There’s no getting around it. Mystik Dan showing up at Santa Anita Park to run in the Malibu Stakes (G1) on opening day, Dec. 26, is a big deal. A very big deal.
This happens rarely. The last time a winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) entered the gate for the Malibu was at the end of 1997, when Silver Charm wrapped up his championship season with a second-place finish to Lord Grillo.
In the 1986 Malibu, Derby hero Ferdinand beat hometown rival Snow Chief in a battle of classic winners. Spectacular Bid set the 1980 Malibu on fire with a track record for the seven furlongs. One year earlier, Affirmed finished a baffling third in the Malibu to local runners Little Reb and Radar Ahead.
Then there was that rainy New Year’s Day at the dawn of 1955, when about 30,000 of the racing faithful showed up at Santa Anita to watch Determine, the little gray from California, add the fourth running of the Malibu Stakes to his Kentucky…
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