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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 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-6-2021/

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Stidham Ponders Mystic Guide’s Next Start After Close Second In Suburban

Godolphin's Mystic Guide was already back at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland on Sunday morning following his game runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The son of Ghostzapper, out of multiple Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note, arrived at the classic-distance engagement off a 3 ¾-length victory in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Although he came up a neck shy of victory in the Suburban, Mystic Guide fought gamely under jockey Luis Saez to the inside of Max Player over the sloppy and sealed racetrack.

Never off the board in nine lifetime starts, Mystic Guide boasts a record of 4-3-2 with previous stakes victories taking place in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and his seasonal commencement in the Grade 3 Razorback on February 27 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He brags lifetime earnings in excess of $7.5 million.

Trainer Michael Stidham identified several elements that went against Mystic Guide on Saturday, but said he was happy to see a good performance from his star pupil.

“He looks great. He came out of the race in good shape,” Stidham said. “There were lots of factors involved. He was coming off three months and obviously it was a demanding racetrack he ran on. Saez was forced to go up the rail, which was not the better part of the track. He fought back gamely and valiantly under some unfavorable circumstances.”

While the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic remains the ultimate goal, the next step Mystic Guide will take to get there is unknown.

“Nothing about what happened Saturday changed our plans of getting to the Breeders' Cup,” Stidham said. “We'll get him back to training and that will give us some time to compute it all. There are plenty of options.”

Stidham confirmed that Mystic Guide's consistent half-brother and stablemate Gershwin will seek a second consecutive graded stakes triumph in Monday's $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes going a one-turn mile over the Belmont main track.

The son of Distorted Humor was a last-out winner of an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 28 at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.

Stidham scratched Gershwin from Saturday's Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park in favor of the Dwyer. Like Mystic Guide, Gershwin also has never finished off the board, bragging a record of 5-2-1-2.

Stidham also confirmed M and M Stable's graded stakes-winner Princess Grace, who was scratched from Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at Belmont, will race in the $200,000 Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on July 6 at Parx Racing. The 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie last raced when capturing the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November at Churchill Downs.

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Max Player Outduels Mystic Guide To Take Suburban At Belmont

Max Player's last win came 17 months ago in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at Belmont Park. In Saturday's Grade 2 Suburban Stakes, the son of Honor Code finally returned to the winner's circle after his long absence, and, in the process, earned a spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 6.

Sloppy after a deluge earlier in the day, the Belmont surface had been kinder to horses running away from the rail, which is where jockey Ricard Santana, Jr. placed Max Player early in the ten-furlong Suburban, just off of leader Moretti. From the break, Moretti held a length advantage over Max Player on his outside and Mystic Guide on his inside, Happy Saver just behind them. In a race that had been billed as another battle between Happy Saver and Mystic Guide, it was Moretti that did all of the early running, with the rest of the field content to wait for the right moment to make their move.

As the field came out of that sweeping final turn, Mystic Guide made his run for the lead on the rail, moving toward the center of the track once he was clear of Moretti. On the outside, Max Player and Santana moved as well, meeting Mystic Guide halfway down the stretch. The two dueled for the race's last furlong with Max Player digging in to win the Suburban by a neck. Mystic Guide, making his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup on March 27, finished 2 1/2 lengths in front of Happy Saver in third. The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:01.95.

Moretti, Informative, and Prioritize rounded out the field. Find the race's chart here.

The G2 Suburban Stakes is a Win and You're In race for the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif. Winners receive a free and guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding Breeders' Cup race.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. credited Max Player for his fighting spirit in that stretch duel. “He was training really well,” Santana, Jr. said. “If you saw him in the paddock, he was looking unbelievable. He always runs well on this track. He always tries hard. Today, he broke well and put me right there. I took the spot and no one wanted to go. As soon as he felt him inside, he kept on fighting until the end.”

Trainer Steve Asmussen knew that the clear trip would give his colt confidence to finish the way he did. “He's been here since Pimlico and he had been doing really well,” said Asmussen assistant Toby Sheets. “He's kind of a funny horse. He always has more, but sometimes he doesn't give it. He had a clear trip today and that helped so much. He finished well. He needed a little confidence builder and he got one today. He ran a nice race.”

Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is a 4-year-old colt by Honor Code out of the Not For Love mare Fools In Love. Consigned by Lane's End, he was a $150,000 RNA at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is owned by George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen. The G2 Suburban is Max Player's third career win in ten starts for earnings of $717,500.

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Mystic Guide Returns in Suburban

Godolphin homebred Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), off since winning the G1 Dubai World Cup in March, makes his stateside return in the GII Suburban S. at Belmont Park Saturday. The Suburban, a 'Win and You're In' race for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will feature a rematch between the handsome chestnut and Happy Saver (Super Saver), who bested him by 3/4 lengths in last year's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup.

In addition to his runner-up effort in the Gold Cup last October, Mystic Guide's 3-year-old campaign also included a win in the GII Jim Dandy S. He prepped for his trip to Dubai with a six-length romp over a sloppy track in the Feb. 27 GIII Razorback H., for which he earned a 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Obviously, we don't really know how much the sloppy track played into that number,” said trainer Mike Stidham. “He came back in the Dubai World Cup and made the number look like it was real, which was good. We've given him plenty of time and he's had three months since that race to bounce back. Looking at him train and his weight and his coat, he's an absolute picture right now.”

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver is now unbeaten in five career starts after returning from his Gold Cup win last fall with a one-mile allowance tally at Belmont May 28. The 4-year-old debuted a winner last June at Belmont and added a Saratoga allowance victory July 26 before winning the Sept. 7 Federico Tesio S.

“I think as an older horse he's a little more laid back in some of his works,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Happy Saver. “He always performs well and he's really filled out and matured. For the way he ran in the Jockey Club Gold Cup last year, he's proven he likes that distance and that race looks even stronger now with what Mystic Guide has done.”

Of Mystic Guide's rematch with Happy Saver, Stidham said, “The bottom line is that they're both very good horses. I'm not taking anything for granted. I know Happy Saver has never been beaten and it won't be an easy race for us. I just hope we have the best horse.”

Pletcher also saddles Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti (Medaglia d'Oro), who was second behind Tacitus (Tapit) in last year's Suburban. The 5-year-old was a front-running victor of the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone S. last August in his final 2020 outing. He resurfaced with a third-place effort in the 1 1/2-mile GII Brooklyn S. at Belmont June 5.

“The farther the better for him,” said Pletcher. “He ran OK in here last year and this would be a nice bridge to the Birdstone to try and defend his title there.”

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