Knicks Go Solidly Atop NTRA Thoroughbred Poll

NTRA Communications —-

KNICKS GO SOLIDLY ATOP NTRA THOROUGHBRED POLL AS FOCUS SHIFTS TO BREEDERS’ CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Max Player Moves into Top 10 off Labor Day Weekend Score at Saratoga

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 7, 2021) ― Korea Racing Authority’s 5-year-old Knicks Go kept his No. 1 rating in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for the fifth straight week, while the 4-year-old colt Max Player catapulted from sixteenth into the top 10 off an impressive score in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga over the Labor Day weekend.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, received 19 first-place votes and 323 points. A winner three times in five starts this year, Knicks Go captured the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in July, and scored a dominant, front-running victory in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 7.

St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska is in second place with six first-place votes and 306 points. Letruska has won five races this year for trainer Fausto Gutierrez, including the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Godolphin’s 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 28, remained in third place with 10 first-place votes and 294 points. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, last year’s Eclipse Award winner as Champion Two-Year-Old Male, captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.

Michael Lund Petersen’s 4-year-old filly Gamine, winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, remained in fourth place for the second consecutive week with 159 points.

Godolphin’s 4-year-old Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs and second in the Whitney, is in fifth. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has 137 points. Max Player, who earlier this year captured the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park, moved into sixth place with 135 points off his strong performance in the Gold Cup. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Max Player is owned by George Hall.

Klaravich Stables’ 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, is in seventh place with 110 points. Domestic Spending is trained by Chad Brown.

The speedy Jackie’s Warrior, also trained by Asmussen and owned by Kirk and Judy Robison, most recently captured the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 and is in eighth place with 107 points.

Shadwell Stable’s Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat, trained by Todd Pletcher and a winner of three races in four starts this year, is in ninth place with 91 points. Rounding out the top 10 is Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing’s Silver State, winner of four races in 2021 including the Grade 1 Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State has 50 points.

TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
Week 30 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through September 6. Current Horse of the Year ranking of the Top Thoroughbred on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2021 record and total points. Poll Concludes Monday, Nov. 6. A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.

Cover Photo: Knicks Go; Pegasus