GOOD MAGIC REMAINS IN FIRST PLACE ON THE NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL

Joan Lawrence/NTRA —-

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

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Tuesday, February 20, 2018) –Week four of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll shows some slight movement on the bottom ranks of the top-ten after the running of G3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park and the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds. The Risen Star (G2) kicked off the 16-race “Championship Series,” worth 50-20-10-5 to the Top 4 finishers, respectively as the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” continues. 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.

Entering the poll for the first time in ninth is Risen Star winner Bravazo (81) for Calumet Farm and My Boy Jack (74) in tenth after his victory in the Southwest Stakes for Don’t Tell My Wife Stables (Kirk Godbey and Rob Slack) and Monomoy Stables LLC (Sol Kumin) and trainer Keith Desormeaux. My Boy Jack earned 10-qualifying points giving him a total of 12 and placing him thirteenth on the leaderboard. Bravazo currently leads the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 54 qualifying points after his Risen Star victory.

Eclipse Award-winning Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Good Magic remains in first-place with (25 first-place votes and 379 votes). Trained by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown for Stonestreet Stables LLC the 2017 Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner is currently in training in south Florida.
The son of Curlin is expected to make his first start of the season in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 3. Good Magic is in second on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 24 points.
Remaining in second and third on the top-ten is Bolt d’ Oro (12 first-place votes; 334 points) and Sham Winner (G3) McKinzie (3 first-place votes; 311 points) respectively Bolt d’ Oro with 14 qualifying points is seventh on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and trained and owned by Mick Ruis.
Bolt d’ Oro is being pointed towards the San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, McKenzie, with 20 qualifying Derby points and fifth on the leaderboard is also expected to make his next start in the San Felipe on March 10.

Remaining in fourth position is Holly Bull Stakes (G2) winner Audible (229) for trainer Todd Pletcher and owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing Stable. Audible earned 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and his next start could well come in the $1 millionXpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park March 31.

Rounding out the field is: Solomini ((190); Avery Island (128); Catholic Boy (91); Flameaway (76); Bravazo (81) and My Boy Jack (74).

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.

Remaining in first is Eclipse Award Winning Champion for Three-Year-Old Males West Coast (22 first-place votes; 380 points) for trainer Bob Baffert and owners Gary and Mary West in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for horses four and up. In his most recent start the son of Flatter finished second to Gun Runner in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park. The $10 million Dubai World Cup Invitational at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 31 is under consideration for West Coast according to Baffert.

Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner and Champion Turf Eclipse Award winner World Approval (314) remains in second place for Mark Casse and owner Charlotte Weber of Live Oak Plantation. The six-year-old gelding will not be pointed next to the Dubai Turf (G1) on March 31 and will remain in the states.

Eclipse Award Champion Female Sprinter Unique Bella (2 first-place vote; 241 points) who galloped in the Santa Maria Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita a week ago moved upped from fifth to third this week.
Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer the Hall of Famer indicated that Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitation on March 17 could be her next start.

Rounding out the top-ten are: Roy H (1 first-place vote; 219 points ); Forever Unbridled (1 first-place vote; 196 votes); Gun Runner (14 first-place votes; 193 votes); Gunnevera (126); Abel Tasman (126) Sharp Azteca (92 ) and Beach Patrol (71).

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-20-2018/

Voters by Voters:

https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week4-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).