Steve Asmussen | Horse Racing Free Tips

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.

The post ‘We Can Be Competitive’: Max Player Heading To Preakness Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Grade 1 Winner Volatile Retired To Three Chimneys For 2021 Breeding Season

Three Chimneys Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbreds announced today that Grade 1 winner and stakes record setter Volatile, winner last time out in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap against a field comprised of all Grade 1 winners at Saratoga, has been retired due to a hairline fracture of his right front cannon bone. He will take up stud duty at Three Chimneys for the 2021 breeding season.

By Violence (Medaglia d'Oro), who ranks first in 2020 by Grade 1 winners, Volatile was his sire's most expensive yearling sold at public auction when hammered down for $850,000 at Keeneland September in 2017.

The ultra-talented and stunningly-gorgeous gray, was the model of consistency, compiling a record of five wins and a second from six starts. Undefeated this year, he rose to the top of the sprint division with dominant victories culminating in a Grade 1 win in the Vanderbilt where he clocked a final quarter :22.94, the fastest in the race's history.

His two starts prior to that saw a combined margin of victory of nearly 16 lengths, including a stakes record and near-track record performance in the listed Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs which earned him the highest Beyer Speed Figure of the year, a 112. His final time of 1:07.57 while being throttled down, was just .02 seconds off the track record, running the final eighth mile in :11 and change.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, a winner of over 9,000 races, said of Volatile, “He reminds me very much of Mitole in his championship season. Volatile is as fast as any horse I have ever trained. His brilliant performances this year would have made him the likely favorite for the Breeders' Cup Sprint and a tough horse to beat. I trained his mother and his grandmother, the incredible Lady Tak who won multiple Grade 1 races for us. You will not find a better looking individual than Volatile, nor one with as much speed and raw talent.”

“Volatile is a beautiful horse that breeders will like when they see him. He exudes class and is a great physical. He was brilliant and that is what can make a stallion special,” said farm owner Gonçalo Torrealba, adding, “Three Chimneys will proudly support him with plenty of quality mares, I can guarantee that.”

A stud fee has not yet been announced. The farm will send a release informing breeders as to when he will be available for inspection.

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‘We Expect A Big Effort’: Pneumatic Fires Bullet Toward Preakness

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Pneumatic continued his preparation for the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) on Oct. 3 with a five-furlong bullet work Monday morning in company in 1:00.85 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga.

“On this track that's about as good as horses work,” said Scott Blasi, trainer Steve Asmussen's top assistant.

The homebred son of Uncle Mo returned to trainer Asmussen's barn at Saratoga Race Course following his 2¼-length victory in the Pegasus on Aug. 15 at Monmouth Park. He has worked four times over the training track and Blasi said the colt will breeze again before shipping to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Under exercise rider Angel Garcia, Pneumatic worked in tandem with his Winchell Thoroughbreds stablemate Callibrate, a 2-year-old maiden winner. They turned in fractional times of :12, :23.80, :36 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.

“It was a solid five-eighths. They were out well,” Blasi said. “He's trained really good since the Pegasus at Monmouth. Off that work we expect a big effort in the Preakness.”

Pneumatic did not start as a 2-year-old. He won his debut at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 15 and followed with an allowance victory at Oaklawn on April 11. Asmussen moved him into stakes company and he finished third in the Matt Winn (G3) on May 23 at Churchill Downs and fourth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 20.

“He's just been a late-maturing horse,” Blasi said. “This race being later in the year has allowed him to come along and come around at his own rate. It just seemed like a good spot after the race at Monmouth.”

Pneumatic is out of Teardrop by Tapit, a stakes-placed half-sister to Pyro, the G1 winning Winchell homebred trained by Asmussen.

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