Tag: Mystic Guide

Oaklawn Park lost eight days of racing last year due to winter storms. The Arkansas track canceled this weekend's racing card due to Winter Storm Landon. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oaklawn Park Cancels Weekend Races; Fog Wipes Out Aqueduct Finale

Winter Storm Landon and the freezing temperatures blanketing the central US wiped out racing at three tracks on Thursday, most prominently at Oaklawn Park, which announced it’s canceling racing this weekend. Along with that Arkansas track, Sam Houston Race Park in Texas and Turfway Park in Kentucky both scrubbed their […]

Adayar's Epsom Derby prance and his victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes skipped him to a share of the top spot in the latest Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. (Image: Reuters)

Knicks Go Fast-Breaks Into Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings

Knicks Go picked a good time to win his fourth career Grade 1 race, using last Saturday’s Whitney Stakes victory to claim the top spot among American horses in the latest edition of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2021. In the rankings compiled by the International Federation of […]

Mystic Guide (right) lost the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes to Max Player earlier this month. Afterwards, X-rays revealed a bone chip in Mystic Guide's knee that requires surgery. (Image: Elsa Lorieul/Coglianese Photos/NYRA)

Mystic Guide’s Racing Future Uncertain After Impending Knee Surgery

The racing future for standout 4-year-old Mystic Guide has become uncertain after owner-breeder Godolphin announced he would undergo surgery for a knee chip. Noted surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, will perform the surgery. Meanwhile, the Dubai World Cup winner goes on the […]

Undefeated Happy Saver nipped Mystic Guide (left) by less than a length to win last fall's Jockey Club Gold Cup. The two renew their rivalry in Saturday's Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA)

In-Form Stars Mystic Guide, Happy Saver Driving This Suburban Stakes

Mystic Guide comes into Saturday’s Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park riding a wave that crested during March’s $12 million Dubai World Cup. He’s fresh, rested, at the top of his game, and the No. 1-ranked Thoroughbred in the country, courtesy of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll. And […]

Jockey Luis Saez and Mystic Guide quieted the few critics they had in March's Dubai World Cup. The 4-year-old returns for Saturday's Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park. (Image: Mathea Kelly/Dubai Racing Club)

Mystic Guide Proves His Strong Form is No Mystery, Rides Into Suburban

Last summer, Mystic Guide gave Mike Stidham that “a-ha” moment all trainers look for in their charges; the moment they see a horse “get it.” It’s a feeling every trainer seeks — the knowledge their horse is understanding their capabilities, how good they can be, and what they can do […]

Mystic Guide's convincing vicory in March's Dubai World Cup convinced Longines World's Best Racehorse raters to make the American horse one of the top two horses in their latest rankings. (Image: Coady Photography)

Mystic Guide Joins Mishriff Atop World’s Best Racehorse Rankings

Mystic Guide had to travel halfway around the globe to earn his spot in the latest Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. Mishriff merely had to travel back to the turf to keep his. The two share the top spot in the latest Longines rankings, both earning a 122 rating. That […]

Mystic Guide put on blinkers in time to win last summer's Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. He's carried that form into favorite status in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup. (Image: Janet Garaguso/NYRA)

Dubai World Cup: Where Buying American Often Pays Off

The list of Dubai World Cup champions since the race’s 1997 debut include inaugural winner Cigar, Silver Charm, Captain Steve, Curlin, Animal Kingdom, California Chrome and Arrogate. True Thoroughbred stars who commanded attention the moment their names entered a race. This is apt. Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai World Cup comes […]

For the second consecutive weekend, Oaklawn Park canceled its weekend racing card due to inclement weather forecasts. (Image: Richard Rasmussen/The Sentinel-Record

Citing More Storms, Oaklawn Park Postpones Weekend Card Again

Oaklawn Park announced late Monday evening that it canceled this weekend’s Thursday through Sunday racing card, citing stormy forecasts for the Hot Springs, AR, region. This once again pushes back three Grade 3 races, including a key Kentucky Derby prep involving Champion 2-Year-Old Essential Quality. That race, the Southwest Stakes, […]

Mystic Guide comes into this weekend's Grade 3 Razorback Handicap with six in-the-money finishes. That includes his victory here in last summer's JIm Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photo)

Weekend Stakes Span the Globe From Saudi Arabia to California

Looking at this weekend’s notable stakes races takes the eye halfway around the world to the $20 million Saudi Cup. Another look also takes the eye back to three races postponed from last weekend to this weekend – the Southwest Stakes, the Bayakoa Stakes, and the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn […]

Midnight Bourbon leads the top four finishers of last month's Lecomte Stakes into this weekend's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. That race gives 50 points to the winner, virtually guaranteeing a Kentucky Derby spot. (Image: Hodges Photography)

Risen Star Brings Rising Derby Points to the Weekend Stakes

This weekend’s stakes races bring us Essential Quality making his 3-year-old debut in one Kentucky Derby prep. They bring us the first win-and-you’re-in Derby prep, and they bring us a Derby prep that gives the winner a berth in the Preakness Stakes. They also bring back Monomoy Girl for her […]

In a year of amazing moments, Swiss Skydiver's Preakness victory was near the top of the list. The standout 4-year-old returned to the track after a two-month break. (Image: AP Photo)

Swiss Skydiver Returns to Track, Virus Knocks Maxfield Out of Pegasus

As one 2020 standout returned to training, another one returned to the shelf – albeit temporarily. Swiss Skydiver hit the track, running for the first time since November’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, while a report said Maxfield suffered a virus that will keep him out of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. […]