Tuesday & Wednesday • August 31 & September 1, 2021 FEC/FTBOA PUBLICATION www.wiretowire.net FLORIDA’SDAILYRACINGDIGEST FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION or to subscribe, please call Antoinette at 352-732-8858 or email: [email protected] In This Issue: Weight No Issue for Choose Joy in Village of Biscayne Park Midlantic Fall Yearlings Catalogue Now Online Sifting Sands Erodes Deep-Stretch Deficit to Win Better Talk Now Pickin’ Time Rebounds to Win N.J. Breeders’ Handicap Gulfstream Park Charts Florida-bred Medina Spirit/BENOIT PHOTO Medina Spirit Strong in Return Track Results & Entries Florida Stallion Progeny List With Shared Belief Victory Florida Breeders’ List BY BROCK SHERIDAN presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 1. Wire to Wire Business Place Medina Spirit left no doubt as to how Breaking from post one, Medina Spirit dangerous his front-running weapon can be responded to an immediate and strong cue Sunday at Del Mar when the Florida-bred from Velazquez to sprint to the front. sophomore impressively won the $100,500 “[Baffert and I] talked about it before the Shared Belief Stakes while leading five ri- race and [Medina Spirit] had the inside post Featured Advertisers vals from start to finish in the one mile test position and all the speed was outside of us. for 3-year-olds. And you know [the other speed horses] are Big Lick LLC. In his first start since finishing third to going to try to get to the turn [in front],” Ve- winner Rombauer in the Grade 1 Preak- lazquez said on the air to TVG analyst Brit- Florida Department of Agriculture ness Stakes at Pimlico on May 15, the Bob ney Eurton. “But I’m going for it to the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit and jockey turn. If they are going to get to that turn, FTBOA John Velazquez used the same gate to wire they are going to have to really run faster to strategy that took them to a front-running get in front of me. [Medina Spirit] agreed Peterson Smith Equine Hospital victory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby See MEDINA SPIRIT on page 3 Seminole Feed Page 2 Wire to Wire August 31 & September 1, 2021 Back to Top Page 3 Medina Spirit Continued from COVER I said ‘okay buddy. We gotta go.’ I had to pat him a few times, but with me and went really fast and didn’t ask permission from me.” that’s him. He’s a fighter and he wanted to fight that’s for sure. Rock Your World, who won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby while “I think we got a really good race out of him. I don’t think we leading from gate to wire with Medina Spirit third on April 3, was got to the bottom of him because down the stretch, he just kinda this time unable to beat Medina Spirit to the first turn and was waited and waited and the gallop out was really good. So I’m happy forced to sit second and just to his outside as they negotiated the the way he did it. Bob had him ready for today obviously.” first quarter-mile in :22.52. Team Merchants was caught three-wide Baffert said he had concerns coming off of the three-and-a-half in third while The Great One and Willy the Cobbler pursued in month layoff but felt Medina Spirit would produce another solid fourth and fifth. performance. “I was a little nervous today. I talked to [owner Amr Zedan] who asked me how he’s doing and I said ‘I think he’s doing really well,” Baffert said on TVG. “He looked great in the paddock and he’s starting to mature. “We were hoping for something like this. You never know off the layoff. I actually threw him in the deep end of the pool here but this horse really shows his class. “I brought him back and he had to run well—you know first or second and get something out of it. But now he’s giving me options. I can go to [the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 25] or wait and run him in the Awesome Again (G1) [at Santa Anita on Oct. 2]. But we know he likes this track and that is so important with the Breeders’ Cup coming here.” Medina Spirit is by Protonico and is out of Mongolian Changa, by Brilliant Speed and was bred in Florida by Gail Rice. He has now won half of his eight career races with three seconds and a third while earning $2,345,200. Amr Zedan purchased Medina Spirit in the name of his Zedan Florida-bred Medina Spirit; John Velazquez, Bob Baffert/BENOIT PHOTO Racing Stables at the 2020 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Open Sale in July out of the Whitman Sales consignment for $35,000. Christy Whit- Medina Spirit throttled down into a more relaxed pace down the man purchased him at OBS as a yearling at the 2019 Winter Mixed backstretch while maintaining a half-length advantage on Rock Sale for a bargain $1,000. Your World to his outside as Team Merchants chased from a length back in third through a half-mile split in :46.92. As they raced around the turn, Medina Spirit kept a short lead while racing on the rail but Rock Your World, Team Merchants and Florida-breds longshot Stilleto Boy all began their assaults on his outside while The Great One got within range with an inside trip. Make Florida Racing It appeared for a moment that Medina Spirit was in jeopardy against the four-pronged attack but he suddenly quickened at the Did you know top of the stretch and was a length in front with an eighth of a mile Florida-bred to the finish. Rock Your World remained determined through final thoroughbreds won furlong but Medina Spirit remained persistent and won by a length 31.5% of races run at the in 1:37.29 on the fast track. Rock Your World was second, two-and- recent Gulfstream Park Championship Meet? a-quarter lengths faster than Stilleto Boy in third. They were fol- lowed by Team Merchants and Willy the Cobbler. This demonstrates how vital Florida-breds Medina Spirit was sent to the post as the 4-5 favorite and paid are to the success of Gulfstream Park $3.80 to win. throughout the year—not just during the “[Running down the] backstretch, [Medina Spirit] threw his ears Spring/Summer season. up and began to run very comfortable,” Velazquez continued. “Those other horses came to him and he picked it up on his own so Additional good news for I didn’t have to ask him to do anything until the quarter pole when Florida breeders—66% of those Florida-bred winners during the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet were sired by Florida stallions. • thefloridahorse Florida-breds: • FloridaThoroughbredBreedersAndOwnersAssociation Race ‘Em or Chase ‘Em! Wire to Wire August 31 & September 1, 2021 Back to Top Page 4 Wire to Wire August 31 & September 1, 2021 Back to Top Page 5 Weight No Issue for Choose Joy in Village of Biscayne Park BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE _______________ when live racing resumes Friday at Gulfstream Park. HALLANDALE BEACH, FL—Trainer Steve Dwoskin’s Choose Joy, The Rainbow 6 went un- a multiple-stakes winner carrying highweight of 125 pounds, rallied solved Sunday for the 16th from off the pace to score yet another thoroughly professional vic- consecutive racing day tory in Sunday’s $60,000 Village of Biscayne Park Overnight Hand- since a July 31 mandatory icap at Gulfstream Park. payout. The burgeoning turf-sprint star, who conceded between eight and The Rainbow 6 jackpot 11 pounds to her five rivals, is a nose and a neck away from being is paid out when there is a undefeated in her six starts on turf following her length victory in single unique ticket sold Sunday’s five-furlong overnight handicap for fillies and mares. with all six winners. On Choose Joy/RYAN THOMPSON PHOTO “She’s a late-bloomer,” Dwoskin said. “She’s been a different days when there is no unique ticket, 70% of that day’s pool goes back to horse since getting on the turf.” those betters holding tickets with the most winners, while 30% is carried Choose Joy rated off a swift early pace set by Cat’s Astray, who over to the jackpot pool. set fractions of :21.87 and :43.98 for a half-mile, before staging a three-wide rally into the stretch and drawing clear under Miguel Vasquez. Sheer Drama Draws 10 Nominations The 4-year-old daughter of Munnings ran five furlongs on a firm Gulfstream Park’s $75,000 Sheer Drama Stakes for Florida-bred turf in :55.65 seconds. Hey High Pockets closed with a rush to finish fillies and mares closed Sunday with 10 nominations led defending second, a neck ahead of a tiring Cat’s Astray. champion Heiressall and stakes-winners Sound Machine and Thiss- mytime. The seven furlong test will be run Sept. 11 and will also Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $600,000 offer a $25,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus presented by the The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $600,000 Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. Midlantic Fall Yearlings Catalogue Now Online BY FASIG-TIPTON PRESS OFFICE _____________________ Print catalogues will be available beginning Sept. 3. Phone bidding and online bidding services will also be available. Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 500 yearlings for its 2021 Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, to be held Oct.