Greenwich Village Rallies Late to Nose Out Medici in Pasadena Stakes

Greenwich Village added another stakes victory to his résumé by rallying late to edge Medici by a nose in the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes on the turf at Santa Anita on Feb. 22. The Quality Road colt, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Juan Hernandez, carried the race to a thrilling finish in the one-mile test.

The Pasadena Stakes served as Greenwich Village’s two-turn debut at one mile, a notable step in distance for the juvenile campaign of a horse by Quality Road. The move from shorter sprints to a one-mile route on turf tested the colt’s stamina and racecraft under Hernandez, and the late rally that produced the nose victory provided immediate evidence that the step up suited him.

Medici finished a neck shorter than a head, officially a nose, in the tightly contested stretch, underscoring how small margins decided the $100,000 purse on Feb. 22 at Santa Anita. That narrow defeat for Medici will be dissected by connections and bettors, while Greenwich Village’s connections will point to the win as validation of their placement strategy in the Pasadena Stakes on turf.

From a performance standpoint, the combination of trainer Bob Baffert, a high-profile conditioner, and jockey Juan Hernandez executing a late-running trip in a stakes test adds weight to Greenwich Village’s résumé. The one-mile, two-turn configuration on Feb. 22 highlighted how the colt responds to extended stalking or closing duties on turf at Santa Anita, and the stakes tally raises his profile among 3-year-olds campaigned in California turf routes.

Economically and commercially, the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes victory on Feb. 22 strengthens Greenwich Village’s market appeal as a stakes-winning Quality Road colt trained by Bob Baffert. That pedigree-performance mix tends to influence owners’ decisions about future entries and target races, and the narrow margin over Medici will attract attention from trainers mapping out the colt’s next stakes assignment.

Looking ahead, Greenwich Village’s successful two-turn debut at one mile on Feb. 22 positions him and his connections to consider longer turf routes or graded stakes at Santa Anita and other West Coast venues. The nose decision over Medici on the turf provides a clear next question for the connections: how far and at what level will they test the Quality Road colt after this Pasadena Stakes breakthrough.