Improving Praying Takes Medina to the Breeders' Cup

Best known as the longtime assistant for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, trainer Robbie Medina sets out to pave his own legacy when he saddles emerging star Praying for the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). The only 3-year-old in a speed-laden field for the Filly & Mare Sprint, Praying has put together back-to-back victories for Medina and owner Newtown Anner Stud Farm, including a recent win over older females in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) Oct. 4 at Keeneland. Medina, who opened his public training stable just three years ago, spoke to BloodHorse about Praying's past pre-race antics, preparing the daughter of Vekoma for the Breeders' Cup, and the biggest lessons he learned in his 25-year tenure with McGaughey. BloodHorse: You went out on your own in 2023. What does it mean to you and your team to have a horse go to the Breeders' Cup? Robbie Medina: It means a lot. The chances of having a horse in the Breeders' Cup with a barn of 35 horses, you know, you're up against it. So if you can get one there, it means the world. BH: What have your past experiences with Shug's horses taught you about bringing a horse to the Breeders' Cup? RM: At the end of the year, you just have to make sure your horse is doing well, because it's the horse that takes you there, you're not taking them there. And if the horse is good enough to take, you go. That's what you learn from Shug: to always let the horse take you. And if they do, keep them happy and get there and hope for the best. Don't just go to go. We don't want participation ribbons. Go only if you think you have a chance. BH: Praying has a history of being a bit of a difficult horse in the mornings and afternoons. She seems to have put it together with consecutive graded stakes wins this year. Can you talk about this filly's development over the past year? RM: When I got her out of the 2-year-old sale, she had a tendency to be a bit too aggressive (during morning training). And I just figured in time and racing that would go to the side, but it never really did. She was fine the first few times (in her races), but then when I ran her (at Keeneland) last fall, she got really hot in the paddock. It wasn't terrible, terrible, though. Then I ran her at Churchill, and she was not good in the paddock at all. It was cold out and she was washed out. She was ok in the paddock over the winter at Oaklawn, though still trained very aggressively, but then when I ran her at Churchill in June, she was just atrocious in the paddock. She was washed out as bad as a horse could be washed out. She was beat before I could even leg the jockey up. And to add insult to injury, she broke through the gate before the race. When they put her back in the gate, she broke and pretty much ran off for a quarter-mile, then stopped. I sent her to Newtowner (Anner Stud Farm in Lexington) just to recharge her batteries, and when she came back, she was a lot more settled. She's still a horse that will pull on you in the mornings, but she's not a runoff. In her training and works, she was a lot more happy and relaxed and settled doing it. It's funny, though, because in the stall she's as docile as a horse can be. But when she gets the tack on something just turns on. BH: Praying had her breakthrough win in the Prioress following a three-month layoff. Did you always think she had graded stakes winner potential? RM: Yes. When we bought her (for $410,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale), she breezed very good at the sale. The way you would see this filly train, she would give you little glimpses in a work or even in a gallop that just made you think 'This filly's pretty good.' It was just a question if she was mentally going to get there because the physical part, you knew she was good enough. BH: And then she took on older fillies in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2), including grade 1 winner Vahva, and ran her down. What can you say about that performance? RM: I was confident she'd run good, but I know Cherie DeVaux's filly's pretty good. The key was, we had a good post. We drew outside (of Vahva). And it's a lot easier getting her to settle from an outside post like that. I saw around the 3/8th pole (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) just creeped up on that filly to see what Irad had. And I saw when Irad started riding that Johnny knew he had her. BH: Now that she's already beaten older mares, that must give you some confidence going into the Breeders' Cup. RM: This will be a bigger field with better horses top to bottom. But I just think with her style, she's not one that's going to be up close. She'll hopefully be in the middle because there's a lot more pace to run at. And she's a fresh horse. She's only run four times this year. Obviously, any time you go into a race, especially a big race, you want to go into it the right way, and she's doing that. BH: Since she can be difficult in the paddock, what steps will you take to prepare her for the type of crowds she'll see at the Breeders' Cup? RM: She ran at Saratoga during the last Saturday of the meet and that was a pretty big crowd. And then she ran here (Keeneland) opening Saturday and that was a pretty big crowd. Now there will be more at the Breeders' Cup and Del Mar. I've been there a couple times. It's a little more congested (in the paddock), but I think when we get there, we'll school her in the morning in the paddock and then probably have to school her a couple times in the afternoon just to see how she acts. She's never going to be quiet, quiet, and I wouldn't want that, but if she can just be like how she was here, on her toes after I put the saddle on, that would be fine. BH: How did you get started on the racetrack? RM: I grew up on the racetrack. My mother and father worked on the track. My first official paying job was with Lou Goldfine in Chicago. I started off as a hotwalker and groom and then I went to Florida with him when I was 18 years old. I stayed down in Florida and started working for Angel Penna Jr. and then went to New York with him; that's how I first went to New York. I worked there for a year and a half and then went to Shug in 1995, and worked there for 25 years. BH: Did you always see yourself training? RM: Yeah, at some point. As a little kid, and still am, fascinated by this game. My first thing on my bucket list was to work in New York, and I spent more than half my life in New York, so I knocked that off. And then to work for Shug and the Phipps stable, that was another bucket list, so I knocked that off. BH: What are some of the biggest takeaways you have from your time working under Shug? RM: He's a lot more patient than I am. Patience is the number one thing I'd take from him. He's just so dang good at reading a horse and knowing whether you need to step on the gas or put it in park. And to always let the horse dictate where you go. It's hard, it's kind of like Picasso. You can't ask Picasso to teach you how to paint like him. With Shug, it's just like that—he's got some magic with horses.