National Thoroughbred Racing Association | Horse Racing Free Tips

Little Movement In NTRA 3-Year-Old, Top Thoroughbred Polls Ahead Of Breeders’ Cup

Less than two weeks out from the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Nov. 6-7, there was little change in both the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Ahead of his expected start in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic continues to hold down the top spot in the Three-Year-Old Poll with 15 first-place votes and 330 points. The son of Into Mischief tuned up for the Breeders' Cup with a seven-furlong breeze in 1:24.40 at Santa Anita Park on October 24, his second timed workout since finishing second in the Oct. 3 Preakness Stakes.

Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law is also slated to be one of the top contenders for the Breeders' Cup Classic and moved back into the No. 2 spot on the poll this week with 10 first-place votes and 323 points. The son of Constitution arrived at Keeneland last week where he worked six furlongs in 1:13.20 on Oct. 23.

Preakness Stakes heroine Swiss Skydiver, who remains under consideration for either the Breeders' Cup Distaff or Classic, dips one spot this week to third with 11 first-place votes and 318 points. Grade 2 winner Art Collector (193 points) ranks fourth, ahead of Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Happy Saver (178).

Grade 1 winner Honor A. P., who was retired last month to Lane's End Farm, remains sixth with 120 points followed by multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (94 points), who is expected to contest the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Max Player takes over sole possession of the eighth spot this week with 77 points, one point ahead of Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (76). Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 67 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner and likely Breeders' Cup Classic favorite Improbable maintains his lead in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 31 first-place votes and 355 points. Trained by Bob Baffert, Improbable will bring a three-race win streak into the Classic and clocked a seven-furlong work in 1:25 on Oct. 25.

Champion Maximum Security remains behind his stablemate in the poll with 2 first-place votes and 262 points. Multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma (1 first-place vote, 217 points) remains third with expected Breeders' Cup Classic contender Tom's d'Etat (2 first-place votes, 213 points) in fourth.

Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, holds in fifth with 197 points followed by multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards (138 points). Authentic (119 points) and Tiz the Law (116) rank seventh and eighth, respectively, with Swiss Skydiver (101) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (67) completing the top 10.

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 both the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

The post Little Movement In NTRA 3-Year-Old, Top Thoroughbred Polls Ahead Of Breeders’ Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Swiss Skydiver Jumps To Second In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

It has yet to be determined which Breeders' Cup race top sophomore filly Swiss Skydiver will enter. What is assured is that the Preakness Stakes winner will carry strong regard to any starting gate she enters as she continues to inch up the ranks in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

In the wake of her victory over Kentucky Derby winner and poll leader Authentic in the October 3 Preakness, Swiss Skydiver remains under consideration for a start in either the Breeders' Cup Distaff or another showdown against males in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7. The daughter of Daredevil was one of the few movers on this week's poll, earning 12 first-place votes and 303 points to move up one spot to second, just ahead of Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law (8 first-place votes, 301 points) in third.

Authentic continues to hold down the top spot in the 3-Year-Old Poll with 14 first-place votes and 312 points. Both Authentic and Tiz the Law are scheduled to be part of the Breeders' Cup Classic field.

Grade 2 winner Art Collector (185 points) ranks fourth ahead of Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Happy Saver (173). Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, is sixth with 113 points followed by multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (97 points), who is expected to contest the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and Max Player remain tied for eighth with 82 points apiece while Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 60 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable is likely to vie for favoritism in the Breeders' Cup Classic as the son of City Zip continues to hold the lead in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 29 first-place votes and 335 points. Trained by Bob Baffert, Improbable will bring a three-race win streak into the Classic with his most recent win coming in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park on September 26.

Champion Maximum Security was bested by Improbable in the Awesome Again Stakes and remains behind his stablemate in the poll with 2 first-place votes and 246 points. Multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma (1 first-place vote, 206 points) moves up one spot this week to third, two points ahead of fellow top-level winner Tom's d'Etat (2 first-place votes, 204 points).

Champion Monomoy Girl (192 points) holds in fifth followed by multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards with 130 points. Authentic (107 points) and Tiz the Law (104) rank seventh and eighth, respectively, with Swiss Skydiver (89) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (62) completing the top 10.

The post Swiss Skydiver Jumps To Second In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Happy Saver Jumps To Fifth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

When he surged up the rail and hit the finish line first in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 10, Happy Saver inserted himself into the discussion of top tier contenders in the sophomore male division. Indeed, when the votes were tallied in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll, the son of Super Saver found himself among the elite.

Happy Saver bested a field that included such older foes as graded stakes winner Tacitus in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to give trainer Todd Pletcher his long-awaited first triumph in the storied race. That victory, which also marked the colt's first try against graded stakes company in four career starts, earned Happy Saver 174 points this week to move him into the fifth position. Following a debut victory on June 20 at Belmont Park, Happy Saver prevailed going two turns at Saratoga en route to a triumph in the Sept. 7 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, ahead of his Jockey Club Gold Cup outing.

“What he's been able to accomplish you don't see very many other horses do,” Pletcher told the NYRA publicity team of Happy Saver. “He went from a seven-furlong maiden on June 20 to a mile and an eighth allowance at Saratoga, to a mile and an eighth stake at Laurel and came back to Belmont and then to win a Grade 1 going a mile and a quarter against older horses is something you don't see very often.”

Whether Happy Saver heads to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7 is still to be determined. Should he end up in that starting gate, his list of challengers will likely include Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, who continues to hold the top spot in the 3-Year-Old Poll.

Authentic, who was beaten a neck by the filly Swiss Skydiver in the October 3 Preakness Stakes, earned 17 first-place votes and 342 points to hold onto the top spot for yet another week. Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law remains second with eight first-place votes and 328 points with Swiss Skydiver (12 first-place votes, 326 points) in third.

Grade 2 winner Art Collector (203 points) holds down the fourth position ahead of Happy Saver while Grade 1 winner Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, drops one spot to sixth with 129 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (103 points) is seventh with Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and Max Player now tied for eighth with 80 points apiece. Grade 2 winner Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 57 points.

With sophomore runners taking the top two spots in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the handicap division had no major shifts this week. Multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable remains out front in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 32 first-place votes and 365 points as the son of City Zip has won three straight top-level contests.

Champion Maximum Security, runner-up to Improbable in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26, is second with two first-place votes and 271 points. Tom's d'Etat (two first-place votes, 218 points) is third followed by Vekoma (one first-place vote, 202 points) and champion Monomoy Girl (191 points).

Multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards remains sixth with 147 points while Authentic (124 points) and Tiz the Law (117) rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Swiss Skydiver (104 points) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (71) complete the top ten.

The post Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Happy Saver Jumps To Fifth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Swiss Skydiver Vaults To Third Position In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver made history this past weekend when she became just the sixth filly to capture the Preakness Stakes, a stirring effort that allowed the daughter of Daredevil to move up the ranks in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver came into the 1 3/16-miles Preakness off a runner-up effort in the September 4 Kentucky Oaks and had won four other graded races this season, including the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. The chestnut filly outdueled Kentucky Derby winner Authentic by a neck in the Preakness to assert herself as the leader of the sophomore filly ranks, earning 11 first-place votes and 359 points to move up to third overall in the poll.

Authentic, who was 9 ¾ lengths clear of third-place finisher Jesus' Team, lost the final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown but still holds the top spot in the poll with 18 first-place votes and 378 points. Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law is second with 14 first-place votes and 369 points while Grade 2 winner Art Collector (249 points) dropped one spot to fourth, just behind Swiss Skydiver.

Grade 1 winner Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, remains fifth with 155 points followed by fellow top-level winner Gamine (128 points) and Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (112) in seventh. Max Player (110 points) ranks eighth while Thousand Words (52) and Jesus' Team (45) complete the top 10.

Authentic's older stablemate Improbable remains out front in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 34 first-place votes and 401 points. The son of City Zip has won three straight Grade 1 contests with his latest triumph coming in the September 26 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

Champion Maximum Security, runner-up in the Awesome Again Stakes, remains second with 2 first-place votes and 303 points. Tom's d'Etat (2 first-place votes, 249 points) is third followed by multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma (2 first-place votes, 245 points) and champion Monomoy Girl (1 first-place vote, 213 points).

Multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards remains sixth with 160 points while Authentic (127 points) moves up to seventh – the highest ranking sophomore on the Top Thoroughbred Poll. Tiz the Law (115 points) is eighth followed by Swiss Skydiver (114) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (75).

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 both the Top Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

The post Swiss Skydiver Vaults To Third Position In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post