St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska has retained the No. 1 position in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll following a quiet week in which none of the top rated horses were in action. As a result, the first eight places in the poll remained unchanged.
Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, has won four of five starts this year, including the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park, and the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs. A daughter of 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Letruska has 13 first-place votes and 298 points.
Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in second place with six first-place votes and 266 points. 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.
Godolphin's Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup and second in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont, is in third place. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received seven first-place votes and 244 points.
Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending is in fourth place with seven first-place votes and 225 points. Trained by Chad Brown, in 2021 Domestic Spending has won the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic in a dead heat at Churchill Downs, and the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont.
Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State, undefeated in four starts this year, is in fifth place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State, winner of the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont, has one first-place vote and 205 points.
Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, is in sixth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality has two first-place votes and 193 points.
Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, also trained by Cox, runaway winner Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on July 2, and victorious in Gulfstream Park's Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January, is in seventh place with 133 points.
Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old Gamine (90 points), the 2020 champion female sprinter, who is three for three this year, is in eighth place for trainer Bob Baffert.
George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp's 4-year-old Max Player, upset winner of the Suburban, is in a ninth-place tie with My Racehorse Stable, Spendthrift Farm and Madaket Stables' 6-year-old Monomoy Girl.
Max Player, trained by Asmussen, and the 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, a two-time Eclipse Award winner, trained by Cox, each has 55 points.
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-12-2021/
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