Amr Zedan Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Saudi businessman Amr Zedan has been an owner only since 2017, but in that short period of time he has more than made his mark on the sport. His Medina Spirit (Protonico) crossed the wire first in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, his Taiba (Gun Runner) won three Grade I races last year and he has what may be this year's hottest 3-year-old colt in GIII Southwest S. winner Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo). We found out more about Zedan and his racing operation on this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. Zedan was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

Zedan doesn't buy a lot of horses at the sales, but he's not afraid to pay whatever it takes when his team targets a horse. In the case of Arabian Knight, he was purchased for $2.3 million at the OBS April sale. When he buys a horse, Zedan is thinking Derby.

“Our program is specifically tailor made for the Kentucky Derby,” Zedan said. “So every horse we target isa Kentucky Derby hopeful in our eyes. Obviously, once you're up there on the podium and carrying the Kentucky Derby trophy, I mean that feeling is difficult to describe. You just want to do it again and again and again. So that's the plan.”

That philosophy did and did not work with Medina Spirit, a bargain-basement buy at $35,000. He was first across the wire in the Derby but was later disqualified due to a positive for a therapeutic medication. Zedan and trainer Bob Baffert continue to fight the suspension in the courts.

“Look, I won the Derby, right? But I haven't lost it yet,” Zedan said. “There's a big yet there. Right now we're on to the appellate process and we are fully engaged. Let the chips fall where they may. I think we've got a great team and I honestly think we have a solid case. Once the facts are objectively reviewed, I think everything will be reinstated. That's my prerogative. So that's one. Two, I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I just never felt any ill feelings or any animosity towards Churchill Downs or towards anyone for that matter. It's part of the sport.

Taiba was Zedan's best horse in 2022 and won the GI Santa Anita Derby, the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Malibu S. But that wasn't enough to land the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male. Though he won just one Grade I race, Epicenter (Not This Time) was named champion. For Zedan, that was a major disappointment.

“I didn't expect to win the Eclipse award, but I thought we might have a lot more votes than we got,” he said. “I thought we should have had gotten more than the 66 votes we got just to make it a bit of a closer race. I don't remember a horse that had won three Grade Ones that hasn't at least gotten more votes or let alone win the Eclipse award. So there is that element of disappointment.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore,https://lanesend.com/ https://lanesend.com/ the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV https://www.kentuckybred.org/and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds,  Randy Moss and Bill Finley took a look back at the races run over the weekends that had implications for the Kentucky Derby. Which horse was most impressive? The consensus opinion was Gulfstream allowance winner Tapit Trice (Tapit), whose name, when properly pronounced, may not be what you think. Moss explained why. And has Frankie Dettori found his mount for the Derby in GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner Newgate (Into Mischief)? Moss and Finley differed on that subject, with Moss explaining why he thinks Dettori will choose to ride on Derby Day in the U.K. in the GI 2000 Guineas Stakes. The show wrapped up with a look at Saturday's Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, which features Eclipse Award winner Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) and the highly regarded Julia Shining (Curlin).

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Grade III Double Feature for Fair Grounds Saturday

On Saturday at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, the age-old wager known as the Daily Double will encompass a pair of Grade III races late on the card. The GIII Louisiana S. for older males will give way to a group of youthful 3-year-olds in the GIII Lecomte S., as they look to chase Kentucky Derby points that have expanded to 20-8-6-4-2 for the top five finishers.

Calhoun Looks to Continue Louisiana Hot Hand

Bret Calhoun continues to lead in the trainer standings during the meet for an award that he has yet to win, despite much success in the past. He has a trio of entries in the Louisiana S. with Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) being the most experienced stakes contender. The 5-year-old gelding is priced well at 5-1, but will probably be overshadowed by his stablemate Run Classic (Runhappy), who returned to racing last fall after being off for a year and a half. He was fourth in the $200,000 Tinsel S. at Oaklawn Park Dec. 17.

Standing in Calhoun's way is Brad Cox, who has a pair of runners entered that are drawn towards the outside. Of these, Zozos (Munnings) made some noise last spring along the Derby Trail when he won an optional claiming race at Oaklawn Feb. 11 by an impressive 10 1/4 lengths to become a 'TDN Rising Star'. A second to now-retired Epicenter in the GII Louisiana Derby and a 10th-place finish in GI Kentucky Derby followed before the homebred went to the bench. His tune-up at the Fair Grounds Dec. 17 tells us that he is ready for his 4-year-old debut. One other entry that merits consideration is Business Model (Candy Ride {Arg}). Sure to be a price at 15-1 on the morning-line, the Brendan Walsh trainee caught a slow pace in the Tenacious S. Dec. 26 that was not to his liking. The race shape could be much different this time around.

Derby Dreams Brewing for Gold Square's Instant Coffee

New stakes coordinator Stu Slagle has put together a solid field of eight for this year's Lecomte S., despite Paulo Lobo reporting that out of his two entries, Itzos (Bolt d'Oro) will scratch. Last year, Gold Square enjoyed the fruits of the Derby Trail when Cyberknife (Gun Runner) rallied to win the GI Arkansas Derby. They are back with Brad Cox for more rose-colored dreams with Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro) who already has 12 Kentucky Derby points to his credit. After breaking his maiden first-out at Saratoga Sept. 3-with future GII Remsen S. Hero Dubyyuhnell (Good Magic) fourth–he was fourth in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland Oct. 8 to eventual GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Forte (Violence), but came back and won the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 26. With Luis Saez in the irons once again, he will be heard from late in the game.

A major threat to Cox, who also has Tapit's Conquest (Tapit), is GIII Street Sense S. winner Two Phil's (Hard Spun). The colt broke his maiden at Colonial Downs July 18 at second asking, and after a romping win in the Shakopee Juvenile S. at Canterbury Park Sept. 17, the Larry Rivelli trainee was seventh in the Breeders' Futurity. Being forwardly placed is a essential for this runner, which will be Jareth Loveberry's tactical challenge. Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) should be the pacesetter and he has proven dangerous on the engine. Though he was fifth to Curly Jack (Good Magic) in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill Downs Sept. 17 after winning in his second career race in Louisville Aug. 13, he certainly showed grit going wire-to-wire under the Twin Spires against optional claimers Nov. 26. Bred by Summer Wind Equine LLC and out of a half-sister to Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}), he will be looking to ride the merry-go-round on Saturday.

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CDI Argues Court Win By Baffert Would Harm Other Derby Qualifiers

The gaming corporation that controls the GI Kentucky Derby fired the latest legal salvo in trainer Bob Baffert's ongoing attempt to reverse the second year of a two-year ban the company imposed in 2021 because of a spate of drug positives in Grade I races, urging a federal judge not to grant an injunction that would lift the ban in time for the May 6 Derby.

“Baffert refuses to accept responsibility for his wrongful actions…” Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) wrote in a brief opposing Baffert's motion for a preliminary injunction that they filed late Tuesday in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky). “Now, as the two-year anniversary of his CDI suspension approaches, Baffert has renewed his motion in a brazen attempt to litigate his way into the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

“This belated, tactical, and meritless motion should meet the same fate as his prior unsuccessful efforts to challenge his suspension,” the CDI filing continued.

CDI also argued that an injunction would injure the connections of other Derby qualifying points earners who would “lose their fairly-earned berths in the Derby to make room for Baffert,” the filing stated.

“An injunction would force CDI to reallocate [Derby qualifying] points, retroactively depriving those owners and trainers of Derby and [GI Kentucky] Oaks berths their horses have earned under CDI's existing rules,” the filing continued. “The harm to these innocent third parties, who have played by the rules, is exacerbated by Baffert's long delay in filing his motion.”

The Hall-of-Fame conditioner's trainees have crossed the finish wire first a record seven times in the Derby.

But it was that seventh Derby winner-Medina Spirit in 2021-who triggered Baffert's banishment when the colt tested positive for betamethasone, a Class C drug, in a post-Derby test.

Citing that positive finding and other drug overages in Grade I races around the same time, CDI told Baffert in June 2021 that he would be ineligible to race at its six U.S. tracks until after the 2023 Derby, and that any horse that raced under his training license would not be eligible to accrue qualifying points to get into the 2022 or 2023 Derbies.

Baffert had initially sued CDI on Feb. 28, 2022, in an attempt to get an injunction enjoining CDI from suspending him from its tracks and races. His complaint alleged civil rights violations related to what Baffert said was a deprivation of his right to due process of law guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Separately, Baffert fought unsuccessfully in the courts to try and stave off a 90-day suspension for Medina Spirit's drug overage that had been imposed upon him in February 2022 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).

Those legal efforts failed, and Baffert eventually had to start serving that KHRC suspension about a month before the 2022 Derby. He transferred his entire California-based stable to the care of other trainers, and his legal team at that time withdrew the motion for an injunction. (Even though his KHRC suspension has already been served, Baffert is appealing that ruling in an effort to expunge it from his record.)

Two horses Baffert trained through March 2022-the $1.7-million FTFMAR buy Taiba (Gun Runner) and 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker)-ran in the 2022 Derby under trainer Tim Yakteen's license, finishing 12th and 15th, respectively.

Baffert renewed his court quest to run in the 2023 Derby on Dec. 15, 2022.

In that filing, his legal team wrote that “Granting an injunction would work no hardship on [CDI]. Numerous rules and regulations already safeguard CDI's interests in health, integrity, safety, and fairness. Baffert has already served his time for the mere allegation of a violation which has yet to be fully adjudicated, and there is no doubt among industry observers and even casual spectators that Baffert suffered consequences for the mere perception of wrongdoing.”

CDI's Jan. 17 response took umbrage with that position.

“The drugging of Medina Spirit happened just months after the Baffert-trained Gamine was disqualified for testing positive for the same drug after finishing third in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, also held at Churchill Downs Racetrack,” CDI's filing stated. “Baffert's unprecedented back-to-back drug violations cast a pall over CDI's two marquee horse racing events and triggered a national debate over the integrity of the sport.”

By banning Baffert, CDI claimed that it “acted well within its rights to protect the health and safety of its human and equine athletes and to protect its own brand and public confidence in the sport of horse racing… While Baffert has had no shortage of public relations gambits, he has failed to, and cannot, demonstrate his entitlement to a preliminary injunction.”

CDI's filing continued: “Baffert has not shown he will suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction. His 19-month delay in seeking injunctive relief negates any claim of irreparable harm. His primary alleged harm-the loss of purse money-is speculative and would be fully compensable by money damages.

“Nor will he lose his client base or suffer a loss of goodwill absent relief. Since his CDI suspension began, Baffert has run horses in hundreds of races around the world and earned millions of dollars in purse money. And none of his client-affiants say they will transfer horses from his care absent an injunction.”

CDI also alleged that Baffert's due process claim “fails as a matter of law because CDI is a private corporation, the individual defendants are not government officials, and no one violated Baffert's rights.”

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Good Magic’s Reincarnate Holds Off Newgate To Win Sham

Topping a Bob Baffert trifecta, REINCARNATE (Good Magic), the co-longest shot on the board at 16-1, held off Newgate (Into Mischief) and favored National Treasure (Quality Road) to steal the GIII Sham S.

Fresh off his maiden-breaking score in just his second start on the dirt following a pair of turf efforts in the fall, Reincarnate, a $775,000 yearling, came in the least heralded of Baffert's trio. Sent right to the front from his middle gate, the roan colt was able to clear National Treasure on his inside for a rail-hugging trip with Spun Intended just to his outside. That duo paced the field through an opening quarter in 22.78 as Packs a Wahlop and National Treasure raced in tandem behind while Newgate brought up the rear.

The field began to bunch up as they approached the far turn and Reincarnate got a bit of breathing room on the front end past the quarter pole. Newgate, who swept by the field on the outside to challenge at the top of the stretch, kept it tight but Reincarnate was game, countering every attack with one of his own and getting the better of his rival close to the wire to win by a neck. National Treasure chased the top pair home and finished three-quarters of a length back in third.

While the top three finishers would normally have been awarded points on a 10-5-3-2-1-scale on the road to the Kentucky Derby, only Packs a Wahlop (Creative Cause) and Spun Intended (Hard Spun) were eligible due to Baffert's ongoing suspension.

“It looks like this horse is getting better with every race, the first couple of starts, he was a little green,” said Juan Hernandez.  “Today, he broke really sharp and actually he surprised me.  I had come up with a plan to stay behind the speed, make him relax and make one move, but when the gate opened, plans changed.”

“He's the kind of horse that can run all day long,” said Bob Baffert.  “He broke great and Juan just kind of let him run away from there.  They were all on their own, I didn't give anybody any instructions.  I was watching Johnny (Velazquez, aboard National Treasure) and he was in tight the whole way…I think (Reincarnate) showed that distance is not going to be a problem for him once he (gets) the lead.  I was surprised he that easy lead and he just kept going.”

Pedigree Note:

The most recent winner for his dam, herself a stakes winner and a half-sister to MGSP Over Emphasize (Overanalyze), Reincarnate has a 2-year-old half-brother by Goldencents and a yearling half-brother by Liam's Map. Allanah went to More than Ready for 2023. By way of the third dam, this is also the female family of Canadian MSW Winning Agenda (Twilight Agenda), who went on to produce two-time champion Peruvian grass horse Zeide Isaac (Freud). That one's half-siblings include SW Dixie Two Star (Dixie Brass) and SP Canta Ke Brave (River Special).

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
SHAM S.-GIII, $100,000, Santa Anita, 1-8, 3yo, 1m, 1:35.87, ft.
1–REINCARNATE, 120, c, 3, by Good Magic
                1st Dam: Allanah (SW), by Scat Daddy
                2nd Dam: Star in the Corner, by Holy Bull
                3rd Dam: Stubborn Star, by Star Choice
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($775,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket
Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay
Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine
Donovan; B-Woods Edge Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan
Hernandez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-3-0, $142,400.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Newgate, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Majestic Presence, by
Majestic Warrior. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($850,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC,
Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson,
Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge
Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Town & Country Horse
Farms, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $20,000.
3–National Treasure, 120, c, 3, Quality Road–Treasure, by
Medaglia d'Oro. ($500,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-SF Racing LLC,
Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson,
Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge
Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Peter E. Blum
Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $12,000.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 23. Odds: 16.50, 5.20, 0.60.
Also Ran: Packs a Wahlop, Spun Intended. Scratched: Speed Boat Beach.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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