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Stidham Ponders Mystic Guide’s Next Start After Close Second In Suburban

Godolphin's Mystic Guide was already back at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland on Sunday morning following his game runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The son of Ghostzapper, out of multiple Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note, arrived at the classic-distance engagement off a 3 ¾-length victory in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Although he came up a neck shy of victory in the Suburban, Mystic Guide fought gamely under jockey Luis Saez to the inside of Max Player over the sloppy and sealed racetrack.

Never off the board in nine lifetime starts, Mystic Guide boasts a record of 4-3-2 with previous stakes victories taking place in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and his seasonal commencement in the Grade 3 Razorback on February 27 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He brags lifetime earnings in excess of $7.5 million.

Trainer Michael Stidham identified several elements that went against Mystic Guide on Saturday, but said he was happy to see a good performance from his star pupil.

“He looks great. He came out of the race in good shape,” Stidham said. “There were lots of factors involved. He was coming off three months and obviously it was a demanding racetrack he ran on. Saez was forced to go up the rail, which was not the better part of the track. He fought back gamely and valiantly under some unfavorable circumstances.”

While the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic remains the ultimate goal, the next step Mystic Guide will take to get there is unknown.

“Nothing about what happened Saturday changed our plans of getting to the Breeders' Cup,” Stidham said. “We'll get him back to training and that will give us some time to compute it all. There are plenty of options.”

Stidham confirmed that Mystic Guide's consistent half-brother and stablemate Gershwin will seek a second consecutive graded stakes triumph in Monday's $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes going a one-turn mile over the Belmont main track.

The son of Distorted Humor was a last-out winner of an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 28 at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.

Stidham scratched Gershwin from Saturday's Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park in favor of the Dwyer. Like Mystic Guide, Gershwin also has never finished off the board, bragging a record of 5-2-1-2.

Stidham also confirmed M and M Stable's graded stakes-winner Princess Grace, who was scratched from Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at Belmont, will race in the $200,000 Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on July 6 at Parx Racing. The 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie last raced when capturing the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November at Churchill Downs.

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Max Player Earns Career-Best Speed Figure In Suburban Win

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player put his best foot forward on Saturday when outdueling Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide in the stretch to capture the $400,000 Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 4-year-old son of third-crop sire Honor Code tracked Moretti's moderate pace and remained in the clear as Mystic Guide made an inside rally around the far turn. Despite Mystic Guide's persistence, Max Player came out on top, besting the odds-on favorite by a neck under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

In capturing the ten-furlong “Win And You're In” qualifier, Max Player earned an automatic entry into the $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Max Player was winless in his prior half-dozen starts heading into the Suburban with his previous victory taking place in the Grade 3 Withers last February at Aqueduct. He was subsequently third in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers, both of which were won by Tiz the Law.

“He came out of it in good shape, ate up, got a nice little roll in the grass. He's very happy,” said Asmussen's Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets.

Max Player arrived at the Suburban off a distant sixth in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 14, and shipped straight to Belmont Park, recording five breezes over the training track.

“He gradually improved; he loves it here,” Sheets said. “He got to do some things that helped him. I'm very happy with him. The way he ran shows how he improved.”

The triumph gave Asmussen a second victory in the Suburban after sending out New York-bred Haynesfield to victory in the 2010 edition.

Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is out of the stakes-winning Not For Love mare Fools in Love, who also produced Seahenge, a Group 2 winner in England.

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Truth Hurts Gets First Stakes Win In Perfect Sting At Belmont

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, registered a dominant victory in Saturday's $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes for older fillies and mares contested at one mile over a sloppy and sealed main track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The eighth running of the Perfect Sting was originally scheduled for one mile on the Widener turf course before inclement weather forced the race to the main track, resulting in the scratches of Honey Cake, Princess Grace, Sunset Kiss, Madita, and 4/5 morning-line favorite Viadera.

Truth Hurts, entered for the main track only, added blinkers and the services of Belmont Stakes-winning rider Luis Saez to secure her first stakes win in her fifth attempt.

Multiple graded-stakes placed Piedi Bianchi broke alertly under Flavien Prat and marked the quarter-mile in 23.88 seconds and the half-mile in 47.54 under outside pressure from Truth Hurts on the sloppy and sealed main track.

Main-track only entrant Velvet Crush, the 3-5 mutuel favorite under Jose Ortiz, stalked the pacesetters from third position into the turn as Truth Hurts took over from Piedi Bianchi and established a three-length lead at the stretch call.

Truth Hurts, the longest shot on the board at 8-1, continued to find more down the lane and powered home a 5 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:37.48.

Piedi Bianchi completed the exacta, three lengths in front of Velvet Crush. Hogans Holiday, who trailed throughout, completed the order of finish.

Summers said the equipment change proved beneficial.

“She was getting better and better and we were just waiting for the right time to put the blinkers on her,” said Summers. “We put it on her last week and at that point, we were ready for an allowance race at Saratoga, but we saw the weather forecast here. We thought if it came off, we'd take a chance, and then we played the waiting game.

“My filly was ready, and we got the call around 12 or so that it was taken off the turf,” Summers added. “Everything worked out well. Luis was able to come in and it worked out.”

Saez said he felt confident throughout.

“She broke pretty nicely. She was right there behind the speed,” said Saez. “At the three-eighths [pole], she was very comfortable. She came out of the stretch and responded really well.”

The 4-year-old Tonalist bay graduated at first asking in December 2019 at Aqueduct Racetrack and followed with a smart optional-claiming win in January 2020 at the same track.

Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, Truth Hurts continued her 3-year-old year with off-the-board efforts in the Busanda Stakes at the Big A and the Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park ahead of a good third in the Bison City at Woodbine in September. Truth Hurts completed a busy sophomore season with an eighth in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico.

A $35,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Truth Hurts notched her first win in four starts this season. She banked $55,000 in victory and returned $18 for a $2 win ticket.

Summers said Truth Hurts is rounding into form and will target opportunities at the Saratoga summer meet.

“We tried the Black-Eyed Susan and it was maybe a little too aggressive at that time,” said Summers. “We gave her some time off after that and it was just about getting her back into shape. She made some good moves.

“You lose the two-other-than condition now, but we'll regroup and go from here,” Summers continued. “With the prestigious meet in Saratoga coming up, there's always spots that are open, so we'll see once again if she belongs in that upper echelon as the racing gets tougher.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont with a 10-race Independence Day card highlighted by the $100,000 Manila Stakes in Race 9 and the $250,000 Grade 2 John A. Nerud Stakes in Race 10. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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Espinoza Scores Last Minute Mount, Victory On Miles Ahead In Smile Sprint

Miles Ahead has been slow to develop, but the patience trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., has shown with the 4-year-old colt is starting to pay in a big way.

Three-wide entering the far turn under jockey Victor Espinoza, Miles Ahead drove to the lead entering the stretch to win Saturday's $200,000 Grade 3 Smile Sprint Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. by a half length over Chance It. Diamond Oops finished third. Owned by David Melvin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa, Miles Ahead covered the six furlongs in 1:09.61.

The Smile was one of 12 races comprising Saturday's Summit of Speed card highlighted by the $350,000 Grade 2 Princess Rooney Stakes, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” race also won by Espinoza aboard Ce Ce.

“He's an improving horse…one of those horses you have to have patience with,” Plesa said. “Some of these horses are late developers and he's come around nicely.”

Entering the race off a second-place finish behind Diamond Oops in the $60,000 Hollywood Lakes, Miles Ahead raced three wide down the backstretch just off the pacesetter Willy Boi, who went the opening quarter in :22.55 and a half mile in :45.16. But, around the turn, Espinoza made his move on Miles Ahead and took the lead entering the stretch before driving to victory.

Espinoza, who picked up the mount on Miles Ahead when named jockey Edwin Gonzalez was forced off his mounts after being thrown from his mount in the previous race, said: “It was nice that I was on the outside and I was able to control the race the whole way and see what the inside horses wanted to do. It worked out perfect. It was a pretty talented horse I rode.”

“We gave $175,000 for him [as a 2-year-old],” said Plesa of the son of Competitive Edge. “I worked him he never showed anything. I put him on the turf because he never showed anything, and he got beat 30 lengths. I dropped him in for $12,500 and he won the length of the stretch. He's been an over-achiever since then.”

Miles Ahead, a winner of eight of 16 starts, has now earned $260,000.

The Smile is named in honor of the champion sprinter of 1986 bred and owned by Frances A. Genter Stable. Smile was a Grade 1 winner whose first seven races were at Calder Race Course for trainer Frank Gomez.

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