Medina Sprint owner Amr Zedan is back at KentuckyDerby2022, a year after his winning horse, Medina Spirit, was disqualified and later died, and trainer Bob Baffert was suspended from Churchill Downs for 2 years. Here's what he said.
Tim Yakteen took over the training of Taiba and Messier from Bob Baffert. But some still consider them Baffert’s horses. If one wins, who’ll get the credit?only to be disqualified nine months later for a medication violation of a legal anti-inflammatory that trainer Bob Baffert and his attorneys are still litigating.“To win was phenomenal,” said Zedan, a Saudi venture capitalist who was born in Los Angeles. “The kid had a heart that was bigger than his pedigree and his size.
The horse was sent to New York but injured his ankle and was off the track for eight months before running a strong second in the $20 million Saudi Cup. One month later he won the $12 million Dubai World Cup.off the bench [and ran so well in Saudi Arabia and Dubai],” Zedan said. “He was a resurrection of Medina Spirit, he had that heart. None of this would have happened if the team didn’t stick together. Horses do bring people together.
“We’re just focused on climbing a mountain with Taiba. He’s made history. Anything he accomplishes beyond the Santa Anita Derby is gravy. We just keep walking and moving.”All of which brings things back to Taiba, a $1.7 million purchase. Baffert, who helped buy him, sent the horse out in his first start, which he won by 7½ lengths. But for Taiba to be eligible to run in the Kentucky Derby he had to get qualifying points and any Baffert horse was ineligible.