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Royal Prince Granted Win In Caesars Stakes After DQ

Royal Prince and Fernando De La Cruz pulled in a win Wednesday, Sept. 8 in the $150,000 Caesars Stakes. The race was the highlight of the 11-race card that included four stakes on the card and marked the richest day of turf racing in the state of Indiana.

Starting from post four in the reduced field of five, Royal Prince got away second behind Dyn O Mite and Jose Riquelme, following along in a stalking position throughout the one-mile turf event. At the head of the stretch, Royal Prince made his move and at first, looked like he would go right on by as the selected favorite of the field. However, Dyn O Mite came back to challenge. The duo battled the entire length of the stretch in close quarters with Dyn O Mite getting the last call by a half-length. However, contact between the two switched the order after a disqualification and moved Royal Prince up for the win. Perfect Silent Cat and Luca Panici, making his first start at Indiana Grand, finished third. The time of the race was 1:35.26.

Royal Prince is now three for eight in 2021 and four for 11 lifetime. He is owned by Steve Landers Racing LLC and trained by Brad Cox. He moved his career earnings over the $300,000 mark with the win. The grey son of Cairo Prince, a $70,000 yearling purchase is now a two-time stakes winner.

“This horse is always solid and showed today that he is that caliber of horse,” said Ricky Giannini, assistant trainer for Brad Cox who oversees the string at Indiana Grand. “He is stationed at Keeneland so he may go there for his next start.”

The Caesars Stakes was complemented by Empire of Hope, a Caesars Entertainment Racing initiative to bring funding and awareness to racehorse aftercare programs. Nearly $14,000 was raised through several promotions and donations geared toward the cause. A special presentation showing the support was held in the winner's circle with Randy Klopp, Indiana HBPA member and past president, Rachel McLaughlin, On-Air Racing Analyst, and Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Indiana Grand.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Monday, Nov. 8. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, with first post on Thursday set at 3:25 p.m. A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state's top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at noon. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

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Essential Quality Overtakes Knicks Go In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Godolphin's Essential Quality, winner of the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), has overtaken stablemate Knicks Go for the No. 1 spot in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The 3-year-old Essential Quality, trained by Brad Cox, received 278 votes, which was three votes higher than Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, who has 275 votes in second place after being No. 1 for four consecutive weeks. Also trained by Cox, Knicks Go has won three races this year, including the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga.

Godolphin's Maxfield remained in third place with 226 votes.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 4-year-old Maxfield captured the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in June, in which he earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's Hot Rod Charlie is in fourth place with 189 votes. Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug O'Neill, finished third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and second in the Belmont Stakes. He crossed the wire first in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) on July 17, but was disqualified for interference in the stretch and was placed seventh.

The big mover in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings this week was 4-year-old Max Player, who jumped from 13th to fifth place with 155 votes after winning Saturday's Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga by 4 lengths. Owned by George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp, the Jockey Club Gold Cup win was Max Player's second Breeders' Cup Challenge Series triumph in the Longines Classic Division this year. Max Player earned a free berth into the Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on July 3.

Hronis Racing's 4-year-old Tripoli dropped one position to sixth place with 96 votes. Trained by John Sadler, Tripoli won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar on Aug. 21 and gained a “Win and You're In” berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska, winner of three Grade 1 stakes races this year, including the Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga, slips one spot to seventh place with 86 votes.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon dropped from seventh to eighth place this week with 76 votes. Also trained by Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon finished just a neck behind Essential Quality in the Runhappy Travers Stakes. Prince A A Faisal's 4-year-old Mishriff (IRE), who earned an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Juddmonte International (G1) on turf at York Racecourse on Aug. 18, drops one spot to ninth place. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Mishriff has 71 votes. Zedan Racing Stable's 3-year-old Medina Spirit, who captured the listed Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 29, remained in 10th place with 60 votes.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 7, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Essential Quality	278	7	2
2	Knicks Go	275	15	1
3	Maxfield	226	4	3
4	Hot Rod Charlie	189	1	4
5	Max Player	155	1	13
6	Tripoli	96	0	5
7	Letruska	86	0	6
8	Midnight Bourbon	76	0	7
9	Mishriff (IRE)	71	3	8
10	Medina Spirit	60	0	10

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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Indiana’s Richest Day Of Turf Racing Set For Wednesday At Indiana Grand

Indiana's richest day of turf racing is set for Wednesday, Sept. 8 featuring four stakes for Caesars Stakes Day at Indiana Grand. Purses for the day exceed $700,000 for the 11-race card which is capped off by four stakes, including the $150,000 Caesars Stakes (Listed) and the $150,000 Indiana Grand Stakes (Listed).

Heading the list of entrants in the Caesars Stakes, slated as Race 10, is Royal Prince from the Brad Cox barn. The 3-year-old son of Cairo Prince comes into the race off a second-place finish in the $100,000 KY Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Derby at Ellis Park in early August. The grey stakes winning colt has only missed the top three once in seven starts this season. He will start from post seven at odds of 8-5 with Fernando De La Cruz in the irons.

The Cox Stable will also saddle the favorite in the Indiana Grand Stakes, featuring the fillies over the turf running at a distance of one mile. The Uncle Mo filly Burning Ambition was a winner in her last start at Ellis Park in mid-August, her first and only start of 2021. She is now three for four in her brief career. De La Cruz will also ride from post eight at odds of 2-1 in Race 9.

The Caesars Stakes and the Indiana Grand Stakes will be bookended by the 21st running of the $100,000 Back Home Again Stakes in Race 8 and the 21st running of the $100,000 Circle City Stakes in Race 11. The four stakes will offer a special All Stakes Pick 4 on Races 8 – 11.

Caesars Stakes Day will also feature “Empire of Hope,” a Caesars Entertainment Racing initiative to place the spotlight on racehorse aftercare programs. Indiana Grand will offer several activities to raise funding for the cause throughout the program, including t-shirt sales and Peppermints for Ponies, where guests purchase peppermints to feed to the pony horses following Race 4 on the card.

A “Parade of Champions” will also take place with five current pony horses highlighted as retired racehorses. Ethan Hunt and Niceandeasydoesit, both serving as outriding horses, will be featured following the sixth race along with Gallant, Even Fever, and retired Quarter Horse Stealtheshowjo.

The afternoon card will also feature the $1,000 Caesars Stakes Warriors Contest, open to players both on-track and online. The top handicapper on the six contest races will receive a $500 gift card. The contest is open to all players currently residing in the United States that are 18 years of age and older. The contest begins on Race 5. Entries should be submitted to: indianagrandcontest@gmail.com by 4:20 p.m. to play.

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Knicks Go Solidly Atop NTRA Poll; Max Player Jumps Into Top 10

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go kept his No. 1 rating in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for the fifth straight week, while the 4-year-old colt Max Player catapulted from sixteenth into the top 10 off an impressive score in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga over the Labor Day weekend.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, received 19 first-place votes and 323 points. A winner three times in five starts this year, Knicks Go captured the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in July, and scored a dominant, front-running victory in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 7.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska is in second place with six first-place votes and 306 points. Letruska has won five races this year for trainer Fausto Gutierrez, including the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 28, remained in third place with 10 first-place votes and 294 points. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, last year's Eclipse Award winner as Champion Two-Year-Old Male, captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.

Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old filly Gamine, winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, remained in fourth place for the second consecutive week with 159 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs and second in the Whitney, is in fifth. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has 137 points. Max Player, who earlier this year captured the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park, moved into sixth place with 135 points off his strong performance in the Gold Cup. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Max Player is owned by George Hall.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, is in seventh place with 110 points. Domestic Spending is trained by Chad Brown.

The speedy Jackie's Warrior, also trained by Asmussen and owned by Kirk and Judy Robison, most recently captured the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 and is in eighth place with 107 points.

Shadwell Stable's Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat, trained by Todd Pletcher and a winner of three races in four starts this year, is in ninth place with 91 points. Rounding out the top 10 is Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State, winner of four races in 2021 including the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State has 50 points.

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