Medina Spirit, Gamine among Breeders' Cup workers
Led by Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit and champion Gamine, there were several notable workouts at Santa Anita on Friday in advance of Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.
Medina Spirit worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, his first major exercise since a win in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes against older horses on Oct. 2. Medina Spirit is one of the leading 3-year-old hopefuls for the BC Classic on Nov. 6.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit tested positive for the regulated medication betamethasone in the Kentucky Derby. The case is part of ongoing legal action.
Gamine, the champion female sprinter of 2020 for Baffert, worked six furlongs in 1:12 on Friday in advance of a start in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, a race she won at Keeneland last November.
Smooth Like Strait, the winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in May, worked a half-mile in 47.40 seconds for the BC Mile on Nov. 6. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Smooth Like Strait is one of the leading domestic hopes for the BC Mile, which annually draws an international cast.
Going to Vegas, winner of the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes on turf for fillies and mares on Oct. 2, worked a half-mile in 47.80 seconds on the infield dirt training track. Trained by Richard Baltas, Going to Vegas earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6 in the Rodeo Drive.
“She’s already done a lot,” Baltas said. “Everything on top on this is gravy. She gets a free race in the Breeders’ Cup.”