Mystik Dan

Mystik Dan, a Goldencents colt trained by Ken McPeek, finished second in his debut sprinting 6 ½ furlongs at Keeneland during the October 2023 meet after leading in mid-stretch. He moved forward impressively in his next start, romping in a 5 ½-furlong sprint race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 12 to score by 7 ¾ lengths. Mystik Dan closed out his juvenile season with a dud effort, however, tiring to finish fifth in a one-turn mile allowance race at Churchill Downs as the favorite.

The colt returned for his 3-year-old campaign on New Year’s Day and tried two turns for the first time in the one-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, a Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve qualifying points race. He pressed the early pace but tired late to finish fifth, but only by 3 ¾ lengths. After three workouts at Oaklawn, Mystik Dan returned in the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at the Hot Springs, Ark., track. Sent off at 11.40-1 odds, Mystik Dan stalked in mid-pack through the backstretch before moving to the rail in the far turn. He took over with a furlong remaining and romped to an impressive eight-length victory on a muddy main track, earning 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

Mystik Dan returned to make his next start in the $1.5 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on March 30. Sent off as the 4-1 third choice in a field of 10, Mystik Dan rallied late to finish a distant third, beaten 6 1/4 lengths by Muth. The third-place finish was enough to earn Mystik Dan another 25 Derby qualifying points, giving him a total of 46 total points.

Mystik Dan made his next start in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 4 and became the 150th winner in the history of the run for the roses. Mystik Dan drew post 2 in a full starting gate of 20 horses and was given a clean trip by jockey Brian Hernandez after being sent off at 18-1 odds on the tote board. Mystik Dan stalked the pace in the first half of the field in the early stages and saved all the ground on the inside all the way around the track. Mystic Dan moved up behind the leaders going into the far turn and then got through inside into the stretch to establish a lead in the stretch, and then was all-out to hold off the fast-closing duo of Sierra Leone and Forever Young to get the victory by a nose. He paid $39.22 to win in a final time for the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.34. Muth, who defeated Mystik Dan in the Arkansas Derby, was denied entry into the Kentucky Derby by Churchill Downs.

Mystik Dan returned two weeks later to start in the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes May 18 at Pimlico in an attempt to keep his Triple Crown dream alive. In the Preakness, Mystik Dan was sent off as the lukewarm 2-1 favorite in an eight-horse field on what turned out to be a muddy track on a rainy day in Baltimore. Mystik Dan stalked mid-pack in an ideal striking position during the running of the Preakness and then made a move to try to overtake leading Seize the Grey at the top of the stretch but never was able to get by. Mystik Dan's bid stalled but he held off Catching Freedom to finish second, beaten 2 1/4 lengths by Seize the Grey.

Mystik Dan came back to run his third race in five weeks in the Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Saratoga, making him the only horse to start in all three legs of the 2024 Triple Crown. Mystik Dan never fired in the Belmont Stakes, racing in the back half of the field all the way and finishing eighth in a 10-horse field.

After the Belmont, Mystik Dan was given a long break by McPeek and pointed to the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes on Santa Anita Park’s Dec. 26 opening-day card of its winter-spring meet as the final race of his 3-year-old season. He trained well heading into the trip to California and broke well in the seven-furlong Malibu, but then settled to track in fifth of six entrants through the backstretch and turn. He never reached contention under Brian Hernandez Jr., finishing last in a disappointing effort.

Mystik Dan is out of the winning Colonel John mare Ma’am and is from the family of Grade 1 winner Siphonic and Grade 2 winner and sire Summer Front.