Each week, members of the national media vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll. Week 5 of the 2023 NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the (NTRA) covers racing performances through Feb. 28, 2023. The 3-year-old poll represents horses competing up to and through the Triple Crown. Rankings are based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 voting system. First place votes are in parentheses.
Month: February 2023
Subjectivist In Good Order After Saudi Start, But Plans Up In The Air
Dual Group 1 winner Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), who was making his first start in over 600 days in the G3 Red Sea Turf H. on the Saudi Cup undercard on Saturday, “seems fine” according to trainer Charlie Johnston.
The Dr. Jim Walker colourbearer, who had won the G1 Prix Royal-Oak, G2 Dubai Gold Cup, and G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in succession in 2020/2021, had made his first start back from an injury-induced layoff at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday, although he ran unplaced.
“Of course I was hoping he would run better than he did,” said the Middleham handler. “But given the way race panned out, he was obviously very, very fresh after a long time off and that was more accentuated by the fact that Joe [Fanning] had to light him up a bit to get him over from that draw. Once he'd lit the fuse, there was no going back.”
The 6-year-old entire is a possibility for the G2 Dubai Gold Cup on Mar. 25 or closer to home in the G3 Sagaro S. this spring.
Johnston added, “They were originally due to fly back tomorrow [Wednesday] but that has now been delayed until Friday, so he won't be home until then.
“At the moment he seems fine. We'll get a better handle on things once he's back home, but the initial signs are good, so that's promising at least.
“This delay makes things worse in that there's only four weeks between Saudi and Dubai and now, given the time it's taking to get him home and the time he'd need to leave before the race at Meydan, he'd only be back here for two weeks, so that is obviously going to have to be factored in.
“If he doesn't go to Dubai, something like the Sagaro would seem the obvious next port of call for him, but we'll wait and see the horse when he gets home and speak to Dr. Jim and make a plan from there.”
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Jack Connor Named Racing And Analytics Executive For The Thoroughbred Group
Jack Connor was named the new Racing and Analytics Executive of The Thoroughbred Group. He was previously a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Racing Department senior analyst and a strategy manager at The Jockey Club.
The position is new within The Thoroughbred Group as the organisation develops its remit to provide representation of its five members under UK racing's new industry structure–the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA), the Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA), the National Association of Racing Staff (NARS), the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and the National Trainers Federation (NTF).
“We are pleased that Jack has agreed to join us as we seek to develop the role of the Thoroughbred Group at industry level,” said Thoroughbred Group Chair Charlie Parker. “We are confident that his analytical expertise and previous experience working with industry stakeholders will make him a great asset to us.”
Added Connor, “I'm delighted to be joining the Thoroughbred Group at this pivotal time for the sport. I'm very much looking forward to working closely with the five participant bodies and their members as we help shape and deliver on the industry's strategy.”
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Confidence Game Jumps To Fourth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll
After a sloppy victory in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, Confidence Game was voted into fourth position for the fifth week of the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll. Trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden to victory by James Graham, Confidence Game (Candy Ride) is out of Eblouissante, the half-sister to Hall of Fame racemare Zenyatta.
Desormeaux purchased the Summer Wind Equine-bred colt for just $25,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale. With three wins from seven career starts thus far, Confidence Game has earned $785,525 on the racetrack.
The Top 3-Year-Old Poll of 2023 continues to be led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Forte, a son of Violence trained by Todd Pletcher. The colt has not yet started this year, but is entered in Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
In second position is remains G3 Southwest winner Arabian Knight (formerly trained by Bob Baffert, recently transferred to former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen), while G3 Lecomte winner Instant Coffee sits in third (Brad Cox).
The 3-Year-Old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.
TOP THREE-YEAR OLD POLL
Week Five of the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll provided a big change in second position when Taiba (now in seventh) failed to fire in the Saudi Cup. Instead, it was his stablemate Country Grammer who came up just short of a victory in the $20 million race for a second year in a row. That performance boosted Country Grammer from third to second in this week's poll.
Pegasus World Cup winner Art Collector remains atop the bunch. The Bill Mott trainee kicked off his 6-year-old season with the biggest win of his career, drawing away to win the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup by 4 1/2 lengths. Art Collector, sired by Bernardini, now owns 11 wins from 21 starts with earnings over $4 million.
Elite Power, Breeders' Cup winner and Champion Sprinter, also proved a powerful force in Saudi Arabia when he captured the Riyadh Dirt Sprint under Frankie Dettori. As a result, the Mott trainee was voted into third in this week's poll. Another Mott-trained stablemate, Cody's Wish, remains in fifth with his most recent start a win in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
Another Baffert trainee, Pegasus runner-up Defunded sits in fourth ahead of Saturday's Big 'Cap at Santa Anita.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
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