Going to Vegas and Medina Spirit were the big winners at Santa Anita Park yesterday afternoon. Medina Spirit was the “winner” of the Kentucky Down this past year, but tested positive for a prohibited substance.
$25 Risk-Free Horse Racing Bet!
In a big race for Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit came through with a win for his team. There’s no doubt that Baffert wanted that one badly to show that Medina Spirit is still a major player.
#5 Medina Spirit wins the G1 Awesome Again and punches his ticket into the @Longines @BreedersCup Classic @delmarracing! Congrats to the connections!
Up next is the G2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita, tune in to TVG now for live, on-site coverage! pic.twitter.com/YkWAVJ2CAz
— TVG (@TVG) October 3, 2021
Baffert has the Breeders’ Cup on his mind in a month at one of his home tracks at Del Mar. He would love nothing more than to make the public mad with a solid showing.
It was a winning day at Santa Anita with a couple of horses, so that’s all I was concerned with doing. For Sunday our first look is going to be at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.
Churchill Downs has ten races worth $827,000 in prize money this afternoon. Head below for our free Churchill Downs picks for October 3, 2021.
Race 3
Post Time: 1:43 p.m. EST
Distance:6 Furlongs
Purse:$58,000
Race 3 is a $58,000 event covering 6 furlongs. Expect a bid from Flying Fred and Hope And Dignity in this one.
Flying Fred is making his debut on Sunday afternoon, and has shown something in morning workouts.
He completed 5 furlongs in 1:00.60 and 1:01.40 leading up to this race on August 21 and September 16. Flying Fred was also clocked at 47.60 seconds across 4 furlongs on August 3.
Hope And Dignity is winless in nine attempts, but is knocking hard. He placed 2nd in four straight outings from May 9 to August 20.
In his most recent race, Hope And Dignity placed behind Spieitful Sam by 4 ¼ lengths in a $51,000 assignment. Before that race, he won, but dropped to 2nd after interference on July 9 in the same class.
This is up in class to $58,000, but it’s a race for horses that haven’t won yet and Hope And Dignity is the most consistent. He’s in good form at the moment and should dispatch this field.
Race 4
Post Time: 2:13 p.m. EST
Distance:1 Mile
Purse:$68,000
Race 4 is a mile event on the dirt for a $68,000 purse. Puye Timing and Lady Frosted should put a charge in this one. A duel down the stretch wouldn’t be too much of a surprise in this spot.
Puye Timing is 2 for 10 in her career, and has finished 5th, 1st, 3rd, 5th in her previous four attempts. She was a 1 ¾ length winner over Speightful Charge for a $32,000 purse.
Puye Timing returned to the track to go 3rd in a $102,000 event, and then 5th for a $60,000 purse. The $102,000 effort was encouraging, but didn’t do anything on the class drop.
Lady Frosted is 2 for 6 in her career, with back-to-back wins on April 22 and May 15. It was easy pickins for Lady Frosted.
She beat Pettigo Girl by 3 ½ lengths, and then made it a double with a win in a higher class in a small upset for a $50,900 purse. Lady Frosted most recently went 7th for a $102,00 prize.
Back down in class, expect better from her. She isn’t dealing with the toughest foes in Race 4.
Race 7
Post Time: 3:50 p.m. EST
Distance:1 1/16 Miles
Purse:$127,000
This is a $127,000 allowance race covering 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Look for Reinecke and Misty Veil to be top players in this one.
Reinecke has finished 1st, 5th, 7th in his career, so she’s been going in the wrong direction since winning as a rookie on July 1.
Reinecke beat Sweet Carolena by a neck for a $51,000 purse. Since then, Reinecke dropped to 5th in a $52,000 event, and then 7th most recently at Kentucky Downs for a $145,800 purse on September 9.
Much more is expected out of Reinecke. She was a $250,000 purchase in 2019 and expected to be a contender. If she runs how he’s capable then should be close in this one.
Misty Veil is 2 for 10, and has finished 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd in her previous four outings. She was a 7 ¾ length winner in a blowout on July 18 at Saratoga.
That was highly impressive, with Misty Veil breezing past the 1/16 pole. She geared down in the stretch and still built a bigger lead.
It was disappointing then that Misty Veil came back to place 2nd in a $103,000 and $60,000 event. She was bumped early in her last attempt on September 6, so that might have had an impact.
Her team found the perfect allowance race with a big prize worth $127,000 and beatable foes in the field. Misty Veil is getting the best value in this one.
