Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
If you will allow me some speculation, I think Medina Spirit was having a minor issue before the Derby and Baffert wanted to keep him in training instead of giving him a break and missing the Derby.
The horse won the Derby, but came back with an unlikely positive.
You can read between the lines.
After the disappointing effort in the Preakness, Baffert took him out of serious training. That was most likely to correct the problem. He was given a 1 month vacation. Baffert worked him once in June, but then took him out of serious training again for around 6 weeks. So there was clearly a problem. Then he started started working again regularly and looked good. The problem was solved.
He then returned to his Derby level form in the Share Belief unaided.
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If that's the reason, that would justify an extremely harsh punishment, even banishment from the sport. Imagine risking a horse's welfare just because he was too much of a coward to back off and miss the Derby
The trainer's first job is the horse's welfare.
