MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 MEDINA SPIRIT FINE AFTER DERBY WIN HOW TO BUY A DERBY Zedan Racing's Medina Spirit (Protonico) exited his win in WINNER FOR $1,000 Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby in fine shape, according to trainer Bob Baffert, who said he would wait a week before committing the colt to the May 15 GI Preakness S. AHe came out of it well,@ Baffert said Sunday morning. AIt takes about a week to determine, so I=m going to come back next weekend and see. But I don=t see anything discouraging right now.@ Baffert continued, ACan he win the Triple Crown? I don=t know. But he=s the Derby winner, and that=s all that matters. I was coming in here, thinking, I wasn=t sure [if Medina Spirit could win the Derby], everything had to go perfect for him. We were going to go to the lead, and see what happened. What if they challenged him? He made the lead pretty easily, for him, and the other speed horse didn=t break [Rock Your World]. That=s what it=s like in the Derby. You have to get the trip; the other speed horse didn=t get the trip.@ Cont. p5 Medina Spirit returns to Derby winner's circle | Coady The Week in Review, by Bill Finley As consignor Christy Whitman remembers, it was deathly quiet IN TDN EUROPE TODAY when Medina Spirit (Protonico) entered the ring as a yearling at MOTHER EARTH TAKES G1 QIPCO 1000 GUINEAS the 2019 OBS Winter Mixed sale. She seemed to be the only one Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) captured the G1 QIPCO 1000 paying any attention to him Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday. Click or tap here to go straight AI knew he wasn=t going to bring much because no one was to TDN Europe. looking at him,@ she said. A few minutes later, Medina Spirit would be hers, forever remembered as the GI Kentucky Derby winner who sold for $1,000 as a yearling. It=s the umpteenth reminder about how beautifully unpredictable this sport can be. The Derby field included horses who sold for $525,000, $725,000, $650,000, $950,000, plus a handful of beautifully bred homebreds. But these sons of super sires Tapit, Into Mischief, Curlin and others didn=t have what it took to win the Kentucky Derby. A bargain-basement colt did. AThat=s what is so great about this sport,@ Whitman said. AAnybody could have bought the Derby horse. Anybody could have put up $1,000 and had a Kentucky Derby winner. That=s what makes horse racing so special.@ One of Whitman=s exercise riders, Jose Gallego, asked her to see if she could buy on his behalf an inexpensive horse that could be sold for a profit at the 2-year-old sales the following year. Whitman had a small budget and modest plans for the purchase. Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Senior Contributing Editor Monday, May 3, 2021 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Deputy Editor Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Associate Editors Christina Bossinakis @CBossTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN News and Features Editor In Memoriam: Ben Massam (1988-2019) ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Project Manager Rachel McCaffrey Advertising Assistants Amie Newcomb Kristen Lomasson Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] After calling his 37,587th horse race Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs, announcer Richard Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Grunder concluded his announcing career with, “And that’s a wrap from Tampa and God bless everyone involved in the Thoroughbred industry.” Once the race became Associate Producer official, the jockeys and their valets lined up in the winner’s circle, waving toward the Katie Ritz press box and shouting their encouragement to the man whose voice is the only one Director of Customer Service most Oldsmar followers have ever known. “Thank you guys. Thank you so much,” said Vicki Forbes Elizabeth Swarzman [email protected] Grunder, known far and wide as a vocal supporter of race riders. | Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen DERBY DIARY: IT'S A WRAP 7 Jon Green was able to check some items off his bucket list with Director of IT & Accounting Helium's effort in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby. Ray Villa [email protected] [email protected] VAULT WINS RUFFIAN 8 WORLDWIDE INFORMATION Vault (Jump Start) went from last to first to win the GII Ruffian International Editor S. at Belmont Park Sunday for trainer Brad Cox. Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 11 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • MAY 3, 2021 The Week in Review (cont. from p1) Whitman opened the bidding on Medina Spirit at $1,000. It was the only bid for the horse. AI=ve always been on a bit of a budget and I don=t have a lot of Gallego broke the horse and Whitman had him back in the money to spend on a horse,@ she said. AI kind of have a knack for Ocala sales ring for last year=s July 2-Year-Old Sale. finding horses everyone else is overlooking, whether they are Whitman was starting to believe that the $1,000 yearling had immature or maybe have a slight issue. I am looking for some talent, but she and Gallego stuck to their plan. Medina diamond-in-the-rough horses. I have honed that skill over the Spirit worked three furlongs in :33 flat prior to the sale, which, years because that=s the only way I=ve been able to get horses Whitman knew, would mean there would at least be some bought.@ interest in him. He was bought by Gary Young, the agent for She realized that Medina Spirit=s pedigree page was not a Zedan Racing Stables for $35,000. selling point. The sire, Protonico, who never won a Grade I race and stood at the time for $5,000, was hardly in demand. And on the dam=s side you had to go back three generations before finding any black-type. This was the first foal from a mare, Mongolian Changa (Brilliant Speed), who won one of six starts and earned just $25,970. AHe had all the things I look for,@ she said. AHe was really well balanced, had a really good hip and top line, was decently correct, athletic and had a good walk to him. I really liked the colt and nobody was looking at him and that was because of his page. With the mare there was pretty much no black-type and it was her first foal. I didn=t even know who Prontonico was. I had to look him up. This was a really nice colt, pretty well put together, but I knew he wasn=t going to bring much because absolutely no one was looking at him.@ TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 11 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • MAY 3, 2021 AHe sold for the $35,000, basically, because he had a good work,@ Whitman said. AIf he hadn=t had that, he would have been a $10,000 2-year-old. I thought $35,000 for a $1,000 yearling was a pretty good turnaround.@ Whitman will occasionally keep a horse and race them, but she never gave that a thought with Medina Spirit. AIf I had kept the horse and raced him, he would have never made it to the Derby,@ she said. AIt takes a lot of things coming together to make that happen. He=s a good horse, but it is important that he wound up with a good trainer in Bob Baffert. Everything fell into place for him.@ Whitman may never again come across another horse like Medina Spirit, but she will keep trying. She looks for horses that have been overlooked for one reason or another and doesn=t worry about their breeding. AOne thing I=ve always been adamant about is that a lot of people overlook a horse for what I would say are stupid reasons, like their page,@ she said. AThe horses don=t know what their pedigree looks like. They don=t know what you paid for them. Just because a horse has a great pedigree does not necessarily mean they are going to be a great horse. I very much go for the individual. If I like the horse I don=t care about their page. It=s always easier to sell a horse who is an athlete, whether it has the pedigree or not.@ Speed Wins It=s no coincidence that Bob Baffert=s two most recent Derby winners won the race in wire-to-wire fashion. Baffert and jockey John Velazquez clearly understand the importance of using early speed as a weapon in the Derby. Medina Spirit takes field into first turn | Coady Photography In five prior starts, Medina Spirit went wire to wire only once, but there he was on the lead at every call for the Derby. Of course, it didn=t hurt that Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) got off to a poor start.