Last-out GIII Withers S. scorer Max Player (Honor Code) breezed Saturday morning at Belmont, getting six furlongs in 1:12.25 under work rider Oscar Gomez. It was the sophomore’s last work before the GI Belmont S., which is scheduled for June 20. Owned by George E. Hall, who won the 2011 Belmont with Ruler On Ice (Roman Ruler), Max Player is trained by Linda Rice, who last had a runner in the Belmont in 2003 with Supervisor (Skip Trial).
“He went the first three-eighths in :36.3 and I instructed Oscar to ask him to finish a little bit from the sixteenth pole through the wire,” said Rice. “We did the same thing 10 days ago and we just wanted to let him stretch out a little bit on the main track. He went :59.3 and out in 1:12.1 for three-quarters. It seems fast, but the clockers told me the track is very fast today. He went very well.”
Max Player ran twice at Parx last year, debuting with a runner-up finish in a November maiden special weight before graduating in December. His 3 1/4-length win in the Feb. 1 Withers was his first and only start this year. The Withers was contested at nine furlongs, the same distance the Belmont will be held at this year.
“He hasn’t run in five months and I had spaced his works out every two weeks during the pandemic, having no target in sight and not knowing what we were pointing towards,” said Rice. “This last month, I’ve given him three breezes, ten days apart, and I was very pleased with his last two works on the main track.”
Max Player has 10 points on the current Kentucky Derby leader board, good for 32nd on the list. The Belmont offers qualifying points of 150-60-30-15 to the top four finishers.
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