St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska has retained the No. 1 position in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll following a quiet week in which none of the top rated horses were in action. As a result the first eight places in the poll remained unchanged.

Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, has won four of five starts this year, including the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park, and the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs. A daughter of 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Letruska has 13 first-place votes and 298 points.

Godolphin’s 4-year-old Maxfied, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in second place with six first-place votes and 266 points. Maxfield dominated the June 26 Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs with a powerful 3 ¼-length win to improve his overall record to seven wins in eight starts. Godolphin’s Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup and second in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont, is in third place. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received seven first-place votes and 244 points. Klaravich Stables’ 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending is in fourth place with seven first-place votes and 225 points. Trained by Chad Brown, in 2021 Domestic Spending has won the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic in a dead heat at Churchill Downs, and the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing’s 4-year-old Silver State, undefeated in four starts this year, is in fifth place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State, winner of the Grade 1 Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont, has one first-place vote and 205 points.

Godolphin’s 3-year-old Essential Quality, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, is in sixth place. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality has two first-place votes and 193 points. Korea Racing Authority’s Knicks Go, also trained by Cox, runaway winner Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on July 2, and victorious in Gulfstream Park’s Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January, is in seventh place with 133 points. Michael Lund Petersen’s 4-year-old Gamine (90 points), the 2020 champion female sprinter, who is three for three this year, is in eighth place for trainer Bob Baffert.

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp’s 4-year-old Max Player, upset winner of the Suburban,  is in a ninth-place tie with My Racehorse Stable, Spendthrift Farm and Madaket Stables’ 6-year-old Monomoy Girl. Max Player, trained by Asmussen, and the 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, a two-time Eclipse Award winner, trained by Cox, each has 55 points.

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.

TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL

Week 22 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through July 11. 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.

HORSEA-SSTATSPOINTSPVS
1LETRUSKA (13)5-M5-4-1-02981
2MAXFIELD (6)4-C4-3-0-12662
3MYSTIC GUIDE (7)4-C3-2-1-02443
4DOMESTIC SPENDING (7)4-G2-2-0-02254
5SILVER STATE (1)4-C4-4-0-02055
6ESSENTIAL QUALITY (2)3-C4-3-0-01936
7KNICKS GO5-H4-2-0-01337
8GAMINE4-F3-3-0-0908
9TMAX PLAYER4-C3-1-0-0559
9TMONOMOY GIRL6-M2-1-1-05510

Other horses receiving votes: HOT ROD CHARLIE (27), MALATHAAT (15), COLONEL LIAM (15), CHARLATAN (12), MEDINA SPIRIT (11), HAPPY SAVER (8), IDOL (8), MANDALOUN (8), C Z ROCKET (7), SMOOTH LIKE STRAIT (7), SWISS SKYDIVER (7), COUNTRY GRAMMER (6), SHEDARESTHEDEVIL (6), RAGING BULL (5), SEARCH RESULTS (3), SET PIECE (3), BY MY STANDARDS (2), MISS MARISSA (2), AWARD WINNER (2), FIRST CAPTAIN (2), MIND CONTROL (2), CAMPANELLE (1), CHUB WAGON (1), FOLLOWING SEA (1)