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Medina Spirit, Baffert’s Santa Anita Derby Stand-In, ‘Went Very Nice’ In Breeze

Medina Spirit, twice runner-up to Life Is Good, worked four furlongs Sunday in 48 seconds flat as the Protonico colt prepares to deputize for his undefeated but sidelined stablemate in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“He went very nice (under jockey Juan Ochoa),” said Bob Baffert, who is seeking to add to his record of nine Santa Anita Derby victories.

“I also worked Hozier (runner-up to unbeaten stablemate Concert Tour in the March 13 Rebel at Oaklawn Park, five furlongs in 1:00.80), Charlatan (four furlongs in 48 flat) and Gamine (five furlongs in 59.60).”

Life Is Good was favored in the most recent Future Wager to win the May 1 Kentucky Derby before a small chip in his left hind ankle was detected following a workout on March 20, forcing him to miss the race and necessitating surgery by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., two days ago.

“The surgery went well,” Baffert said. “I received great reports on it. It was minor, so that was good and he should be back (racing) a lot sooner than we thought he would.”

G1 Malibu Stakes winner Charlatan and Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Gamine are scheduled to run at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, Charlatan in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes and Gamine in the G1 Derby City Distaff, both at seven furlongs.

Trainer John Sadler sent Runhappy Santa Anita Derby candidate Rock Your World five furlongs Sunday morning in a bullet 59.20, fastest of 76 drills at the distance, more than two seconds faster than the average time of 1:01.37.

The Runhappy Santa Anita Derby headlines six stakes on Saturday, four of them graded and two showcasing California-bred or sired runners.

In addition to the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, they are the G22 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles; the G2 Royal Heroine for fillies and mares 4 and up at one mile on turf; and the G3 Providencia Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Also, two Golden State Series races, the $150,000 Echo Eddie Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6 ½ furlongs and the $150,000 Evening Jewel Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs.

In all, the six stakes offer $1,750,000 in purse money. Entries for Saturday's race will be taken on Wednesday.

Saturday's latest local weather forecasts partly cloudy skies, one percent chance of rain and a high of 78 degrees.

First post time will be 12 noon.

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‘No Excuses,’ Baffert Said After Improbable Finishes Preparations For His Classic Trio

Trainer Bob Baffert put the finishing touches on his $6-million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic “triple threat” on Sunday morning at Santa Anita when Improbable worked a strong six furlongs in 1:11.40 on a fast track under exercise rider Juan Ochoa.

On Saturday, Baffert's two other contenders for the 1 1/4-mile Classic worked five furlongs at the Arcadia, Calif., track in preparation for their Nov. 7 engagement at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. G1 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic worked the distance in :59.60 and Maximum Security, the 2019 3-year-old male champion, covered five furlongs in 1:00.60 in company.

“No excuses for any of them,” Baffert said. “They're all training as good as they can possibly be doing.”

Baffert's horses will ship to Kentucky on Tuesday.

Improbable, the likely favorite in the Classic, is a 4-year-old City Zip colt coming into the world championships on a three-race Grade 1 win streak, most recently beating Maximum Security by 4 1/2 lengths in the Sept. 26 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. Before that he won the Whitney at Saratoga by two lengths over By My Standards, with even-money favorite Tom's d'Etat third after a stumbling start. He'll face both horses again in the Classic. By My Standards came out of the Whitney to win the G2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun on Sept. 4. Tom's d'Etat, whose four-race win streak was snapped in the Whitney, has not raced since the Aug. 1 contest, trainer Al Stall electing to bring the 7-year-old by Smart Strike into the Breeders' Cup as a fresh horse.

Improbable has been plagued with problems in the starting gate throughout his career, though Baffert said he is maturing and the horse has spent a lot of time schooling in the gate during training hours.

While Improbable's best races are from off the pace, Authentic, a 3-year-old by Into Mischief, and Maximum Security, a 4-year-old by New Year's Day, are free-running types who have scored most of their wins on the lead.

Where would Baffert like to see the three horses positioned in the early stages of the Classic?

“That's like a hitter asking Walker Beuhler what pitches he's going to throw him,” Baffert said, referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and Lexington, Ky., native who owns a small share of Authentic. “I can't do that.”

Baffert said his three riders – Irad Ortiz Jr. on Improbable, Luis Saez on Maximum Security and John Velazquez on Authentic – know their horses and what's best for them. “A lot's going to depend on the draw,” he added.

Entries close Monday and the draw for post positions for all 14 Breeders' Cup races will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TVG, breederscup.com or on the Breeders' Cup mobile app.

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Baffert Said He Can’t Separate His Classic Triple Threat

Authentic, Improbable and Maximum Security had important workouts over the weekend at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., two weeks before their engagement for trainer Bob Baffert in the $6-million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Authentic, winner of the G1 Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and second most recently to the filly Swiss Skydiver in the G1 Preakness on Oct. 3, worked Saturday, going seven furlongs in a blazing 1:24.40.

On Sunday, Improbable, who goes into the Nov. 7 Classic off three consecutive Grade 1 victories – most recently defeating Maximum Security in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 26 – worked seven furlongs in 1:25 flat. Maximum Security, the reigning champion 3-year-old male of 2019 when trained by Jason Servis, went five furlongs in :59.80 for Baffert. Authentic and Improbable were the only horses working seven furlongs each day, but Maximum Security's breeze was the fastest of 72 horses working five furlongs at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Juan Ochoa was aboard for all three workouts.

XBTV VIDEO: Authentic work. Improbable work. Maximum Security work.

Baffert goes into the Classic with one of the strongest hands ever seen in a Breeders' Cup race, with Improbable likely to be favored over his stablemates and the top guns from the East Coast: Florida Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers (all G1) winner Tiz the Law; G2 Stephen Foster winner Tom's d'Etat; and multiple G2 winner By My Standards.

The Hall of Fame trainer said he couldn't separate the three – all with different owners.

“I'm not being politically correct, but all three of these horses are at the top of their game right now,” Baffert said. “Authentic looks just as good as he did going into the Kentucky Derby. Maximum Security is doing the best he's ever done for me, and Improbable is also doing very well.”

Baffert said he worked Maximum Security a shorter distance and in company because the 4-year-old colt by New Year's Day “is only going to give you so much. I don't want to overtrain him. He's a big, heavy, strong horse, but one thing I've noticed is I have to train him differently. His lung capacity is pretty big. He never blows when he comes back.”

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride Maximum Security, with Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the call on Improbable (he rode the City Zip 4-year-old colt to a two-length victory over By My Standards and Tom's d'Etat in the G1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 1). John Velazquez will be back aboard Authentic, a 3-year-old by Into Mischief.

“They are a triple threat,” Baffert said. “It may come down to post position or the trip they get.”

They'll have one more work at Santa Anita next weekend before departing for Kentucky.

In other news, Baffert said he is not going to run the highly touted $1-million yearling purchase Spielberg in the Juvenile and will instead look for a maiden race after the horse finished second and third, respectively, in the G1 Del Mar Futurity and G1 American Pharoah Stakes.

Baffert said he will pre-enter Classier in the Juvenile. The Empire Maker colt won a maiden race on Saturday by four lengths at Santa Anita. He will also have unbeaten Princess Noor in the G1 Juvenile Fillies and Gamine in the G1 Filly & Mare Sprint.

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‘Forgotten Horse’ Authentic Completes Penultimate Workout For Kentucky Derby

Following an abandoned workout on Monday, Haskell winner Authentic completed his scheduled breeze successfully on Tuesday at Del Mar. According to the Daily Racing Form, the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief was given an official time of 1:38.60 for a mile under exercise rider Juan Ochoa.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had Authentic in 1:24.60 for seven furlongs, and plans to breeze the colt again on Sunday before shipping him to Churchill Downs on Monday.

A five-time winner from six starts, Authentic is expected to be at least double-digit odds in the Run for the Roses.

“He's the forgotten horse,” Baffert told drf.com.