Mystic Guide, not Maxfield, is Stidham’s ticket to Dubai

A funny thing happened to Maxfield on his way to the Dubai World Cup. He took a left turn to California, so his understudy Mystic Guide showed up.

A star is born?

“When Mystic Guide ran like he did at Oaklawn,” trainer Mike Stidham said, “it seemed like the right thing to do.”

Stidham was talking about a runaway victory Feb. 27 in the Razorback Handicap (G3). That performance helped make Mystic Guide the 5-2 overseas betting favorite for Saturday’s $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1).

A trip to the Middle East had been on Stidham’s itinerary all winter. He just had not expected the 4-year-old Ghostzapper colt to be his ticket.

“At one point there were thoughts that Maxfield might be the one that was coming,” Stidham said in a Dubai Racing Club interview on arrival Tuesday morning at Meydan. “That changed when he went to the Santa Anita Handicap. That opened the door for Mystic Guide.”

The previously undefeated Maxfield was indeed diverted to California, where he was a beaten favorite finishing third in the Big ’Cap (G1). While that was happening, Mystic Guide’s plans for Dubai already were in the works. That also meant Stidham, 63, had to get up to speed on making the 8,000-mile flight for the first time. A Hall of Fame trainer and his assistant provided some tips.

“Actually, I spent several mornings with Steve Asmussen and Scott Blasi, who have made many, many trips over here,” Stidham said. “They were very helpful in that respect.”

Stidham is hoping to follow Asmussen’s lead from 2008, when Curlin won the Dubai World Cup. He does so now with a horse that has never been west of the Mississippi let alone the other side of the Atlantic.

“You always worry with a trip like this that your horse could go either way,” Stidham said. “Everything that I’ve seen and from speaking to my assistant Ben (Trask), he seems like he’s flourishing since he’s been here.”

Ridden by four different jockeys, Mystic Guide has never been out of the money in his seven starts, winning his debut race at Fair Grounds 13 months ago and upsetting Dr. Post last Labor Day weekend in the rescheduled Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga.

More than four months after a narrow loss to Happy Saver in the 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park, Mystic Guide came out of mid-pack to cruise in the slop and finish first in the Razorback Handicap by six lengths. He was ridden then as he will be Saturday by Luis Sáez.

“His last race obviously was huge in his first race as a 4-year-old,” Stidham said. “He seems like he has definitely moved forward from that race. So here we are. Until his last race he had never been in the slop.”

It certainly will not be that way Saturday, when the 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup will be run on what is forecast to be an arid, 84-degree night. A fast main track will be a familiar sight to Mystic Guide.

“He ran well at Belmont Park and Saratoga,” Stidham said, “so I think he’ll handle this surface fine.”

European bookmakers surveyed at Oddschecker.com show Pegasus World Cup (G1) runner-up Jesús' Team to be a co-second choice at 6-1 with a pair of Meydan-based 6-year-old geldings. Salute the Soldier was a Grade 1 winner over the same course and distance three weeks ago, and Military Law finished sixth in last month’s $20 million Saudi Cup.

“As far as the European and the Japanese horses, I don’t know their form as well,” Stidham said. “Of the Americans – Jesús’ Team and at one point Tacitus – those are horses that we’ve already faced in the U.S. We did finish in front of those horses. But we’re further down the road, so we’ll see how we stack up with them.

Ahead of the post-position draw, scheduled for Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. EDT, Stidham sounded confident about Mystic Guide’s chances against what is expected to be a full field of 14.

“It’s one of those kinds of races where it’s a long trip, and you don’t want to just come here with any type of horse,” Stidham said.

If Mystic Guide proves to be a cut above and finds himself in the winner’s enclosure Saturday, it will give Stidham a chance to collect the gold trophy from and on behalf of one of his bosses. Mystic Guide, after all, was bred and is owned by Godolphin, the stable established and run by Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammed.

“I’m hoping to get to meet him on this trip,” Stidham said. “It’s just an honor to be here, especially for Sheikh Mohammed, whom I’ve never met.”

A victory worth $7.2 million in purse money would certainly make the arduous journey through pandemic hurdles worth it.

“You want to come here with a horse that looks like he fits and looks like he has a chance,” Stidham said. “That’s what we’ve done.”

The Dubai World Cup is scheduled to be run Saturday at 12:50 p.m. EDT.