Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Eyes Potential Comeback Races at Age 4
Trainer Kenny McPeek has hinted at possible target races for Kentucky Derby champion Mystik Dan as the talented colt enjoys a well-deserved break following his Triple Crown campaign this year.
Though McPeek is not finalizing any plans in ink just yet, the veteran conditioner revealed that the prestigious Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita could be a potential objective for Mystik Dan later in 2023, should “things come together.” The Grade 1 Malibu, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, has long been considered a prestigious early-season test for talented young racehorses.
“If things come together, maybe the Malibu in California later in the year,” McPeek said this week on the Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “I think that would be a great race to show him off that he can sprint to.”
Mystik Dan, the Goldencents colt owned by the Arkansas-based partnership of Four G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Dan Hamby and Valley View Farm, is being carefully eased back into training at McPeek’s Kentucky farm after a demanding campaign that saw him contest all three Triple Crown events. The decision was made to give the talented runner a 30-day break, with McPeek and his team opting to forgo potential starts in the Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby in order to ensure Mystik Dan’s long-term well-being.
“He came out of the race fine, but he was a horse that had been going hard and hadn’t missed a beat, and we really felt like at some point we needed to give him a little bit of a break,” McPeek explained. “We decided to give him 30 days and see how he was doing.”
With Mystik Dan’s future firmly in mind, McPeek has also hinted at the possibility of targeting high-profile races like the Oaklawn Handicap and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational as potential objectives for the colt’s 4-year-old season in 2024. But for now, the focus remains on allowing the Kentucky Derby champion the time and space to fully recover and prepare for what promises to be an exciting next chapter in his burgeoning career.
“Right now he’s light jogging at my farm. He’s getting some paddock time, and he’s happy,” McPeek said. “We’ll probably put him back in training in early to mid-September, and then we’ll let him tell us where we go.”
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