George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player put his best foot forward on Saturday when outdueling Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide in the stretch to capture the $400,000 Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.
The 4-year-old son of third-crop sire Honor Code tracked Moretti's moderate pace and remained in the clear as Mystic Guide made an inside rally around the far turn. Despite Mystic Guide's persistence, Max Player came out on top, besting the odds-on favorite by a neck under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.
In capturing the ten-furlong “Win And You're In” qualifier, Max Player earned an automatic entry into the $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Max Player was winless in his prior half-dozen starts heading into the Suburban with his previous victory taking place in the Grade 3 Withers last February at Aqueduct. He was subsequently third in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers, both of which were won by Tiz the Law.
“He came out of it in good shape, ate up, got a nice little roll in the grass. He's very happy,” said Asmussen's Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets.
Max Player arrived at the Suburban off a distant sixth in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 14, and shipped straight to Belmont Park, recording five breezes over the training track.
“He gradually improved; he loves it here,” Sheets said. “He got to do some things that helped him. I'm very happy with him. The way he ran shows how he improved.”
The triumph gave Asmussen a second victory in the Suburban after sending out New York-bred Haynesfield to victory in the 2010 edition.
Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is out of the stakes-winning Not For Love mare Fools in Love, who also produced Seahenge, a Group 2 winner in England.
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