Fausto Gutierrez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Letruska Retains Her Lead In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll

For the third consecutive week, St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska has been voted No. 1 in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, while Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending has risen to third place.

Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, has Grade 1 victories in the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park and in the Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. She also won her most recent race, the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs. A daughter of 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Letruska has 13 first-place votes and 280 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfied, trained by Brendan Walsh, holds onto second place with five first-place votes and 246 points. Maxfield has won three of four starts this year, including a commanding victory in the June 26 Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs. Maxfield's only career defeat in eight starts was a third-place finish in this year's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.

Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, entered the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll at No. 10 on May 3 after finishing in a dead heat for first with Colonel Liam in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic. Since then, Domestic Spending has steadily climbed in the rankings, helped largely by his 2 ¾-length victory in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park on June 5. Domestic Spending moved from fourth to third place this week, earning six first-place votes and 216 points.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State has won all four of his starts this year, including a last-out victory in the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 5 at Belmont. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State rose from fifth to fourth place with three first-place votes and 207 points.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, improved from sixth to fifth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality, who also captured the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, has three first-place votes and 181 points.

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, also trained by Cox, won the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on July 2 by 10 ½ lengths. Also victorious in Gulfstream Park's Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January, Knicks go is in sixth place with 122 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup and second in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont, slipped from third to seventh place this week after the announcement that he will require surgery for a knee chip. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received two first-place votes and 102 points.

Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old Gamine, the 2020 champion female sprinter, has won all three of her starts this year, including the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall Jackson Winery at Churchill Downs. Trained by Bob Baffert, Gamine has 81 points and is in eighth place.

Moving from 18th to ninth place this week is Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun. The third runner in the top 10 trained by Cox, Mandaloun was moved up from second to first place in the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday following the disqualification of Hot Rod Charlie. Mandaloun, who finished second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, has 47 points.

Rounding out the top 10 is another turf star, the 4-year-old filly Althiqa (GB). Owned by Godolphin and trained by Charlie Appleby, Althiqa captured her second Grade 1 this year on Saturday when she took the Diana Stakes at Saratoga. Althiqa, who has 45 points, also won the Longines Just a Game on June 5 at Belmont.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-july-19-2021/

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Letruska Ascends To The Top Of NTRA Thoroughbred Poll

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska has ascended to the No. 1 position in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll, ending the 14-week reign of Godolphin's 4-year-old Mystic Guide, who was defeated Saturday in Belmont's Grade 2 Suburban.

Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, has won four of five starts this year. She made a big name for herself when defeating last year's older dirt female champion Monomoy Girl in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park in April, and then swept the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park on June 5 and the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs by 5 ¾ lengths on June 26. A bay daughter of 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Letruska has 11 first-place votes and 302 points, moving up from second place last week.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfied is now in second place with six first-place votes and 266 points. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield dominated the June 26 Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs with a powerful 3 ¼-length win to improve his overall record to seven wins in eight starts.

Fellow Godolphin runner Mystic Guide lost a hard-fought battle to Max Player by a neck in the Suburban over a sloppy track in his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup on March 27. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received nine first-place votes and 260 points while falling to third place in this week's poll.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, rose from fifth to fourth place this week with seven first-place votes and 224 points. Trained by Chad Brown, Domestic Spending won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont on June 5.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State, unbeaten in four starts this year, dropped from fourth to fifth place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State, winner of the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont on June 5, has one first-place vote and 222 points.

Godolphin's third star in the top 10 is the 3-year-old Essential Quality, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality is in sixth place with two first-place votes and 197 points.

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, also trained by Cox, turned in one of the top performances of the year last Friday evening when he won the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap by 10 ¼ lengths. Winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January, Knicks Go (129 points) rose from ninth to seventh place.

The 4-year-old Gamine (83 points), last year's champion female sprinter, was another sparkling winner over the holiday weekend. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen and trained by Bob Baffert, Gamine captured Monday's Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos by 10 lengths, improving her record to three for three this year, and remaining in eighth place in the poll.

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp's Max Player rose from 23rd to No. 9 following his determined win in the Suburban at 11-1. Trained by Asmussen, the 4-year-old Max Player (69 points) won his first race of the year in three starts.

Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables' 6-year-old Monomoy Girl rounds out the top 10 with 58 points. A two-time winner of the Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, Monomoy Girl, also trained by Cox, won this year's Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes at Oaklawn.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-july-6-2021/

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The Week in Review: A Throwback, Letruska is Horse-of-the-Year Material

Apparently, trainer Fausto Gutierrez, whose main base is in Mexico, didn't get the memo. Top U.S. horses just don't run back in three weeks or start four times over the span of 85 days. They don't go from track to track and take on all challengers. Owned by St. George Stable, Letruska (Super Saver) is doing what just isn't done anymore.

Coming back in three weeks after winning the GI Ogden Phipps S., Letruska romped Saturday at Churchill Downs in the GII Fleur de Lis S., winning by 5 3/4 lengths. It was her fifth race this year and her fourth win, which may not seem like a lot, but is commendable in an era where the less-is-more theory of training a horse has been taken to ridiculous extremes. Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), the top contender at present for Horse of the Year, has raced just twice and not since winning the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 27. Domestic Spending (Kingman {GB}), the best turf horse in the country, has also raced just twice. And not a single horse ran in all three Triple Crown races this year.

Not only has the 5-year-old mare stood up to the “punishment,” she has thrived. Entering the Apr. 17 GI Apple Blossom H., she had never run a triple-digit Beyer number, but did so when upsetting champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) by a nose to earn a figure of 102. She came back June 5 and got a career best 103 in her win in the Phipps. In the Fleur De Lis, she ventured into the triple digits once again, getting a 102.

Afterwards, Gutierrez would not commit when asked where Letruska would run next, but as long as he keeps the kid gloves off, the Aug. 28 GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga seems like a logical spot.

Wherever she starts next, she will be after her 16th career win from 21 starts and her sixth graded stakes win. All this from a horse who started her career in Mexico.

The combination of Letruska and St. George dominate Mexican racing. St. George is owned by German Larrea, who, according to Forbes, is worth $16.3 billion and is the second richest man in Mexico. She broke her maiden in a $3,400 race in Mexico City then won three straight allowance races worth a combined $13,700. After shipping to Gulfstream to win a race in the Caribbean Classic Series, she finished 13th in the 2019 Tropical Park Oaks in her first in the U.S. in open company. There was nothing to suggest what was to come.

With the year she is having and after beating Monomoy Girl at Oaklawn, she's the leading contender for the older filly and mare dirt championship. Gutierrez isn't ruling out a Horse-of-the-Year title, and why not?

“We know she's a really nice dirt horse and is supposed to win at different racetracks and different conditions for a possible Horse of the Year campaign,” he said. Gutierrez went on to tell reporters that a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is a possibility.

Letruska may not be the very best horse in the sport and there may be some worthy Horse-of-the-Year candidates out of the dirt male or turf male divisions. But Horse of the Year is supposed to go to the horse who did the most from January through December and not the horse who ran four times and won some big races. If voters follow that criteria, Letruska should have a good shot at the sport's most coveted year-end honor.

Meadowlands Issues Its Own Ban For Driver Who Violated Whip Rules

As reported last week in the TDN by T.D. Thorton, harness driver Joe Bongiorno was fined $5,000 and suspended 20 days by the Meadowlands judges for over use of his whip. The judges ruled that Bongiorno's actions caused a spill that led to one horse being injured and euthanized. Unlike jockeys in New Jersey, harness drivers are allowed to use their whip to encourage horses, but there are severe restrictions placed on its use.

Bongiorno received a stay, but will nonetheless be sidelined. Starting last Friday, he began a 20-day ban put that was put in place by track owner Jeff Gural, who is never afraid to take matters into his owns hands. He was also banned at the two other tracks Gural owns, Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs.

Gural took action because he was concerned about an on-going pattern when it came to Bongiorno and the whip. The Meadowlands issued a statement, which read: “The Meadowlands, Tioga and Vernon Downs are excluding Joe Bongiorno from driving in races at any of those three tracks beginning Friday (June 25). This action is being taken due to track management's observation of Mr. Bongiorno's driving over a lengthy period of time. Most recently, in the seventh race on Saturday (May 29), Mr. Bongiorno was driving the horse Pat Stanley N when that horse fell while in contention in the very late stages of the race, resulting in a three horse accident where one of the horses suffered a catastrophic injury. Fortunately, the other two horses and all three drivers were able to walk away with minor injuries.”

Bongiorno can resume driving July 16 at the Meadowlands.

Rich Glazier, RIP

If you never paid attention to the simulcasts from Delaware Park and caught Rich Glazier's act, the loss was yours. Glazier, who worked for 30 years at Delaware Park as their TV host and paddock analyst, passed away Tuesday at the age of 73.

Glazier was much older than most racing talking heads and he was not nearly as pretty. But what this rumpled septuagenarian might have lacked in style he more than made up in substance. He knew his stuff, especially when it came to turf racing, but never took himself too seriously. He had his jokes and his shtick, all of which worked. He always reminded you of your favorite uncle who first took you to the track when you were a kid.

Mr. Delaware Park, Glazier was so devoted to his hometown track that he missed only one running of the Delaware H. (with the exception of the 1982 through 1985 runnings when it was held in Saratoga.) And he had a pretty good excuse–he was in Vietnam at the time. But that didn't keep Glazier from getting down a bet. For the 1968 Delaware H., he called his mother and told her to get to the local bookie and get a bet down for him on Politely. Politely won.

Chris Sobocinski, the track's morning-line maker and public relations director, worked alongside Glazier for years.

“He's almost synonymous with Delaware Park,” Sobocinski said. “I grew up with him being the replay show host for many, many years. In many ways, a part of Delaware Park died when Rich Glazier passed away.”

He loved horse racing like few others. One of the very best people I have ever come across in the sport, Glazier will be missed.

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Lestruska Has No Trouble With Antoinette, Envoutante In Fleur De Lis Stakes

Three weeks ago, Letruska was at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny., dominant in her two and three-quarter length victory in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes. Saturday, she put in another sensational performance in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., taking the lead at the break, setting the pace, and showing why she is the current leader in her division.

At the start, Letruska veered slightly to the right, straightened out, and quickly took a two-length lead over Antoinette, with Shawnee Stakes winner Envoutante and Brad Cox-trained Vault behind them. She controlled the pace throughout the race, despite Florent Geroux keeping Antoinette just behind a length off of Letruska, first on the rail and then moving his filly to the outside of the leader as they approached the final turn. Jose Ortiz and Letruska, though, had nothing to fear from this field of five others. Into the stretch, as the field put in their final runs, the 5-year-old started to pull away more, increasing her advantage to six lengths as she changed leads about a furlong from the finish line. Behind her, Envoutante moved ahead of Antoinette for a beat, but Geroux was able to rally the Godolphin-owned filly back into second. Under the wire, Letruska was five and three-quarters lengths in front, with Antoinette, Envoutante, Point of Honor, Spice Is Nice, and Vault finishing out the field.

After outdueling Monomoy Girl in April's Apple Blossom Stakes at Oaklawn Park and then putting on a show in the Ogden Phipps, Letruska quickly established herself as the best older filly or mare in the country, with her trainer Fausto Gutierrez setting their sights on the Breeders' Cup Distaff to cap off what so far has been a stellar 2021. This win in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis might be a short turnaround for the daughter of Super Saver, but she had no trouble with the nine furlongs, putting on a show for the closing day crowd at Churchill Downs. The victory is also Letruska's second Win and You're In race, her spot in the Breeders' Cup Distaff starting gate at Del Mar on Nov. 6 guaranteed.

Letruska paid $3.40, $2.80, and $2.10. Antoinette paid $10.60 and $4.40. Envoutante paid $2.40 to show.

The time for the mile and an eighth on a fast Churchill Downs was 1:48.57. This win in the G2 Fleur de Lis is Letruska's fourth win in five starts in 2021. Bred and owned by St. George Stables, the 5-year-old Letruska is by 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver out of Magic Appeal (Successful Appeal). She has 15 wins in 20 lifetime starts, with total career earnings of $1,305,450.

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