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Max Player Scores Second BC Classic Spot With Gold Cup Victory

Max Player followed up his last-out neck victory in the Grade 2 Suburban with a dominating win over five others in the 1 1/4-mile Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr., the 4-year-old Honor Code colt earns a second berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The field of six broke cleanly, with Forza Di Oro, seeking his first Grade 1 win, taking a short lead as Max Player and Santana stalked him on the outside. Around the first turn, Forza Di Oro stretched his lead out to a length, but, after fractions of :24.05 for the first quarter and :48.70 for the first half-mile, Max Player began to press the leader, shortening the margin between them to a neck. Into the far turn, Forza Di Oro was still neck to the good, with Max Player and Happy Saver poised to challenge on the outside.

In the stretch, Max Player pulled even with Forza Di Oro, but the former leader began to tire as Santana asked Max Player to go, easily taking over the lead in the race's final furlongs. The margin of victory was six lengths, Happy Saver passing Forza Di Oro in the final yards to take over second. Night Ops was fourth, with Chess Chief and Forewarned rounding out the field.

The final time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:02.49 over a fast track. Find this race's chart here.

Max Player paid $9.60, $4.70, and $2.60. Happy Saver paid $3.80 and $2.20. Forza Di Oro paid $2.10 to show.

The G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, new to Saratoga for 2021, is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The winner gets a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“It was beautiful. Max, in the [Grade 1] Suburban [victory], ran that race under different circumstances on an off track. For him to do this on a fast track in the Jockey Club Gold Cup here at Saratoga, it is very satisfying. This is who he is, and I thought it was a dominating win,” trainer Steve Asmussen said after the race.

“I was happy with him,” Santana told the NYRA Press Office after the Gold Cup. “Today, he broke good, so I was really happy with it. The trainer is doing all the [work].”

Bred in Kentucky by K and G Stables, Max Player is out of the Not For Love mare Fools In Love, a black-type stakes winner. Owned by George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds, the 4-year-old was a $150,000 RNA consigned by Lane's End at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup is Max Player's second win in four starts in 2021 for a lifetime record of four wins in 10 starts.

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Max Player Earns Career-Best Speed Figure In Suburban Win

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player put his best foot forward on Saturday when outdueling Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide in the stretch to capture the $400,000 Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 4-year-old son of third-crop sire Honor Code tracked Moretti's moderate pace and remained in the clear as Mystic Guide made an inside rally around the far turn. Despite Mystic Guide's persistence, Max Player came out on top, besting the odds-on favorite by a neck under jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

In capturing the ten-furlong “Win And You're In” qualifier, Max Player earned an automatic entry into the $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Max Player was winless in his prior half-dozen starts heading into the Suburban with his previous victory taking place in the Grade 3 Withers last February at Aqueduct. He was subsequently third in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers, both of which were won by Tiz the Law.

“He came out of it in good shape, ate up, got a nice little roll in the grass. He's very happy,” said Asmussen's Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets.

Max Player arrived at the Suburban off a distant sixth in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 14, and shipped straight to Belmont Park, recording five breezes over the training track.

“He gradually improved; he loves it here,” Sheets said. “He got to do some things that helped him. I'm very happy with him. The way he ran shows how he improved.”

The triumph gave Asmussen a second victory in the Suburban after sending out New York-bred Haynesfield to victory in the 2010 edition.

Bred in Kentucky by K & G Stables, Max Player is out of the stakes-winning Not For Love mare Fools in Love, who also produced Seahenge, a Group 2 winner in England.

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Max Player to Preakness

George Hall and SportsBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.’s Max Player (Honor Code) will contest the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico.

“I’m very excited because I haven’t been in the Preakness yet,” said Hall, who won the 2011 Belmont with 24-1 shot Ruler On Ice. “After the Kentucky Derby, he looked like he wanted to keep running. Steve watched him closely, and he was in great shape. He’s galloped well. He’s breezed well. We felt the horse was at the peak of his game and is ready to run.”

Winner of the GIII Withers S. for Linda Rice in February, Max Player finished third in the June 20 GI Belmont S before filling the same position in the GI Travers S. Aug. 8. Transferred to Steve Asmussen, he was fifth in his latest start in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby. Asmussen previously won the Preakness with Curlin (Smart Strike) in 2007 and again in 2009 with the filly Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro).

“I really feel like we will be competitive,” said Hall. “If you look at the Belmont S., where we were third, he didn’t have such a great trip. We got really caught behind a lot of horses and had to move around a lot and still wound up being third because he came on so strong at the end. In the Travers, he again came on strong to be third. It’s no shame to lose to Tiz the Law, as everybody knows. We feel like he’s a really good horse. When we started to look at the Preakness, I think the view is that he’s in perfectly good health. He’s in good shape, and he needs to develop. Reviewing the Kentucky Derby, he really came out of the gate slow [from post 1] and was far behind in the first jump. If we can get a little better trip out of the gate, maybe get a better post position and not fall so far behind and give him so much work to do at the end, we think that we can be competitive.”

According to Hall, jockey Paco Lopez will partner the colt for the first time in the Preakness.

“Obviously, we want to stay in the race, but we have to be careful because he is going to be a closer, no matter what,” said Hall. “I’m sure Steve will give Paco the correct instructions.”

Looking farther down the road, Hall added, “He had a long layoff before the Belmont, but then he’s had a robust campaign since,” Hall said. “What’s most important to us is that he stays healthy and has a good 4-year-old and, hopefully, 5-year-old career. We didn’t really think there was negative toward running in the Preakness that would affect his long-term prospects as a 4-year-old. We’re pretty excited about what he’s going to do be doing in the future, too.”

Hall bred Max Player through his K & G Stables, named for his children Katherine and George, with the colt raised on his Annestes Farm in Versailles, Ky. Hall owns 86% of Max Player, with SportBLX Thoroughbreds owning the other 14%. Co-founded by Hall and Joe De Perio, SportBLX Thoroughbreds offers micro-shares in racehorses. More micro-shares in Max Player, which will come out of his majority interest, likely will be available for purchase next week, Hall said.

Asmussen will also run Monmouth Park’s Pegasus S. winner Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) in the Preakness. Joe Bravo will have the mount.

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‘We Can Be Competitive’: Max Player Heading To Preakness Stakes

Max Player is headed to the Preakness Stakes (G1), which as it currently stands will stamp him as the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown — plus Saratoga's Travers Stakes (G1).

Owned by George Hall and the SportBLX Thoroughbreds company he co-founded, Max Player finished third in the Belmont Stakes (G1), third in the Travers and most recently fifth in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby (G1). Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, winner of the 2007 Preakness with Curlin and the 2009 edition with the filly Rachel Alexandra, ran Max Player for the first time in the Derby, with New York-based Linda Rice previously training the Honor Code colt.

Hall won the 2011 Belmont Stakes with 24-1 shot Ruler On Ice. Max Player was his best finish out of four starters in the Kentucky Derby and his first to run in the Churchill Downs classic since Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Pants On Fire came in ninth in 2011.

“I'm very excited because I haven't been in the Preakness yet,” Hall said by phone. “Steve and I stay in close contact. He shares a lot of information with me, and we discuss things. So it's been great. We both agreed we'd take a lot of things into consideration before there was a decision.

“First, and most importantly, how was the horse feeling and was the horse up for it? Because we don't want to do anything that is not in the interest of the horse. After the Kentucky Derby, he looked like he wanted to keep running. Steve watched him closely, and he was in great shape. He's galloped well. He's breezed well. We felt the horse was at the peak of his game and is ready to run.

“The next thing is, are we going to be competitive? I really feel like we will be competitive. If you look at the Belmont Stakes, where we were third, he didn't have such a great trip. We got really caught behind a lot of horses and had to move around a lot and still wound up being third because he came on so strong at the end. In the Travers, he again came on strong to be third. It's no shame to lose to Tiz the Law, as everybody knows. We feel like he's a really good horse.

“When we started to look at the Preakness, I think the view is that he's in perfectly good health. He's in good shape, and he needs to develop. Reviewing the Kentucky Derby, he really came out of the gate slow (from post 1) and was far behind in the first jump. If we can get a little better trip out of the gate, maybe get a better post position and not fall so far behind and give him so much work to do at the end, we think that we can be competitive.”

Paco Lopez, known for getting horses into a race, has the Preakness mount on Max Player, Hall said. “That's what Paco is known for. Obviously, we want to stay in the race, but we have to be careful because he is going to be a closer, no matter what. I'm sure Steve will give Paco the correct instructions.”

Max Player won Aqueduct's 1 1/8-mile Withers Stakes (G3) on Feb. 1 after winning a maiden race at Parx on his second attempt. He did not run again until the June 20 Belmont, which this year also was 1 1/8 miles instead of the traditional 1 1/2-miles because of the COVID-forced changes to the 2020 Triple Crown.

“He had a long layoff before the Belmont, but then he's had a robust campaign since,” Hall said. “What's most important to us is that he stays healthy and has a good 4-year-old and hopefully 5-year-old career. We didn't really think there was negative toward running in the Preakness that would affect his long-term prospects as a 4-year-old. We're pretty excited about what he's going to do be doing in the future, too.”

Hall bred Max Player through his K & G Stables, named for his children Katherine and George, with the colt raised on his Annestes Farm in Versailles, Ky. Hall owns 86 percent of Max Player, with SportBLX Thoroughbreds owning the other 14 percent. Co-founded by Hall with Joe De Perio, SportBLX Thoroughbreds allows people to buy micro-shares in racehorses, similar in basic premise to Myracehorse, a minority owner in Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Authentic.

More micro-shares in Max Player, which will come out of his majority interest, likely will be available for purchase next week, Hall said.

Asmussen also is running Monmouth Park's Pegasus winner Pneumatic in the Preakness, with Joe Bravo to ride.

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