St. George Stables 5-year-old mare Letruska moved up to # 1 in the recent NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll, ending the 14-week reign of Godolphin’s 4-year-old Mystic Guide, who was defeated in Belmont’s Grade on Saturday 2 suburb.
Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, has won four out of five starts this year. She made a name for herself beating senior women’s dirt champion Monomoy Girl in the Apple Blossom Handicap Class 1 at Oaklawn Park in April, then the Ogden Phipps Class 1 at Belmont Park on June 5 and class 1 on June 5. Lis at Churchill Downs on June 26th by 5 lengths. Letruska, a brown daughter of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, has 11 votes for first place and 302 points, moving up from second place last week.
Godolphins 4-year-old Maxfied is now in second place with six first-placed and 266 points. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield dominated the Stephen Foster Stakes on June 26th at Churchill Downs with a strong 3¼ length win, improving his overall record to seven wins in eight starts.
Mystic Guide, another Godolphin runner, lost a hard-fought match against Max Player in Suburban on a sloppy track on his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup on March 27, and lost 260 points while he was in this week’s poll falls back to third place.
Klaravich Stables’ 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only lawn horse in the top 10, climbed from fifth to fourth place this week with seven first places and 224 points. Trained by Chad Brown, Domestic Spending won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes in Belmont on June 5th.
Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing’s 4-year-old Silver State, unbeaten in four starts this year, dropped from fourth to fifth. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State, Grade 1 Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap winner on June 5th in Belmont, has one vote for first place and 222 points.
Godolphin’s third star in the top 10 is 3 year old Essential Quality, Belmont Stakes Grade 1 winner, presented by NYRA Bets. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality ranks sixth with two votes for first place and 197 points.
Korea Racing Authority’s Knicks Go, also trained by Cox, put in one of the best performances of the year last Friday night when he won the 3.11 / 8-mile Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap by 10¼ lengths. As the winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in Gulfstream Park in January, Knicks Go (129 points) rose from ninth to seventh place.
The 4-year-old Gamine (83 points), last year’s sprint champion, was another brilliant winner on the holiday weekend. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen and trained by Bob Baffert, Gamine won Monday’s Great Lady M. Stakes in Los Alamitos by 10 lengths, improving her record to three out of three that year, and staying in eighth place on the poll.
George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp’s Max Player climbed from 23rd to 9th place after his determined victory in the Suburban 11-1. Trained by Asmussen, the 4-year-old Max Player (69 points) won his first race of the year in three starts.
Spendthrift Farm LLC and the 6-year-old Monomoy Girl from Madaket Stables round off the top 10 with 58 points. A two-time Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff Grade 1 winner, Monomoy Girl, also trained by Cox, won this year’s Bayakoa Stakes Grade 3 in Oaklawn.
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred surveys are the most comprehensive expert surveys in sport. Each week, eligible journalists and broadcasters cast their votes for their top 10 horses, with points being awarded on a basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. All horses that have participated in races in the USA, are training in the USA or are known to indicate a major event in the USA are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. The vote in the Top Thoroughbred Poll should be carried out by November 6th.
The full results of the NTRA whole blood surveys can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-july-6-2021/
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This post was posted in Racing and tagged Domestic Editions, Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska, Max Player, Maxfield, Mystic Guide, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, NTRA Top Thoroughbred Survey, Silver State, Suburban, Super Saver by NTRA. Bookmark the permalink.
