First Offshore Win for Stidham In World Cup

American trainer Mike Stidham had never run a horse outside of the United States until the weekend’s Dubai World Cup and he came away with the winner Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper-Music Note, by AP Indy) for owners Godolphin, reports dubairacingclub.com. "I want to start by giving my condolences on the passing of Sheikh Hamdan. This was a special night. You’re seeing 40 years of emotions right now,” said Stidham. "I am so happy to be here and the horse performed to his capability. It's a beautiful thing. He was getting antsy in the parade ring and then with a loose horse it made it more difficult, then we had to load a couple times. It was a little scary at the start but he stayed relaxed.” Mystic Guide has now won four of his eight starts. "I got a good feeling when I saw him lying in third on the backside then down the lane it was amazing,” said Stidham. “I’m so proud to be here on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Dubai World Cup for Sheikh Mohammed, and the sky’s the limit for this horse. We’d love to come back next year, I’ll know the lay of the land better then.” English trainer John Gosden won both the Gr1 Dubai Sheema Classic with Mishriff (Make Believe-Contradict, by Raven’s Pass) and the Gr1 Dubai Turf with Lord North (Dubawi-Najoum, by Giant’s Causeway). Of the two other Group 1 races on the card, Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid-Pretty Extravagant, by With Distinction) won the Gr1 Al Quoz Sprint. The night was marred, however, by the fatal injury of Zenden (Fed Biz-You Laughin, by Sharp Humour) who won the Gr1 Golden Shaheen in an all the way victory, only to falter after the line.