Trainer Michael Stidham said he was highly satisfied with Godolphin’s Mystic Guide and his hard-fought second in his Grade 1 debut in the $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup but stated the son of Ghostzapper is unlikely for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“Most likely we will bypass it, but that won’t be officially decided until we take a good look at the horse and see how he’s doing,” Stidham said. “I’ll talk to [Godolphin USA president] Jimmy Bell and we’ll have a discussion regarding it.”
A last out winner of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga, Mystic Guide has never finished off the board in six lifetime starts and finished three-quarters of a length to the outside of Happy Saver.
“We were delighted,” Stidham said. “It was obviously a small field, very tactical, and a rider’s race. But our horse ran hard and just got beat. I’m happy with his first step up to a Grade 1.”
Stidham said he is looking forward to what could be on the horizon for Mystic Guide as a 4-year-old.
“We’ve got a lot to be excited about,” Stidham said. “We were careful with when we ran him and where he ran him throughout the year, and it paid off. We’re going to try and parlay that into next year.”
Following an impressive five-length maiden victory at second asking going two turns at Fair Grounds on March 21, Mystic Guide was placed against winners at Belmont Park and ran third in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 14 at Saratoga before winning the Jim Dandy. A Kentucky homebred, Mystic Guide is out of the five-time Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note.
Press Release- Photo Credit: Dom Napolitano
