winner during her racing career. Mystic Guide didn’t debut until February of his 3-year-old season and later in 2020 won the Jim Dandy at Saratoga and finished a close second in his Grade 1 debut, the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He prepped for the $12 million World Cup by winning the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park and hit a career peak as Stidham’s first runner in Dubai.
The near-term outlook is brighter for another Godolphin homebred in Stidham’s Fair Grounds barn, the 4-year-old Proxy, who is up to a half-mile in his work pattern. Proxy finished second last winter at Fair Grounds in the Lecomte and the Risen Star and was a decent fourth in the Louisiana Derby before tailing off when a well beaten fourth in the April 10 Lexington Stakes, his most recent start.
“We’re real happy where we’re at with him right now,” Stidham said.