Good Magic Remains in First on the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Joan Lawrence/NTRA —-

GOOD MAGIC REMAINS IN FIRST ON THE NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL;
WEST COAST MOVES INTO FIRST-PLACE FOR OLDER HORSES IN TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Monday, February 5, 2018) –Week two of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll brings in two new sophomores (Audible and Avery Island) into the ranks of the top-ten as the Road to the Kentucky Derby moves into a new month of which results were released today.

First, second and third positions remain status quo with Eclipse Award Champion for Two-Year-Old Colt Good Magic remaining in first-place with (30 first-place votes and 405 votes). Trained by Eclipse award winning trainer Chad Brown for Stonestreet Stables LLC the 2017 Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner is currently in training at Palm Meadows training center in south Florida preparing for his 2018 campaign Good Magic leads the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 24 points. Points are awarded to the top four finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points will earn a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.

Remaining in second and third in week two on the ladder is Bolt d’ Oro (10 first-place votes; 360 points) and Sham Stakes (G3) winner McKinzie (1 first-place vote; 300 points). Trained and owned by Mick Ruis, Bolt d’ Oro is expected to take the Southern California route to the Derby who currently has 14 points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Mckinzie with 20 qualifying Derby points is expected to make his next start in the San Felipe Stake on March 10 for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Moving into the ranks in fourth position this week is the recent Holly Bull Stakes (G2) winner Audible (245) for trainer Todd Pletcher and owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing Stable Audible earned 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with his 5 ½-length triumph. Audible’s next start could well come in the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park March 31.

Rounding out the field is: Solomini (206); Instilled Regard (1 first-place vote; 184 points); Catholic Boy (1 first-place vote; 150 points); Avery Island (141); Mask (72) and Mourinho (57).

The NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll is the sport’s most comprehensive survey of experts ranking the generation of Thoroughbreds that includes all Triple Crown contenders. 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. The Top 3-Year-Old Poll concludes June 11 after the Belmont Stakes.

With the retirement of Gun Runner (35 first-place votes; 350 points) to stud duty the Horse of the Year drops down a notch to second in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for horses four and up. Sitting chilly in second a week ago, Eclipse Award Champion for Three-Year-Old Males West Coast (7 first-place votes; 388 points) moves up the ladder to first for trainer Bob Baffert and owners Gary and Mary West.

In his most recent start the son of Flatter finished second to Gun Runner in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park this past January.

Remaining in third and fourth is Champion Turf Eclipse Award winner World Approval (276) followed by Champion Older Female Forever Unbridled (218).

Eclipse Champion Sprinter Roy H (1 first-place vote; 209 points) moves up two notches from seventh to fifth after his convincing win in the Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita this past Saturday.

Owned by Rockingham Ranch and David A. Bernsen, LLC trainer Peter Miller indicated that the Grade I Triple Bend Stakes on March 10 at Santa Anita would likely be next for Roy H.

Rounding out the top-ten are: Gunnevera (168); Abel Tasman (138) Sharp Azteca (110); Beach Patrol (84) and Unique Bella (79).

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes November 5 after the running of the Breeders’ Cup.

The full results for both NTRA weekly Thoroughbred polls can be found on the NTRA website at:

https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-february-5-2018/

Voters by Voters:

https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week2-by_voter-2018.pdf

About the NTRA
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA, Based in Lexington, Ky., owns and manages the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the NTRA Top Thoroughbred and NTRA Top 3-Year-Old weekly media polls; the Eclipse Awards; the National Handicapping Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter(@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).