Maywood Park

Contact: Tom Kelley
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MYSTIC DESIRE LOOKS TO CLOSE OUT YEAR ON A WINNING NOTE

Mystic Desire

Coming off back-to-back scores in the $127,000 American National elimination and final at Balmoral Park, Let It Ride Stables, Robert Cooper Stables and Angie Nessa’s Mystic Desire will look to close out his 2010 campaign with a third straight victory when he squares off with eight other two-year-old pacing colts in Friday’s $116,700 Abe Lincoln Stake, which closes out the Friday night stake action as race nine on the 14-race program.

In one of the most impressive performances on the American National night program last Saturday, this son of Real Desire-Cannes Festival demolished his rivals en route to 4 ¼ length romp in 1:53.3 with Tim Tetrick at the controls.

Despite heading right into the teeth of a 20 mph wind on the wide-open far turn, Mystic Desire put things to rest with a wicked 28.1 third quarter, opening up an insurmountable lead on his rivals who were struggling to keep up at that point.

“I know how the wind can affect horses on that turn since I grew up driving here,” said Tetrick. “There’s no grandstand or buildings to block any of it around that bend and you never know how some of these young horses will react to it. He was pacing perfectly though so I just let him keep rolling and simply paced away from them on that turn.”

A bargain buy for just $15,000 in the Lexington Select Sale, the Shawn Nessa trainee comes into Friday’s Abe Lincoln Stake with a record of eight wins, one second and two thirds in 12 starts and earnings of $270,885. Along with his win in the American National, the good-looking bay colt has captured a division of the Bluegrass Stake, a division of the Elevation Stake and several Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.

“We started pretty early with him on the Pennsylvania Sire Stake circuit and he faced some pretty tough horses there,” said an excited Nessa after the colt’s American National score. “I’ve always tried to keep him fresh though and he’s been good from day one for us. He was as sharp in the American National as he has been all season long. I’m really anxious to see him on Maywood’s half-mile oval because he’s perfectly gaited and I think he’s going to get around it very well. That will be his last start of the year and then he’ll get a well-deserved couple of months off and hopefully come back even better as a three-year-old.”