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Max Player Works at Churchill for Derby

Max Player (Honor Code), third in both the GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. behind expected GI Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law (Constitution), worked in company Monday morning at Churchill Downs as he continued his preparations for the Sept. 5 Derby. Under jockey Florent Geroux, Max Player completed a five-eighths work in :59.60 during the 15-minute window set aside exclusively for Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks contenders.

Off at approximately 7:30 a.m., Max Player began the move two lengths behind his stablemate, Allege (Uncle Mo), and finished on even terms at the wire. He recorded splits of :23.80 for the quarter and :35.80 for three furlongs, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.60.

“He worked really well behind his workmate,” said Geroux, who was deputizing for rider Ricardo Santana, Jr., who is scheduled to have the mount for the Derby. “I think he will like the 1 1/4-mile distance in the Derby. I was working the horse this morning because Ricardo is still at Saratoga. Steve [Asmussen] has given me many great opportunities in my career so I always try to help when he needs me. I will be on [trainer] Bob Baffert’s horse Thousand Words [Pioneerof the Nile] in the Derby.”

Sporting the colors of George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp., Max Player was trained by New York-based Linda Rice through the Aug. 8 Travers before being transferred to Asmussen. Never off the board in five career starts, he opened his sophomore campaign with a win in the GIII Withers S. Feb. 1 prior to his placings in the Belmont and Travers.

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Travers Third Max Player Moved To Hall Of Famer Asmussen’s Barn

George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, third in both the Travers and the Belmont Stakes, has been transferred to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, according to the Daily Racing Form.

The 3-year-old son of Honor Code had been trained by Linda Rice, who saddled the colt to a record of two wins, a second, a two thirds from five starts for earnings of $373,500. Max Player won the G3 Withers Stakes to kick off his sophomore season, then finished third behind Tiz the Law in both the G1 Belmont and the G1 Travers to earn a total of 60 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Now, Max Player will be vanned from Rice's Belmont base to Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs on Wednesday.

“I definitely wanted someone with experience and infrastructure at Churchill,” Hall told drf.com. “I wanted someone who could take the horse to Churchill right away and to spend some time with the horse prior to the race and give him his best shot at having a good race at that track.”

On To The Derby For Travers Runner-Up Caracaro; Rice Keeping Max Player’s Options Open

It's on to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby for Global Thoroughbred and Top Racing's Caracaro, runner-up in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado said he was pleased with the way Caracaro exited the “Mid-Summer Derby,” his second race in three weeks off a six-month layoff.

“He came back very good. He's happy, he ate his food, he's relaxed. Right now, he's sleeping. Everything's good,” Delgado said. “We'll check with the vet and talk with the owners and my son and decide. As long as there's no problems, we'll go to the Derby.

“Yesterday was a big race, a strong race. I consider Tiz the Law the best horse in the country,” he added. “In the Travers, they were all good horses. It was his second race after the six months and to run second again was very good for us.”

Caracaro earned 40 qualifying points for the Derby in the Travers, where he was 5 1/2 lengths behind Tiz the Law but two lengths clear of Max Player in third. Caracaro picked up 20 points for his neck defeat in the Grade 2 Peter Pan on July 16 at Saratoga and ranks 10th, solidifying his spot in the 20-horse Derby field.

“That's what we wanted and that was the plan. It's always been the plan with him. We're kind of satisfied that we accomplished that,” Delgado's son and assistant, Gustavo Delgado, Jr. said. “Of course we know there's a freak horse around. We do think that our horse still has a lot of room for improvement. He's still developing, you can tell, and we were asking a lot from him.

“I think running after three weeks, one more furlong, out of that effort in the Peter Pan, to come back in the Travers, a tougher race, a tougher field, and he showed up again,” he added. “His figure numbers keep improving. He handled the distance pretty well. You can tell he kept going, at his own pace, but he kept going. We were just second-best. But he beat all the other horses, so that was good.”

Delgado, Jr. said Caracaro is expected to remain in Saratoga to train for the Derby, which was rescheduled from May 2 to September 5. It will be the third trip to Louisville for the Delgados, who ran 18th with Majesto in 2016 and 13th with Bodexpress in 2019.

“It's going to be a long and very exciting three weeks,” Delgado, Jr. said. “It's more likely that we will stay here. I don't think shipping the horse the next few days would be good for him. He will go through regular post-race stress so it's better if he stays here, and he likes it here, the weather and everything. Ideally, we will stay here and train for the Derby and ship right before the race. That's what makes more sense right now.”

'Baby Steps' Forward For Third-Place Finishers Max Player
George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player continued his career-long trend of finishing in the money, earning third-place honors for the second consecutive Grade 1 with his black-type effort in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.

Just like in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20, Max Player stayed off the pace in the 151st running of the Travers before finishing strong to earn a placing in a race won by New York-bred Tiz the Law.

Under jockey Joel Rosario for the second consecutive start, Max Player went four-wide in the upper stretch and hit the wire two lengths back of runner-up Caracaro, who was 5 1/2 lengths behind the runaway winner and 1-2 favorite.

Bred by K&G Stables in Kentucky, Max Player is 2-1-2 in five career starts for trainer Linda Rice.

“He came out of it really well,” Rice said. “He's a little tired, but otherwise, he's in good shape.”

Max Player earned a 99 Beyer for the effort, the best of his career and exceeding his previous high of 92 garnered in the Belmont Stakes. He has improved his speed figures in every start, beginning with a 68 in a second-place debut effort as a juvenile in November at Parx. After breaking his maiden at second asking to cap his 2-year-old year in December over a sloppy and sealed Parx main track, Max Player earned an 86 for his 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Withers in his stakes – and sophomore – debut in February at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“We were pleased with it,” Rice said. “He's continued to improve and taken baby steps forward. So, we were pleased with that. He's been pretty consistent and has been moving forward with gentle progress. We're happy with that. He came out of it fine and he's sleeping a lot today since he ran hard and is a bit tired. But all in all, he came out of the race well.”

Max Player earned 20 qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby on September 5 at Churchill Downs, with the Runhappy Travers awarding 100-40-20-10 to the top-four finishers. He sits ninth on the Derby leaderboard with 60 total points and $337,500 in non-restricted stakes earnings. With the “Run for the Roses” expected to draw its usual full field of 20, that would put Max Player in contention to give Rice her first career Derby starter should the connections decide to ship him there.

“We're certainly going to keep that option open,” Rice said. “We'll give it a few days and I'll discuss it further with George and Joe De Perio [president of SportBLX] and talk about that later in the week.”

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Tiz the Law in Good Order After Travers Romp, On to Derby

Sackatoga Stable’s GI Runhappy Travers S. winner Tiz the Law (Constitution) was bright-eyed the morning after his dominant 5 1/2-length victory in Saratoga’s marquee race, for which he received a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure. Shortly after training concluded for the morning, trainer Barclay Tagg was at his barn on the Saratoga backstretch standing next to the garland of carnations that had been draped around the now four-time Grade I winner’s neck Saturday. Tagg said his star 3-year-old colt was in good order.

“He looks fine,” Tagg told the NYRA notes team. “I was very pleased with the way he ran. He did everything a good horse ought to do and did it perfectly.”

After becoming the first New York-bred to win the GI Belmont S. in 138 years, Tiz the Law became the first horse bred in the Empire State to win the Travers since Thunder Rumble in 1992. Tiz the Law will now point to the GI Kentucky Derby Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, which Tagg won with Sackatoga’s Funny Cide in 2003.

“He seems to terrorize the competition when he makes his move,” Tagg said. “Every race I’ve seen, even the first one, has been great. He came off that turn, and I thought, ‘They’re going to run by him like he’s standing still’ and then I look again and he’s three in front. It was the same way yesterday. I thought, ‘Get into him, Manny’ and he just kept running, running, running.”

Tiz the Law will likely have two breezes prior to the Derby, according to Tagg.

“He’ll gallop every day,” Tagg said. “He’ll have about 10 days before we breeze him again. We’ll probably only be able to get two breezes in him before we go out there. We’ll go out there a week ahead of time.”

Travers runner-up Caracaro (Uncle Mo) is likely Derby bound, reported trainer Gustavo Delgado. The lightly-raced colt would be making just his fifth career start in Louisville.

“He came back very good. He’s happy, he ate his food, he’s relaxed. Right now, he’s sleeping. Everything’s good,” Delgado said. “We’ll check with the vet and talk with the owners and my son and decide. As long as there’s no problems, we’ll go to the Derby. Yesterday was a big race, a strong race. I consider Tiz the Law the best horse in the country.”

Third finisher Max Player (Honor Code), who also ran third in the Belmont, has enough qualifying points to be trainer Linda Rice’s first Derby starter, but Rice said she would wait a bit to make a decision on the race.

“He came out of it really well,” Rice said. “He’s a little tired, but otherwise, he’s in good shape. He’s continued to improve and taken baby steps forward. So, we were pleased with that. He’s been pretty consistent and has been moving forward with gentle progress. We’re happy with that. We’re certainly going to keep [the Derby] option open. We’ll give it a few days and I’ll discuss it further with George and Joe De Perio [president of co-owner SportBLX Thoroughbreds] and talk about that later in the week.”

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