TOBA July Members of the Month

Mystik Dan lived up to his name on May 4, delivering a captivating performance to win the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs. Two weeks later, the Goldencents colt ran second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico. For co-owner/co-breeder Lance Gasaway, trainer Kenny McPeek, and their friends and colleagues, Mystik Dan has delivered the ride of a lifetime. Mystik Dan races for Gasaway, 4G Racing (Gasaway’s cousin Brent and his wife Sharilyn), their friend Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm (Daniel’s brother Scotty). The colt was bred by Lance, Daniel, and 4G Racing. Racing has always been a family affair for the Gasaway’s. Lance’s father Clint regularly brought his sons from their hometown of Gould, Arkansas to Oaklawn Park. “My dad, it was always fun just being around him. He loved the horses. We'd go over and sit down in the post-parade room and eat and watch the races. It's just any memories with a parent after they're deceased—naturally, there's always good memories. And with Dad, I miss being around the horses with him. He loved the horses. I miss that part of it. My brother, we still go to the races to Oaklawn just about every single weekend,” Gasaway said. Gasaway went on to attend the University of Arkansas Monticello, where he played football; the Star City, Arkansas resident brings competitive spirit to everything he does, whether racing or his job. “And so, you want to be the best farmer, raise the best crops. And when I was playing sports, naturally you want to be the best. And then horse racing the same way, you try to win every race.” McPeek trained Mystik Dan’s paternal great-grandsire, Harlan’s Holiday, and the sophomore’s dam, the Colonel John mare Ma'am. McPeek recalled, “Having purchased Mystik Dan's mother as a young horse for Lance and his brother and his dad, and then after she retired, I recommended they needed to breed her to a little more speed. And I recommended Goldencents, knowing that the sire line was Harlan's Holiday, a horse that I handled back in early 2000s. But I thought on the physical it'd be a good match and it's worked out well.” How does Mystik Dan compare to Harlan’s Holiday and Ma’am? McPeek mused, “Well, yeah, the same facial markings as Harlan's Holiday. Very similar. On his body-wise, physically, looks a lot like the Harlan's Holiday line and Into Mischief, but more than anything he's got a great mind. He's a horse that is very, very intelligent and easy to be around and got great turn of foot and pretty much everything you'd want in a colt. And then obviously he's got all those things that brought us a long way.” He added, “Well, I use the analogy, he's an old soul. He's a very quiet horse. He goes out, goes out and goes to work and never raises a fuss. He's a very easy horse to be around.” Named for Daniel Hamby’s father Dan (and his former business, Mystik Tape), Mystik Dan romped in Oaklawn’s Feb. 3 Southwest Stakes (G3). Gasaway and co. received offers for the colt after that race. He said, “And we said if we're going to sell it, let's sell it to Daniel's brother, that way it's in their family. And it was named after his daddy. So, Scotty bought in at that point.” On March 30, Mystik Dan ran third in the Arkansas Derby (G1), setting him up for the Run for the Roses. Of the Preakness, Gasaway mused, “Watching the race, I thought we had a good plan, and we ran the way we wanted to run. We broke out good and got on the rail and stayed four or five lengths off the winner and made our move on the turn and the other horse just ran a big race and didn't back up none. And hey, he had a good run.” This wasn’t the first time on the Derby trail for McPeek or Gasaway. Clint and Lance owned part of Wells Bayou, second in the 2020 Southwest, first in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), and fifth in the Arkansas Derby. McPeek trained Tejano Run, second in the 1995 Derby, and Harlan’s Holiday, seventh in the 2002 edition. In 2024, McPeek conditioned Mystik Dan and Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) victress Thorpedo Anna, reflecting, “But in this case, everything came the stars aligned. It was great.” Ma’am is boarded at McPeek’s Magdalena Farm, where Mystik Dan was foaled. In foal to Into Mischief for 2025, Ma’am has a 2-year-old Unified filly called Yes Ma'am, a Knicks Go yearling filly called Ford’s Ma’am, and a Wells Bayou foal. Brent, Sharilyn, and Lance own broodmare Southern Grayce; boarded at Brookdale Farm, she has a Take Charge Indy foal and was bred to Cyberknife. Gasaway is involved in three racehorses: Mystik Dan; the Goldencents colt Gould's Gold, who placed in the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard; and Nyquick, a son of Nyquist in training with Brad Cox.