Medina Spirit (April 5, 2018 – December 6, 2021) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby before being disqualified. He came second in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic and third in the 2021 Preakness Stakes.
Medina Spirit qualified for the Kentucky Derby with a win in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and second-place finishes in the San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby. In the Kentucky Derby he was a long shot with post-time odds of 12–1. He crossed the finish line first in the Derby, but was later disqualified after testing positive for the anti-inflammatory steroid betamethasone. After the Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit finished third in the Preakness Stakes, but a few days later the New York racing officials banned Medina Spirit and his trainer Bob Baffert from participating in the Belmont Stakes because of the drug violations. Later that year, Medina Spirit won the Shared Belief Stakes and Awesome Again Stakes before coming second in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
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Background
Medina Spirit was a dark bay colt bred in Florida by Gail Rice. He was from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Protonico, who stands at Castleton Farm. Protonico is by Giant's Causeway, who was a multiple Group I winner in Europe, nicknamed the Iron Horse. Giant's Causeway was later a leading sire in North America. Medina Spirit was the first foal produced by Mongolian Changa, a daughter of Brilliant Speed, who won one of six starts.
Medina Spirit was foaled on April 5, 2018, on a 10-acre farm in Ocala, Florida. His dam was at first unable to produce milk for him. Rice used some colostrum that had been saved from another mare, providing the foal with crucial nutrients and antibodies. Mongolian Changa soon began to nurse normally and the colt developed into a "standout", known for his competitive spirit.
Medina Spirit attracted little attention when he was entered in the Ocala Breeders Sale of January 2019. He was sold for the minimum $1,000 (meaning he received only one bid) to Christy Whitman, who later resold the colt to bloodstock agent Gary Young who purchased him for $35,000 for Amr Zedan at the Ocala July Two-Year-Old Sale. Zedan had been interested in the colt in part because one of his friends, Oussama Aboughazale, had owned Protonico. Zedan named the horse for Medina, the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca and also the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Medina is the hometown of both Zedan and Aboughazale.
Medina Spirit was sent into training with Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, initially under assistant Mike Marlow. Medina Spirit kept surprising his connections by outworking the more expensive colts that Baffert's stable is known to attract. "He reminded me of Silver Charm", said Baffert, referring to his first Derby winner from 1997. "He doesn't know how much he cost."
Medina Spirit traces to the thoroughbred family numbered 2-n, and was its first Kentucky Derby winner.
Racing career
2020: Two-year-old season
In his only race as a two-year-old, Medina Spirit won his debut in a maiden special weight race over 5+1⁄2 furlongs at Los Alamitos Race Course on December 11, 2020. He vied for the early lead with Sensemaker, running the first quarter-mile in 22.20. He took the lead turning for home and kicked clear to win by three lengths.
2021: Three-year-old season
Medina Spirit made his first start as a three-year-old in the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park on January 2, 2021. The heavy favorite was Life Is Good, another Baffert trainee who was also coming off a maiden race win. Life Is Good went to the early lead and set sensible fractions while maintaining an advantage of three to four lengths down the backstretch and into the stretch. Medina Spirit, who had raced in second throughout, made a late run to close to within three-quarters of a length, with the third-place finisher 13 lengths further back. "They've got four months to improve", said Baffert, referring to the upcoming Kentucky Derby. "We need to let them mature and keep them healthy."
His next start was in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on January 30, where he went off as the even money favorite in a field of six. He went to the early lead and turned into the stretch with a one length lead. Hot Rod Charlie then started to inch closer, closing to within half a length in midstretch. From further back, Roman Centurion also started to close ground rapidly. In a blanket finish, Medina Spirit hung on to win by a neck over Roman Centurion, with Hot Rod Charlie a nose behind in third. "He had every reason to give it up late in the stretch (when) those horses came to him", Baffert said. "I thought he was beat. I thought they were going to get by and he wouldn't let them by."
Medina Spirit made his next start in the San Felipe Stakes on March 6. He was the second betting choice to Life Is Good, who went to the early lead and was never challenged, winning by eight lengths over Medina Spirit, with Dream Shake third. After the race, Baffert had minor throat surgery performed on the colt to improve his breathing.
He came second again in his final Derby prep, the Santa Anita Derby on April 3. Rock Your World, in his first start on the dirt, unexpectedly went to the early lead and pulled away in the stretch over Medina Spirit with Dream Shake again in third. "The horse ran well," said jockey John Velazquez, “but the winner took the lead on a fast track and kept running. My horse kept coming and kept coming but couldn't catch up."
The 2021 Kentucky Derby, held on May 1, 2021, at Churchill Downs, attracted a deep field of 19. The favorite was the undefeated champion Essential Quality, who had won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Blue Grass Stakes. Other highly regarded contenders included Rock Your World (Santa Anita Derby), Known Agenda (Florida Derby), Hot Rod Charlie (Louisiana Derby), and Mandaloun (Risen Star Stakes). Medina Spirit was largely overlooked at odds of 12–1.
Death
Medina Spirit collapsed and died at Santa Anita Park following a five-furlong workout on December 6, 2021. He was three years old. His rider was unhurt. The horse's preliminary cause of death is a heart attack. Medina Spirit's trainer Bob Baffert stated that his barn was "devastated" by the news of Medina Spirit's death, and described the horse as a "member of the family." Medina Spirit's death also came days after Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson publicly acknowledged that the betamethasone detected during the 2021 Kentucky Derby was not regulated by Kentucky state rules, but maintained that it was used to treat Medina Spirit's skin condition and not for performance enhancement. A necropsy conducted by veterinarians and forensic experts at the University of California, Davis showed no evidence of doping, but a definitive cause of death could not be established.
Statistics
An asterisk after the odds means Medina Spirit was the post-time favorite.
† Finished first, but disqualified due to a medication violation.
Pedigree
* Medina Spirit is inbred 5S x 4D to the stallion Roberto, meaning that he appears in the fifth generation (via Immense) on the sire side and in the fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.