Ghostbuster Colt Mystic Guide Could Jump From Jim Dandy Win To Preakness

Godolphin's Mystic Guide emerged from his triumph in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga in good order and shipped back to Fair Hill Training Center on Saturday evening, where trainer Michael Stidham is primarily stabled.

The sophomore Ghostzapper chestnut earned his first graded stakes victory in the 1 1/8-mile event over the Saratoga Race Course main track in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and arrived off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 16 to Country Grammer.

Stidham said the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness Stakes on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course is a possibility for Mystic Guide.

“We're going to look at it and see how he trains these next couple of weeks,” Stidham said. “He's already back at Fair Hill and looked good this morning. He came out of the race in good shape.”

Never off the hoard in five career starts, Stidham said Mystic Guide had always touted himself as a horse with a bright future. Following a five-length maiden score at second asking in his two-turn debut in March at Fair Grounds, he finished third in a one-turn first level allowance race at Belmont Park which was won by Tap It to Win en route to the Peter Pan.

“He always showed us a lot of promise right from the beginning,” Stidham said. “We stayed patient with him. We didn't put him in spots that he wasn't ready for. We tried to do the right thing by the horse, and it paid off yesterday. There was temptation in thinking about the Derby, but he didn't advance quickly enough to be in that picture.”

Following Saturday's Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, which was won by Authentic who kept heavy favorite Tiz the Law at bay, Stidham said the 3-year-old division appears to be wide open.

“I don't think that there's a big difference in a lot of the 3-year-olds,” Stidham said. “Tiz the Law was certainly the leader of the group, and then obviously he got beat yesterday. I think it opens the picture up and I think our horse is lightly raced and could be coming into his peak now and coming up to his best racing.”

A Kentucky homebred, Mystic Guide is out of the three-time Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note. Stidham currently has Mystic Guide's half-brother Gershwin in his barn. The unraced 2-year-old son of Distorted Humor has been training forwardly at Fair Hill and Stidham said he could make his career debut soon.

“He's showing some early promise. He hasn't started yet but he's had some nice works,” Stidham said. “There are a lot of similarities. They're big, strong colts and Gershwin has shown some early talent. He's another one that's going to be a two turn horse. We aren't in any rush with him. He'll make his first start in the month to six weeks.”

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Preakness Next Stop For Authentic: ‘We Want To Give Him Every Opportunity’

Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing's Authentic, upset winner of Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1), and beaten favorite Tiz the Law could be headed for a rematch in the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday morning that Authentic emerged from his front-running 1 1/4-length triumph in good shape and would remain in Kentucky with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas to prepare for the Preakness, presented this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all three Triple Crown races were rescheduled and the order adjusted starting with the Belmont (G1), typically the final leg, from June 6 to June 20. The original dates for the Derby and Preakness were May 2 and May 16, respectively.

“I couldn't believe it. I thought he'd be a little tired, but the track was in really good shape and it was fast and he got over it really well,” Baffert said. “They were planning on leaving tomorrow for California but being that the Preakness is a few weeks away, I thought it might be a little too hard for him to go back.

“We'll just run him out of here,” he added. “If he's working well and all is going well, then he'll go to the Preakness. We want to give him every opportunity.”

Baffert said that 2020 Robert B. Lewis (G3) and 2019 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) winner Thousand Words is also being pointed to the Preakness. Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift's Thousand Words flipped in the paddock after being saddled for the Derby and was scratched.

“We're planning on sending both if they're doing well,” Baffert said. “He didn't even have a scratch on him. He fell on his side, so we were fortunate.”

Authentic won the Sham (G3), San Felipe (G2) and Haskell (G1) and was second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) this year. The Kentucky Derby was the first time in six career starts that the bay Into Mischief colt didn't go off as the favorite.

That role was filled by Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, who had been unbeaten during his 3-year-old season with wins in the Holy Bull (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park over the winter, the Belmont and most recently the 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law got within a head of Authentic with a quarter-mile to run but was never able to get by. Tiz the Law's only two losses in eight starts have come at Churchill; he was third by less than a length over a sloppy track in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last fall.

“I haven't seen a speed figure but it sounds like he bounced a little bit off the big Travers effort, and Barclay has a question that maybe he just really doesn't like the racetrack,” Sackatoga managing partner Jack Knowlton said Sunday. “Watching him finish, he said he was kind of swimming a little bit maybe coming down the stretch. But, he ran the race that we were looking for. He got the trip. [Jockey] Manny [Franco] gave him a great ride and he just didn't beat one horse. There's no shame in running second in the Kentucky Derby.”

Knowlton said Tiz the Law is scheduled to fly back to Belmont Park on Tuesday. While he is leaning toward going on to the Preakness, the final decision will come after talking to Tagg and ultimately will rest with the horse.

“He ran good and came out of it great. I was over at the barn this morning and all is well,” Knowlton said. “I'll have that discussion with Barclay and we'll take a little time to see. My thinking is that we will, but we'll have the horse dictate what's going to happen. Certainly that would be my preference but we've just go to see how he comes out and see how he works when we have the next work in a couple weeks. We'll have time for a couple works.”

Trainer Bret Calhoun said following the Derby that Mr. Big News, who ran third at odds of 46-1, was likely headed to Baltimore. Mr. Big News earned an automatic berth in the Preakness by virtue of his victory in the April 11 Oaklawn Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Three horses that were scratched from the Derby the week of the race are also being pointed to the Preakness – Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner King Guillermo, Blue Grass (G2) and Ellis Park Derby winner Art Collector, and Finnick the Fierce, third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) who beat Tiz the Law by a head when second in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Among other potential Preakness horses are Mystic Guide and Dr. Post, respectively first and fourth in Saturday's Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga; Manitoba Derby winner Mongolian Wind, entered in Monday's Gold Cup Stakes at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg; Lebda, winner of the Miracle Wood and Private Terms at Laurel Park over the winter and most recently third in the Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes Aug. 28 at Charles Town; Pneumatic, last out winner of the Pegasus Stakes Aug. 15 at Monmouth Park and fourth in the Belmont for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen; and the Baffert-trained Azul Coast, winner of the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 15 at Golden Gate and second to Authentic in the Sham.

The $100,000 Federico Tesio Monday at Laurel Park is a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Preakness. Happy Saver, undefeated in two career starts for trainer Todd Pletcher, is the 1-2 program favorite for the 1 1/8-mile Preakness prep.

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Derby Aftermath: Tagg Mum On Potential Preakness Run By Tiz The Law

Followup from the connections of Saturday's Grade 1 Kentucky Derby starters is provided by the Churchill Downs media office:

TIZ THE LAW – Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law is scheduled to return to New York on Tuesday following his runner-up effort in Saturday's Kentucky Derby with plans for a next start to be determined.

“I just looked him over,” trainer Barclay Tagg said before heading to Lexington to begin the search for the next Tiz the Law at this week's yearling sale. “His legs are good. He ate good. Everything's good.”

The four-time Grade 1 winner, who went off as the 7-10 favorite Saturday, sustained only the second loss in his eight-race career with both setbacks coming at Churchill Downs. He was third in last November's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) on a sealed sloppy track.

In the Derby, Tiz the Law drew up alongside Authentic at the top of the stretch but never passed the eventual winner.

“The jock (Manny Franco) said that when he really had to get down and run, he was kind of swimming on that track. He didn't like the track,” Tagg said. “You could see it in the stretch. He looked like he was going to go on by and win easy. His last (Beyer) number was a 109 (in the Travers). He bounced down to a 103 this time.

“The jock told me that and when I watch the replay you could see he just wasn't getting a hold of it nicely. If you want to make an excuse, that is probably an excuse. He's come out of well. He ate up his dinner last night. He'll go back to New York Tuesday. I don't want to say too much about the Preakness. I just want to see how he is. He'll go back to New York and we'll evaluate him.”

MR. BIG NEWSAllied Racing's Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Mr. Big News was “all good” Sunday morning, according to trainer Bret Calhoun.

“He gave us a big thrill,” Calhoun said. “It was an awesome race and we are so proud of this colt.”

Next race plans are yet to be determined.

HONOR A. P. – C R K Stable's Honor A. P. was “doing good” Sunday morning, one day after rallying late for fourth as the 7-1 second choice. The Honor Code colt had a poor start and was last after the first six furlongs. Trainer John Shirreffs and jockey Mike Smith had said Saturday after the race that he was floundering on the track early.

cWhen asked what might be next for Honor A.P., Shirreffs said: “I haven't even thought about that. He'll head back to California Monday and we'll see.”

MAX PLAYER – George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbred Corp.'s Max Player was doing well Sunday morning, but his connections were obviously disappointed after his inside post position compromised his chances Saturday.

“He didn't jump away from the gate as well as I had hoped and jumped up and down in the dirt early first time by, but continued running late,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “I think there's more there, and circumstances need to be created to get it.”

As for the Preakness, Asmussen said “I have not spoken with Mr. Hall to see what his plans are. I definitely think that would be me getting ahead of myself.”

STORM THE COURT – Exline-Border Racing, David Bernsen, Susanna Wilson and Dan Hudock's Storm the Court is scheduled to return to his Southern California base on an early Monday morning flight according to trainer Peter Eurton.

Eurton, who was traveling back to Southern California early Sunday morning, said Storm the Court appeared to come out of his sixth-place Derby finish fine and there were no immediate plans for Storm the Court's next race.

ENFORCEABLE – Assistant trainer David Carroll reported all was good with John Oxley's Enforceable the morning after the colt finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

The son of Tapit was closer to the pace than usual, rating fifth through the opening half mile, before weakening in the lane.

“His legs are cold and tight, he cleaned up his feed,” said Carroll, assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “We're very happy with him. We'll live to fight another day. He broke sharp, and (jockey) Adam (Beschizza) never hustled him, he got a clean trip around there. He got us to the big dance and we're proud of him and most of all he came back safe.”

NY TRAFFIC – John Fanelli, Cash is King, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic lost a shoe in the running of the Kentucky Derby and was a little banged up, but was no worse for the wear Sunday morning, according to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. No definite plans have been made for his next start.

“He came out well soundness wise,” Joseph said via text. “He got a few cuts front and back. No race in mind at the moment. We'll see how he is in 7-10 days and then go from there.”

NECKER ISLAND – Raymond Daniels, Wayne Scheer and Will Harbut Racing's Necker Island walked the shedrow at trainer Chris Hartman's barn Sunday morning following his ninth-place Derby finish.

“He came back in good shape,” Hartman said. “I'll wait three or four days before we start mapping out a race.”

MAJOR FED – Lloyd Madison Farm's Major Fed cooled out well following Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

“He has a couple of little nicks on him but he's doing well,” said trainer Greg Foley, who stood alongside the homebred colt while he grazed. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“He had no business being up there where he was,” Foley said of Major Fed breaking sharply from the gate. “Bumper cars going into that first turn. I mean, he was a length off the lead. I don't know if he was too fresh and broke like that and was down in there. That was the end of our chances. Everything had to go good for us. It didn't. He came back good. He looks fine. He ate up. We'll regroup in a little bit. He's eligible for a 'one other than' (first-level allowance). That's about where he'll show up next. Go from there. He'll look pretty good in that.”

SOLE VOLANTE – Reeves Thoroughbreds and Andie Biancone's Sole Volante was heading back to his South Florida base after finishing 11th in the Kentucky Derby.

“He's fine, he's good,” said Andie Biancone, who is also assistant to her father Patrick Biacone and the regular exercise rider for the gelding. “He obviously took a lot of dirt in his face, but he scoped clean. We're happy and proud of him. He'll probably get a break now and maybe go back to the turf.”

WINNING IMPRESSION – Trainer Dallas Stewart reported Winning Impression came out of the Kentucky Derby in good shape Sunday morning.

MONEY MOVES – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was overseeing the care of Money Moves on behalf of his former protégé Todd Pletcher, said the colt emerged from his 13th-place finish in good order and was slated to ship back to New York on Tuesday.

ATTACHMENT RATE –Trainer Dale Romans reported via text everything was well Sunday morning with Attachment Rate.

SOUTH BEND – South Bend was reported to be unaffected by wear after finishing 15th in the Kentucky Derby. The Bill Mott-trained colt was attempting to give his conditioner back-to-back victories in the classic after Country House was elevated to the win last year via disqualification.

“He was fine. He made a bit of a middle move around the turn and into the head of the stretch but it just wasn't his day,” assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy said.

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Baffert: ‘The Most Crazy 30 Minutes I’ve Had In Racing’

It wasn't the usual morning-after scene around Barn 33 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday as only a smattering of media and cameras were on hand waiting for the shedrow's Hall of Fame trainer to lead out his latest Kentucky Derby hero. But after months of having one contender after another go by the wayside in the lead up the 146th edition of the “Run for the Roses”, Bob Baffert was never more thankful or grateful to show off a newly minted classic winner for the few who had gathered.

Baffert has brought many an elite horse out on the Churchill Downs backside the day after the Kentucky Derby but the look of admiration he cast in the direction of Authentic less than 24 hours after the colt's triumph in the 10-furlong test was one that spoke volumes about the journey to that point. The bay son of Into Mischief “wasn't even tired” according to his trainer after leading every point of call to defeat heavily favored Tiz the Law and 13 others en route to giving Baffert his record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby triumph.

Owned by Spendthrift Farm, My Racehorse, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, Authentic capped off a wild 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby for Baffert that saw the trainer lose highly regarded Nadal and Charlatan to injury earlier in the year. The drama didn't stop for Baffert even when he made it to the paddock for the race Saturday as his other Derby entrant this season, graded stakes winner Thousand Words, was a late scratch after rearing and flipping in the paddock — an incident that resulted in assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes suffering a broken wrist that will require surgery.

Even without 160,000 in the stands to watch as this year's Kentucky Derby was held without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic, Authentic managed to give his team a moment for the ages as he hit the wire 1 1/4 lengths in front.

“I couldn't believe it, I thought he might be a little tired today,” Baffert said of Authentic. “He came out of it well. Jimmy is going to need surgery, I think he'll need eight screws in his wrist but he actually was here this morning. He's a trooper. I was so emotional yesterday because I wanted (Barnes) to be there. To me, that was most emotional Derby I've ever been involved in because of what happened during that little time frame. It was the most crazy 30 minutes I've had in racing.

“Before May, I was looking so strong and then everything just went wrong,” Baffert continued. “And to pull it off like that was really exciting. Winning the Kentucky Derby is the biggest moment in a trainer's life. When you win it, it erases everything that has gone bad.”

With the Derby victory, Authentic not only answered the question of whether an offspring of Into Mischief could get 10 furlongs successfully, but he moved himself to the forefront of the sophomore male ranks having previously annexed the Haskell Stakes (G1), Sham Stakes (G3) and San Felipe Stakes (G2) this year. His only loss in six career starts came when he ran second to Honor A. P. in the June 6 Santa Anita Derby (G1) and he also gives B. Wayne Hughes' powerhouse Spendthrift Farm operation its first Derby triumph.

“It was all so unbelievable. I walked over with the Albaughs (co-owners of Thousand Words) and we're all enjoying the moment and then…the next thing you know (Thousand Words) exploded and went over,” said Mark Toothaker, stallion sales manager of Spendthrift Farm, which also co-owns Thousand Words.  “The state vet walked over and said he was a scratch. So you had all the emotion of you are within 20 minutes of having a horse getting ready to run in the Kentucky Derby that we picked out and we're so excited and as we were walking through the tunnel, I said to our general manager Ned Toffey 'If there is a Derby God out there….maybe we can win.' For Authentic to just keep giving it in the stretch, it was like he had an extra push.”

A trip to Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes (GI) on Oct. 3 is slated as the next objective for both Authentic and Thousand Words, as the latter escaped his paddock fall without injury. Baffert said both colts will head over the shedrow of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas to stay for the next few weeks as the legendary conditioner has offered to help oversee the duo so that Baffert doesn't have to ship them back to California in the interim.

“Being that the Preakness is a few weeks away, I thought it might be too hard on them to go back. So I have an assistant trainer, this D. Wayne Lukas guy here,” Baffert joked. “So they're going to be in Wayne's barn. We're going to run them out of here. If they're working well and all going well, they'll go to the Preakness. I didn't want to take them all the way to California and back. I want to give them every opportunity.

“We're planning on both if they're doing well. Thousand Woods we'll give him another chance at it. He didn't have a scratch on him.”

Even though he was flying back to California Sunday morning to spend part of his birthday, Jimmy Barnes was back to work dark and early Sunday morning, albeit in a compromised capacity. Barnes said he wasn't going to say anything about his broken right wrist — and he's right-handed — but he rolled up his sleeve and saw it at the wrong angle. He said he watched the Derby on a phone in the ambulance on his way to Norton Audubon Hospital. He said the ER personnel knew he was connected to the Derby winner, and that the ER doctor actually was a co-breeder of Baffert's two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Midnight Lute.

“I didn't have to go (to the hospital). I could have watched it on a TV,” Barnes said. “I said, 'Just get me over there and I can watch it on my phone.' Heck, what was I going to do, run out to the winner's circle and everything? My hand was pointing this way.”

Asked if the hospital staff was aware Barnes was connected to the Derby winner, he said: “Oh yeah, my doctor bred Midnight Lute, he was a partner on Midnight Lute's breeding and a horse we had called Socialbug

“We won. What a great race. I was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. I was watching it on a phone. I would have wanted to stay, but I wanted to get out of there also. I didn't want to prolong the situation. I knew what I was in for. I was probably going to be at the ER, I thought I'd be there a lot longer than I actually was. They put me out, reset it, wrapped it up, so I had to wait, because they won't just release you once they do that. If it would have been my first Derby, they all mean a lot to me, but there were people there representing. I said, 'They got it covered.'”

Barnes' first Derby with Baffert was in 1999 with General Challenge and his first Derby winner with Baffert was War Emblem in 2002.

“That being said, I really wanted to stay, because it is an emotional thing,” Barnes said. “It was important to me to get started on this immediately so I could get back to the barn. That's what was going through my head. When it happened, I wasn't going to say anything. I was going to say I was OK. I knew it kind of hurt. Then I pulled my sleeve up and saw it was pointing a different direction. So I pulled it back down and said, 'I better say something.' ”

“Then (Baffert) got knocked around and the owner got stepped on (in the winner's circle).”

Was Barnes surprised by Authentic's performance?

“Well, he didn't surprise me, the way he trains and the way you watch him move. He's just this big leaper. He's got a huge stride on him,” Barnes said. “He just got out there motoring along. Johnny V rode him superbly. He committed early and if you're going to go with him you're going to be running fast. So they kind of backed off a bit, from what I saw. When they turned for home, he was headed. That horse was there. For him to straighten out and switch leads, because you look at his earlier races and he was very erratic in the stretch in numerous races. Even Mike (Smith) had some issues in New Jersey (winning the Haskell), and Drayden (Van Dyke) had some issues. But Johnny V, when he pulled his stick through to the left hand and got after him, boy, he just leveled out and said, 'They're not going by me today.' ”

“You can be on the floor and then be up in the sky soaring,” Barnes said of the highs and lows racing can bring.

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