Mystic Guide Remains No. 1 in NTRA National Poll

NTRA COMMUNICATIONS —-

MYSTIC GUIDE REMAINS NO. 1 IN NTRA NATIONAL POLL;
BELMONT STAKES WINNER ESSENTIAL QUALITY NOW NO. 5

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 14, 2021) ― Godolphin’s 4-year-old Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, remains the top horse in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll. Mystic Guide, a 4-year-old son of Ghostzapper, trained by Mike Stidham, received 26 first-place votes and 325 points. On Sunday, Mystic Guide breezed 5 furlongs at Fair Hill in 1:00.20. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing’s 4-year-old Silver State stays in second place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, which includes the June 5 Grade 1 Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State has one first-place vote and 228 points. Just three points back in third place is St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska (225 points), who won Belmont’s Grade 1 Ogden Phipps for trainer Fausto Gutierrez. Klaravich Stables’ 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, retains fourth place, and is the only turf horse in the top 10. Winner of the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont, Domestic Spending has five first-place votes and 218 points.

Godophin’s Essential Quality, who last week finished first in the final NTRA Top 3-Year-old Poll of 2021 following his Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets victory, moves from ninth to fifth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality has two first-place votes and 181 points. SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Frederick Hertrich, III, John Fielding and Golconda Stables’ 4-year-old Charlatan (143 points), runner-up in the Group 1 Saudi Cup for trainer Bob Baffert, drops from fifth to sixth place. The 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is the third Godolphin runner in the top 10. Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet, is now in seventh place with one first-place vote and 133 points. The 4-year-old Gamine (121 points), last year’s champion female sprinter, also trained by Baffert, remains in eighth place. My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables’ 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, the 2020 older dirt female Eclipse Award-winner, drops from seventh to ninth place with 99 points. Korea Racing Stable’s Knicks Go (34 points), winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, remains in 10th place.

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-thoroug…oll-june-14-2021/