Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Mandaloun in good shape after an odd Pegasus victory
Yes, Mandaloun won the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes on June 12 at Monmouth Park, but his race might have raised more questions than it provided answers.
Mandaloun took a clear midstretch lead but had to hold on to win by a neck over Weyburn, whom he had passed with relative ease in upper stretch. Mandaloun ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.63, a raw time that yielded a Beyer Speed Figure of 92, down from the 103 the colt received finishing second in the Kentucky Derby as well as the 98 he got winning the Risen Star Stakes in February.
Mandaloun, a Juddmonte Farms homebred trained by Brad Cox, stands to become the Derby winner if Medina Spirit, who crossed the wire first, is disqualified for a medication positive.
Mandaloun shipped back to Cox’s base at Churchill Downs on Monday and Cox saw him Tuesday morning and again Tuesday afternoon.
“Pleased with how he took it,” Cox said. “It can be challenging to ship in the summer, and I think he handled it well, had a great experience. It gives us enough confidence to go back next month if he’s doing well.”
Cox was referring to the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17, the race for which the Pegasus was a prep. Churchill Downs is closing its stabling area in early July as they renovate their turf course, and rather than relocate Mandaloun twice, Cox said he’ll send the colt back to Monmouth when his horses have to leave Churchill.
“I’ll probably have to breeze him over there once,” Cox said.
Mandaloun likely won’t be shipping alone, as Cox said he plans to assemble a team of runners for various Monmouth stakes races. The composition of that group has yet to be determined.
In the Pegasus, Mandaloun got in a tight spot right after the start, leading Florent Geroux to take him back to last of five in a slow-paced race. Mandaloun typically races closer to the lead, and Cox went into the race expecting a similar trip, but instead saw his charge rally into the fastest part of the race, the third quarter-mile run around the turn, and then idle after assuming command past the three-sixteenth pole.
“I think our horse might have got lost a little bit once he made the lead, maybe didn’t stay focused,” said Cox. “That could be something we work on going forward in terms of timing.
“He took a ton of dirt, about as much dirt as you’re going to take with four other horses in a race. I was able to get back to the test barn and saw that he cooled out quick. In the end, he’s still a young horse that’s learning.”
Mystic Guide to Suburban
Mystic Guide, rated the best older dirt horse in the world off wins this year in the Razorback at Oaklawn and in the Dubai World Cup, which he won by almost four lengths, is thriving as he prepares to return to racing July 3 at Belmont in the $400,000 Suburban.
On June 13 at Fair Hill, Mystic Guide put in a strong five-furlong drill with a powerful gallop-out working in company with 3-year-old Proxy. The pair was timed in 1:00.20 with Mystic Guide cruising smoothly out close to another quarter-mile.
“That was one of his ‘A’ works,” said Michael Stidham, who trains both horses for Godolphin. “Proxy never has really been a good work horse, but he worked pretty well, too. Mystic Guide, his gallopout was huge.”
Mystic Guide got a break after his Dubai trip, returning to the work tab on May 8,. Sunday’s work was his fifth this spring.
Stidham said he plans to work the 4-yearold colt twice more before his race, with one more fairly serious drill followed by a maintenance breeze into the 1 1/4-mile Suburban.
“I wish the race were sooner because he’s right where I want him,” Stidham said. “He’s really good right now, really healthy and happy, mentally hard to handle right now. He’s touting the barn pretty heavily.”
Proxy hasn’t started since finishing fourth at odds just short of 5-2 in the Lexington Stakes on April 10 at Keeneland. Proxy ran through the Fair Grounds series of dirt-route stakes for 3-year-olds this winter and showed signs of being a highlevel performer, but has so far generally been unable to fully translate his physical ability to race performance. He made his last two starts in blinkers but won’t wear them, Stidham said, when he races June 26 at Thistledown in the $500,000 Ohio Derby, though Stidham said he’s considering racing Proxy in cheek pieces.
“Hopefully he’s grown up and put his whole act together,” Stidham said.
◗ A New Jersey-bred first-level allowance race with a $15,000 claiming option is the nominal headliner on Friday’s twilight six-race program at Monmouth. Race 4 on a card that starts at 5 p.m. Eastern, this six-furlong dirt sprint drew 14 entrants with 10-year-old Chublicious, a nine-time Monmouth winner, the 3-1 morning-line favorite.