Medina Spirit Runs Away With Awesome Again
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Medina Spirit wins the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Say what you want about Medina Spirit and trainer Bob Baffert—they surely know how to create headlines.
About five months after the son of Protonico won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), and about four months and three weeks since news broke that a banned race-day substance was found in Medina Spirit's system following the Run for the Roses, Medina Spirit and Baffert posted another newsworthy grade 1 win.
After sprinting to the lead shortly after the start, Medina Spirit stayed on top the rest of the way and pulled away in the stretch to capture the $301,500 Awesome Again Stakes (G1) by five widening and convincing lengths Oct. 2 at Santa Anita Park.
"It's just a very emotional win for me," Baffert said as his voice cracked. "He's a great horse and he showed it today."
For Baffert, who was flanked by his sons after the race, the emotion of the moment was obvious. Though the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is awaiting a third and final test result before deciding whether or not to disqualify Medina Spirit in the Run for the Roses, the Awesome Again provided indisputable evidence that the 3-year-old ranks among the top horses in training.
"They don't give him much credit," winning rider John Velazquez said. "The way he won today was impressive. So maybe they'll give him the credit he deserves. I keep saying and I probably sound like a broken record, but this guy, he has a ton of heart."
(L-R): John Velazquez is greeted by Bob Baffert and assistant Jimmy Barnes after winning the Awesome Again Stakes
As for what's next, Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit figures to take advantage of the free spot he secured for the Nov. 6 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) through Saturday's victory in the Awesome Again, a Breeders' Cup Challenge event. There at Del Mar, he could face his toughest race yet against a field likely to include fellow speedsters such as Knicks Go , Hot Rod Charlie , and Art Collector , along with several grade 1-winning closers in the field for the 1 1/4-mile Classic.
"He's going to be really, really tough," Velazquez said about the Classic. "He's a fighter. I love him. Right now, let's go."
The Breeders' Cup board commenced a review process as to whether Baffert will be permitted to participate in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships, the organization announced Sept. 18. An update has not been issued since their initial announcement.
The win was the fifth in nine starts for Medina Spirit, who was third in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and then returned from a 3 1/2-month break to take the Aug. 29 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar in his prep for Saturday's debut against older horses.
Bred in Florida by Gail Rice and bought for just $35,000 from the Whitman Sales consignment at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales July Sale of 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age, he has earned $2,525,200 and is the lone foal from the Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa.
After scratching Medina Spirit out of the Sept. 25 Pennsylvania Derby (G1), Baffert kept him in California to face his elders Saturday and the 3-year-old handled them with ease as the 6-5 favorite.
Though the top two finishers and the betting favorite in the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) turned out for the Awesome Again, none of them factored in the finish as 54-1 longshot Stilleto Boy , who was third in the Shared Belief, was a distant second.
Up front, after beating Tizamagician to the front entering the first turn in the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again, Medina Spirit ($4.60) cruised along with a lead of about a length through a half-mile in :47:72 and six furlongs in 1:11.76. When the field turned into the stretch, Medina Spirit was the only one motoring at top speed and turned the race into a rout.
Ahead by three lengths at the eighth pole, he extended the margin in the final furlong while completing the nine furlongs in 1:49.67 on the fast track.
Stilleto Boy, a Shackleford gelding owned by Steve Moger and trained by Ed Moger Jr., was second by two lengths over C R K Stable's Express Train , a Union Rags colt who was the beaten favorite in the Pacific Classic. The winner of that race, Tripoli , was another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth.
It was the seventh Awesome Again win for Baffert.
"I'm happy for Zedan and what we have had to deal with," said Baffert, who has been suspended by Churchill Downs through the conclusion of the track's 2023 spring meet and is battling the New York Racing Association in federal court over the organization's attempts to suspend him. "We stayed focused on the horses. The fans came out to see this horse and they are rooting for him. I could tell by the crowd noise. They are all pulling for him. It's an emotional win for us."