Kentucky Derby Alumni Update: White Abarrio and Mystik Dan

Jan 22, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Two Kentucky Derby alumni—White Abarrio and Mystik Dan—are promising contenders in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park. The race headlines a card featuring seven graded stakes worth a combined $5.2 million, and the field of 12 includes seven Grade 1 winners.

As the winner of the 2022 Holy Bull S. (G3) and Florida Derby (G1), White Abarrio was 10-1 on the Kentucky Derby morning line, with only three horses having better odds. Also-eligible Rich Strike drew into the race at 80-1 and shocked the racing world by winning, and White Abarrio finished a disappointing sixteenth.

White Abarrio ran four more times in his sophomore season. His most impressive efforts were a second in the Ohio Derby (G3) and a third-place finish in the Cigar Mile H. (G1).

His 4-year-old bow was an eighth-place finish in the 2023 Pegasus World Cup. Next, he won an allowance race at Gulfstream and finished third in the Met Mile (G1) behind winner Cody’s Wish, eventual 2023 Horse of the Year, and second-place finisher Zandon, his Kentucky Derby rival. In a dramatic comeback, White Abarrio turned the tables on these two powerhouses in the Whitney S., earning his second Grade 1 win. He closed his 4-year-old campaign with a powerful victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

His 5-year-old campaign never got off the ground. He entered the $20 million Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race, as the favorite and finished a far-back tenth. He also didn’t fire in the Met Mile. His lone 2024 win came in a Nov. allowance race at Gulfstream, and then he closed the year with a second-place finish in the Mr. Prospector S. (G3).

These positive trends continue as he heads into his 6-year-old season. White Abarrio turned in a strong work Jan. 9., and he is second choice on the morning line behind Locked. He also has a home track advantage.

In one of the most dramatic endings in the race’s history, Mystik Dan won the 2024 Kentucky Derby by a nose after a three-way photo finish. At 18-1 odds, he edged out Sierra Leone and Forever Young.

MYSTIK DAN wins the 150th Kentucky Derby! 🌹🏆

It’s an Oaks/Derby double for @KennyMcPeek and @b_hernandezjr!!! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Bw0HbezK0N

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) May 5, 2024

Mystik Dan hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle in his three starts since wearing the roses. He ran in each leg of the Triple Crown, finishing second in the Preakness S. (G1) and eighth in the Belmont S. (held at Saratoga). Trainer Kenny McPeek said Mystik Dan did not appear to like the Saratoga surface. He closed his 3-year-old campaign by traveling to California and finishing sixth in the Malibu S. (G1), perhaps not fully recovered from the two-day van ride to California.

Like White Abarrio, Mystik Dan is impressive in his recent workouts. He is 8-1 on the morning line. The Pegasus is his first start as a 4-year-old and his first test against older horses. It is the same day as Oaklawn’s Southwest S. (G3), the Kentucky Derby prep that Mystik Dan won by 8 lengths.