Thank you to the Dubai Racing Club for the great photo of Catnip!
After a historic moment in Dubai in 2021 with Godolphin's Mystic Guide claiming the title of World Cup winner, the Stidham stable is gunning for a repeat performance in tomorrow's G1 Dubai Turf with Susan and John Moore's Catnip.
Catnip couldn't have settled in any better in Dubai, and this handsome son of Kitten's Joy has been turning heads all week. As one eagle-eyed observer put it on Twitter, Catnip is "probably the prettiest Kitten's Joy I've ever seen."
This 5-year-old stakes winner certainly deserves his place in the illustrious line up. A superb winner last season of the G3 Monmouth Stakes, Catnip primed for this latest assignment with a bang-up 3rd in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park at the end of January.
“He ran a huge new top in that race,” Stidham told the TDN earlier this week. “We had a choice of running him for $300,000 or $5 million and we decided to take a shot at the $5 million and brought him over. So far, so good.”
Catnip enjoys the services of Christophe Lemaire on Saturday. They're drawn 3 of a field of 15. International bookmakers have him as a 66-1 shot, but don't be surprised one bit to see Catnip well outrun those odds. You heard it here first!
And now to the rest of the stable's weekend action back in the States:
Saturday
Tampa Bay
All About Me - Race 10, Claiming $25,000
Turfway Park
Queen of the Dance - Race 2, Maiden Claiming $50,000
Contemplation - Race 4, Maiden Special Weight
Woodspoint - Race 5, Maiden Special Weight