Tag: mike stidham

Louisiana Derby Aftermath: Hot Rod Charlie Back to California; Mandaloun May Run In Lexington

The dust has settled after a thrilling 14-race card Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, with the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) and Oaks (G2) in the rearview mirror. Both the local Derby and Oaks offered 100-40-20-10 qualifying points for the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, and the April 30 Longines Kentucky Oaks, and several of the top finishers emerged with both races firmly on their calendar.

The connections for several of the major players had a chance to sleep on the results, evaluate how their respective horses came out their races, and plot a path to Churchill Downs. Fair Grounds media caught up with several trainers Sunday morning to get their thoughts moving forward.

Louisiana Derby:
Doug O'Neill, trainer, Hot Rod Charlie (Leandro Mora was trainer of record in Louisiana Derby) (1st): Charlie looked great this morning. He flies back to California on Tuesday. I love the spacing (six weeks) leading up to the Kentucky Derby. It's ideal. He's proven to travel well. I'm very proud of my nephew Patrick (with Boat Racing). He's a real good young man and I'm very excited for him and all of the owners. 

Scott Blasi, assistant trainer to Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon (2nd): Big effort and he's another horse (like Clairiere) that's just going to continue to improve. I don't think distance will be an issue with him and the timing, back to the Derby, off this series here, there will be plenty of time to freshen up and run his best race. We'll train here for a week and ship a week from Sunday (the 28th). 

Greg Foley, trainer, O Besos (3rd): We all want to go forward after yesterday. The only question we had was the distance, and he answered that pretty good. He galloped out past the winner. We've got 25 (derby qualifying) points. If we got second, we wouldn't have to think about it, but now we have to hope we get in. we just have to wait and see. I don't want to run him back (before the Derby). I don't think it will affect our training. He's a dead-fit horse. We'll get hi back home next week (to Churchill Downs) and we'll just wait and see. If it gets us in, great, if it doesn't, oh well, we'll go from there. I'd like to try and get in the big one and hopefully that will get it done. At least we're not wondering any more (about the distance). 

Mike Stidham, trainer, Proxy (4th): He came back in good condition. I will discuss it with the Godolphin team and decide which direction we go in next.

Brad Cox, trainer, Mandaloun (6th as the 6-5 favorite): We couldn't come up with any reasons for the dull performance. We'll get him back to Kentucky, see how he trains, and then go from there. I've thought about it, but I think right now I'll probably nominate him to the Lexington (G3, April 10 at Keeneland) and we'll see. He was done at the half-mile pole, so I don't think the distance was the reason (he was so dull). He ran out of horse fairly quickly. He handled everything in the paddock, so to show up and get beat by those horses we had run so well against, that was obviously disappointing. He's not that bad. We were the favorite. It's almost like you'd like to see a reason or an excuse but we aren't seeing it yet. The six weeks (to the Derby) is almost a blessing. I don't think it's a bad thing. We'll see how he trains. I'm not going to change too much with him. He bounced out of it in good shape, scoped good, no issues. He'll probably go to Churchill at some point later this week. 

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Thursday Insights: ‘Rising Star’ Resumes In New Barn at Gulfstream

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Speedway Stables' AUBERGE (Palace) was named a 'TDN Rising Star' when decimating a field of Santa Anita maidens by 7 3/4 lengths at first asking in October 2019 before completing a Bob Baffert exacta behind Bast (Uncle Mo) in last year's GII Santa Ynez S. The Iowa-bred makes her first appearance since easily taking out a first-level allowance at Santa Anita 13 months ago and has joined the Mike Stidham shedrow, with several good-looking works on display in New Orleans. Auberge, who hails from the female family of champion Banshee Breeze (Unbridled), was a $140,000 Fasig-Tipton November weanling, a $170,000 Keeneland September yearling and was purchased by Speedway for $570,000 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream in 2019. She is a half-sister to multiple Iowa-bred stakes winner Theperfectvow (Majesticperfection). TJCIS PPs

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Favored Owendale To Be Challenged By Returning Grade 1 Winner Roadster In New Orleans Classic

Rupp Racing's multiple graded stakes winner Owendale headlines a competitive field of eight older horses for Saturday's 96th running of the $400,000 New Orleans Classic (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

Run at 1 1/8 miles, the New Orleans Classic is Race 11-of-14 and one of eight stakes races on Saturday's program. The headliner is the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2)—a Championship Series event on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The All Stakes Late Pick Five (races 10-14) and All Stakes Late Pick Four (races 11-14) are both estimated at $750,000.

Trained by Brad Cox, Owendale began his 5-year-old campaign with a third-place effort in the Feb. 27 Razorback (G3) at Oaklawn Park behind top Dubai World Cup (G1) contender Mystic Guide. Installed as Mike Diliberto's 9-5 morning line favorite, the Into Mischief colt will break from post 2 with Florent Geroux aboard as he eyes his first graded stakes score since his 3-year-old campaign.

“Looking back, he didn't get the greatest trip behind a really tough horse (Mystic Guide),” Cox said of the Razorback. “It didn't appear that you wanted to be down inside at all that weekend, so we're hopeful he can move forward. I like the mile and an eighth with him. He's made about half of his money at the distance and we're hoping we can get his form turned around. We changed things up with Joel (Rosario) at Oaklawn but Florent knows the horse really well and I'm excited to get him back (aboard).”

Breaking to the inside of Owendale is Speedway Stable's 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster (3-1 with John Velazquez), who is making his first start in more than a year for new trainer Mike Stidham. The Quality Road colt was previously campaigned in California by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and ran 15th in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

“We got him at the end of the year,” Stidham said. “He's had issues with his feet since he was a 2-year-old so we had a little stopping and starting since I got him. But right now, we got him as good as he can be. You can see by his worktab, he's worked three quarters of a mile three times in a row. But he's coming off a year layoff, so he needed that to feel like I had him ready to go a mile and an eighth in a Grade 2 race.”

JMJ Racing Stables' Olliemyboy (post 3 at 12-1 with Irad Ortiz Jr.) will attempt his first start in graded stakes company for trainer Norm Casse following two consecutive allowance victories at the meet. Prior to entering Casse's barn at the end of 2020, the now 4-year-old son of Union Rags had competed primarily over the Tapeta surface at Woodbine. In his first dirt try at two turns, Olliemyboy crushed a first-level allowance field by 4 ¼ lengths and followed that performance with a 1 ½-length victory at against second-level allowance company.

“He wasn't flashy training on the dirt and I honestly didn't know what to expect when we led this horse over the first time,” Casse said. “He's earned his way into this race by doing all the right things. I'm really excited. His work two weeks ago was the best since I've had him. We put him in company with a fairly decent horse and it was heads up and we came back and just worked him a half-mile like he did before he won the second allowance. He's on the same pattern, but I feel like he's training very well and he looks fantastic. We are not dummies, we know we are longshots in here, but I think he's got a really good shot.”

Another quality horse expected to garner attention in the New Orleans Classic is Courtlandt Farms' three-time winner Sonneman (post 8 at 9-2 with Joe Talamo), who finished second behind Maxfield in the February 13 Mineshaft (G3)—the local prep for this race. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Sonneman recorded a powerful 5 ¾-length victory in early November at Churchill Downs.

Completing the New Orleans Classic from the rail out: Lothenbach Stables' homebred Captivating Moon (post 4 at 10-1 with Marcelino Pedroza), an upset winner of the Feb. 13 Fair Grounds (G3) on turf who is also cross-entered in R12, the $300,000 Muniz Memorial (G2) for trainer Chris Block; John Oxley's Enforceable (post 5 at 8-1 with Adam Beschizza), fifth in the Mineshaft for trainer Mark Casse; Estate of James Coleman's Chess Chief (post 6 at 6-1 with Luis Saez), a closing third in the Mineshaft for trainer Dallas Stewart; and Wayne T. Davis' Mocito Rojo (post 7 at 30-1 with James Graham), sixth in the local Tenacious in February for trainer Shane Wilson.

Watch and wager on Saturday's action from Fair Grounds on the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Inc. – TwinSpires.com.

Additional New Orleans Classic quotes:

Stidham, Roadster: It's an aggressive spot but he's doing good and he's a quality horse; he won the Santa Anita Derby at a mile and an eighth. I feel like we've got him in peak condition, he looks like a million dollars, and he's training well, so we're going to take a shot. And the other thing is I didn't feel like this race was coming up as tough as it has in previous years. I figure we're taking a shot, but it's not a monster-tough race. – trainer Mike Stidham

Casse, Olliemyboy: We left the decision up to Adam (jockey Beschizza). He likes both horses, so it wasn't a matter of picking between them, it was more about staying loyal to my father (Mark) and to Mr. (John) Oxley. He got to ride that horse (Enforceable) in the Kentucky Derby and he wanted to be loyal to that horse. I would love to have Adam on. He's undefeated on our horse, he knows him very well and he has a lot of confidence on him but I think we brought in a bang-up substitute off the bench to say the least. It's a pretty wide-open race. It's a grade II for a lot of money and there are some good horses in there. I think the main for us is it's nine furlongs, which is right up his wheelhouse, we've won two races over the track already, so we are a horse who seems to be getting better every time he runs and these are the types of chances you take with horses like that.

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Stidham Shipping Mystic Guide To Dubai World Cup ‘With A Lot Of Confidence’

Known as a top-tier trainer in the U.S. for decades, Mike Stidham now, finally, takes his well-respected show on the road with his first starter outside North America, Godolphin's Mystic Guide. The winner of more than 2,100 races has brought the son of Ghostzapper along patiently, but a one-sided victory in February's $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) convinced him that a trip to the UAE for the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) is an obvious next step.

“We felt really confident that he had moved forward from last year, his 3-year-old year,” Stidham explained. “We could tell just by the way he was training and how he seemed mentally and physically. We felt we had him ready to go to Oaklawn Park and run a good race, but then we got there there was rain and a sea of slop on the track. You don't know for sure how they're going to handle a wet track like that, although his dam (multiple G1 winner) Music Note won a Grade 1 in the slop, so that gave us a little confidence. Then when you watch the race, you see he was four- and five-wide on the turns–you worry about that–but then he pulled away like he did in the stretch and earned a 108 Beyer (Speed Figure), which exceeded our expectations.

“Sometimes you worry, when a horse goes far past their top number, that there could be a good chance of a 'bounce,' but he's certainly come out great and he's looking fantastic,” the 48-time graded stakes-winning conditioner continued. “He's back here at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and will have a work here before we ship. I have no reason to believe he's going to regress, so we'll see how he handles the travelling. If all is well, we'll get an easy breeze over the track at Meydan.”

A well-made chestnut with a flashy blaze, the blue-blooded homebred is another in a long line of graded stakes performers brought along deliberately by the Stidham operation that is co-spearheaded by longtime assistant Hilary Pridham. The training yard has flourished with an impressive breadth of runners, including juveniles, older horses, sprinters, routers, dirt and turf runners. The highlight reel includes G1-winning fillies Sutra, Two Altazano, Her Emmynency and Zipessa, as well as G2/G3-winning older males Synchrony, Manzotti and Willcox Inn–but it is in the last few years, when teaming with Godolphin, that the bar has been raised.

As recent as last weekend, Godolphin, Stidham and jockey Luis Saez–Mystic Guide's expected pilot in Dubai–joined forces to bring home Micheline in the Hillsborough Stakes (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs, the ninth graded stakes Stidham has won for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Mystic Guide has earned two of those, including Saratoga's Jim Dandy (G2) in decisive style over Jesus' Team, whom he likely faces again in Dubai. That effort was part of a carefully crafted sophomore season for the three-time winner from seven starts (never worse than third).

“We've made the same types of decisions with him throughout his career,” Stidham said. “Through the whole of his 3-year-old year, we had temptations to run in the Arkansas Derby (G1) after his big maiden win and then the postponed Kentucky Derby (G1). We never felt he was quite ready to win those races just yet. He was a step behind where he needed to be for us to feel confident, so we waited for 3-year-old races like the Peter Pan and the Jim Dandy. It was the right thing to do. You could see him gradually improving as the year went on.

“We decided to try him in a Grade 1 in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and he ran a great race to be second, improving again, but we felt like he wasn't quite where he needed to be to win the Breeders' Cup Classic,” he continued. “We just did what was right for him and never forced him into any spot. We gave him a break, but he never left the track, and we were able to fresh him over the winter. Now we're reaping the rewards of doing that.”

A charismatic type who is loved around the Stidham barn, Mystic Guide enters the 10-furlong (2000m) contest on March 27 as a favorite of tipsters, as well.

“He's straight-forward and is an easy-galloping horse on the track,” Stidham continued. “He can be a little aggressive around the barn, but he's a really intelligent horse. I have had a lot of really great older turf horses, but I haven't had an older dirt handicap horse like him, so it's a lot of fun for me.”

Stidham's relationship with Godolphin is part of the recent expansion and resulting success the 'Boys in Blue' have had in America, including 2020 champion Essential Quality with Brad Cox and once-beaten star Maxfield with Brendan Walsh. Stidham, like many of the trainers working for the operation, is justifiably hopeful for an even brighter future.

“It's been an unbelievable time,” he explained. “To have horses like Mystic Guide, his half-brother Gershwin, Micheline, (G2 Del Mar Derby winner) Pixelate and Proxy, who could be a (Kentucky) Derby horse–it's a lot of really amazing things going on right now. I have to pinch myself, sometimes, because I've been in the business 45 years and watched these horses with other trainers. For me to actually have a couple is pretty outstanding.

“When we get our 2-year-olds in April, we may get 15 or 20 of them, and you immediately see the stallion power with sires like Hard Spun, Tapit, Curlin, Medaglia d'Oro and others that are coupled with mares like Panty Raid (G1-winning dam of Micheline) and Music Note. It's only a matter of time before the pedigrees line up. I really want to thank and congratulate Jimmy Bell and Dan Pride at Godolphin for doing a fantastic job diversifying things and spreading these horses throughout the country with all these trainers.”

First things first, as Stidham is doing anything but resting on his laurels. The 18% lifetime conditioner is fixated on his first global success when he starts Mystic Guide against a field that likely includes Jesus' Team, as well as G1 Champions Cup winner Chuwa Wizard, multiple graded stakes winner Sleepy Eyes Todd and UAE stars Salute the Soldier and Military Law.

“We're going there with a lot of confidence,” Stidham concluded. “I think the track will suit him and one of his best races was going a mile and a quarter. From what I've seen watching previous Dubai World Cups, it looks like you don't want to be too far back and he's a tactical horse. He can be laying in a forward-type of position at that distance and we know he can get the distance. With all those things included, I'm very optimistic about our chances.”

Luck permitting, Mystic Guide and the remainder of the American DWC contingent are expected to arrive in Dubai on March 17, St Patrick's Day. Stidham and Pridham will join soon after to oversee final preparations.

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