Tag: Letruska

Prepping For July 3 Suburban, Mystic Guide Retains Top Spot In NTRA Poll

Godolphin's 4-year-old Mystic Guide, approaching his first start since winning the Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27, retained the No. 1 ranking in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll with no changes in the top 10 from last week. Mystic Guide, a 4-year-old son of Ghostzapper, trained by Mike Stidham, received 25 first-place votes and 313 points. On Saturday, Mystic Guide breezed 6 furlongs in 1:13.20 at Fair Hill in Maryland in preparation for an expected return in Belmont Park's Grade 2 Suburban on July 3.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State is in second place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State has won all four of his starts this year, including the June 5 Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont. Silver State has one first-place vote and 241 points.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska is one of three females in the top 10. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska, winner of Belmont's Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, picked up one first-place vote this week and has a total of 231 points. A daughter of Super Saver, Letruska is slated to start in Saturday's Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs, a “Win and You're In” for the Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, is in fourth place. A bay son of Kingman (GB), Domestic Spending, who won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont, has five first-place votes and 217 points.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, is in fifth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality has two first-place votes and 189 points.

SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Frederick Hertrich III, John Fielding and Golconda Stables' 4-year-old Charlatan (135 points), who finished second in the Group 1 Saudi Cup for trainer Bob Baffert, is in sixth place.

The 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in seventh place with one first-place vote and 132 points. Owned by Godolphin, Maxfield is expected to start in Saturday's Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill, which is a “Win and You're In” for the Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. A dark bay son of Street Sense, Maxfield, who breezed 4 furlongs in 48.80 on Saturday at Churchill, won the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet at Churchill on April 30.

The 4-year-old Gamine (109 points), last year's champion female sprinter, also trained by Baffert, is in eighth place. My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables' 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, the 2020 older dirt female Eclipse Award winner, is in ninth place with 96 points.

Korea Racing Stable's Knicks Go (34 points), winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, remains in 10th place.

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-june-21-2021/

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Letruska Adds Intrigue To Loaded Fleur de Lis Field

Closing day for the spring meet at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. was already a blockbuster one loaded with seven stakes races on the 11-race card, including two Win-And-You're-In events for this year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Sunday's news from the Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee that trainer Fausto Gutierrez had declared Letruska, the current leader of the filly and mare division, for the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes bumped the anticipation for that 1 1/8-mile event even higher.

The Fleur de Lis already had Spice Is Nice, Point of Honor, and Shawnee Stakes winner Envoutante, set to start along with Singita Dreams and Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes winner Vault, but the addition of Grade 1-winning Letruska makes this stake a must-watch on Saturday. To the victor goes the winner's share of the $300,000 purse and a free and guaranteed spot in the 1 1/8-mile Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. on Nov. 6.

Of her four races this season, Letruska has won three, all stakes, including the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Spring, Ark. in April and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny. on the Belmont Stakes undercard on June 5. In the G1 Apple Blossom, Letruska took an early lead over 2020's champion mare Monomoy Girl, dueling with the multiple-Grade 1 winner down the Oaklawn stretch to win by a nose. In the G1 Ogden Phipps, Letruska faced 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and stakes winner Bonny South, again taking the lead from the break and winning easily by 2 3/4 lengths.

After her Ogden Phipps victory, Gutierrez declared the Breeders' Cup Distaff his mare's year-end target, and a win in the Fleur de Lis along with that guaranteed spot in the Distaff starting gate would put Letruska well on her way to that goal.

Letruska was bred in Kentucky by breeder/owner St. George Stable. She is by 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver out of the Successful Appeal mare Magic Appeal. Letruska started her career in Mexico, winning her first six starts there before coming to the United States in late 2019. She has won 14 of her 19 lifetime starts with career winnings of $1,121,400.

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Mystic Guide Remains Atop NTRA Poll; Belmont Winner Essential Quality Up To Fifth Position

Godolphin's 4-year-old Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, remains the top horse in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll. Mystic Guide, a 4-year-old son of Ghostzapper, trained by Mike Stidham, received 26 first-place votes and 325 points. On Sunday, Mystic Guide breezed 5 furlongs at Fair Hill in 1:00.20.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State stays in second place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, which includes the June 5 Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State has one first-place vote and 228 points.

Just three points back in third place is St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska (225 points), who won Belmont's Grade 1 Ogden Phipps for trainer Fausto Gutierrez.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, retains fourth place, and is the only turf horse in the top 10. Winner of the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont, Domestic Spending has five first-place votes and 218 points.

Godophin's Essential Quality, who last week finished first in the final NTRA Top 3-Year-old Poll of 2021 following his Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets victory, moves from ninth to fifth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality has two first-place votes and 181 points.

SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Frederick Hertrich, III, John Fielding and Golconda Stables' 4-year-old Charlatan (143 points), runner-up in the Group 1 Saudi Cup for trainer Bob Baffert, drops from fifth to sixth place.

The 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is the third Godolphin runner in the top 10. Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet, is now in seventh place with one first-place vote and 133 points.

The 4-year-old Gamine (121 points), last year's champion female sprinter, also trained by Baffert, remains in eighth place.

My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables' 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, the 2020 older dirt female Eclipse Award-winner, drops from seventh to ninth place with 99 points.

Korea Racing Stable's Knicks Go (34 points), winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, remains in 10th place.

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-thoroug…oll-june-14-2021/

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Belmont Racing Festival Success Nets Jose Ortiz Jockey Of The Week Title

Jose Ortiz won two Grade 1 stakes races and a Grade 2 stakes during Belmont Park's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, earning Jockey of the Week for June 1 through June 6. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

While Ortiz was originally scheduled to ride numerous mounts during the three-day Racing Festival, he picked up several more after his brother, Irad, went down in an on-track accident Thursday requiring jockey changes for Friday and Saturday. To everyone's relief, Irad was not seriously injured and is scheduled to return to riding soon. Jose went on to make the most of the mounts he picked up.

On Friday, Ortiz picked up the mount on Firenze Fire for trainer Kelly Breen in the Grade 2 True North at 6-1/2 furlongs. Firenze Fire broke from the rail and engaged Flagstaff for nearly the entire race before prevailing by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:15.52.

“(Irad) said he's a very nice horse and that he was going to break good,” said the replacement Ortiz. “I rode him like he was the best horse and he was the best horse.”

On Saturday, Ortiz was named his brother's replacement on Drain the Clock for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. Under Ortiz, Drain the Clock broke sharp from post 2 while the favorite, Jackie's Warrior missed the break but was hustled up to take command with Drain the Clock in unrelenting pursuit. Drain the Clock hit the wire in front by a neck. The win was Ortiz's first career Woody Stephens.

“It was a great race, everybody gave their best. I'm just happy we came out with the win and I'm happy filling in for Irad and not messing it up,” said Ortiz.

Later on Saturday, Ortiz picked up Letruska for Fausto Gutierrez in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares going 1-1/16 miles on the main track. With Ortiz aboard, Letruska went right to the lead out of the gate, led the other four up the backstretch and opened up to draw off by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:41;25. Ortiz said Letruska would not be denied the lead.

“She was breaking a little slow, but she broke good today. I was able to put her on the lead and make the other horses chase me,” said Ortiz.

Ortiz's weekly statistics were 32-5-5-4 for an in-the-money percentage of 43.7 and total purse earnings of $1,370,764.

For Jockey of the Week honors, Ortiz out-polled Edwin Gonzalez with an in-the-money rate of 62 percent, Flavien Prat with two graded stakes wins, Diego Saenz who was the leading jockey by wins with 10, and Luis Saez who won the Belmont Stakes.

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