Godolphin’s 4-year-old Mystic Guide remained in first place in the latest NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll, but St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska and Godolphin’s 4-year-old Maxfield, moved up to second and third place, respectively, following dominating victories at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Mystic Guide, trained by Mike Stidham, received 21 first-place votes and 313 points. On Saturday, Mystic Guide breezed 4 furlongs in 48.2 at Fair Hill in Maryland in preparation for the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park on July 3. A chestnut son of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, Mystic Guide will be making his first start since winning the Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27. Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, won Saturday’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis by 5 ¾ lengths for her fourth win in five starts in 2021. A bay daughter of 2010 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Letruska has two first-place votes and 268 points, moving from third to second place this week. Equally impressive on Saturday was Maxfield, who swept to a powerful 3 ¼-length victory in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes. A dark bay son of 2007 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, Maxfield jumped from seventh to third place in the poll. Trained by Brandan Walsh, Maxfield increased his first-place votes from one to five this week, and has a total of 253 points. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing’s 4-year-old Silver State dropped from second to fourth place, registering one first-place vote and 229 points. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, including the Grade 1  Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.

Klaravich Stables’ 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, is in fifth place with six first-place votes and 219 points. Trained by Chad Brown, Domestic spending won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont on June 5. 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 one first-place vote and 185 points. Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables’ 6-year-old Monomoy Girl, the 2020 older dirt female Eclipse Award winner, rose from ninth to seventh place, and has 87 points. The 4-year-old Gamine (109 points), last year’s champion female sprinter, trained by Bob Baffert, stayed in eighth place.  Korea Racing Stable’s Knicks Go (37 points), winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, moved up one spot to ninth place. SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Frederick Hertrich III, John Fielding and Golconda Stables’ 4-year-old Charlatan (135 points), who finished second in the Group 1 Saudi Cup for Bob Baffert, is in 10th place and received 32 votes. Charlatan has subsequently been retired.

TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL

Week 20 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through June 27. 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
1MYSTIC GUIDE (21)4-C2-2-0-03051
2LETRUSKA (2)5-M5-4-1-02683
3MAXFIELD (5)4-C4-3-0-12537
4SILVER STATE4-C4-4-0-02292
5DOMESTIC SPENDING (6)4-G2-2-0-02194
6ESSENTIAL QUALITY (1)3-C4-3-0-01855
7MONOMOY GIRL6-M2-1-1-0879
8GAMINE4-F2-2-0-0848
9KNICKS GO5-H3-1-0-03710
10CHARLATAN4-C1-0-1-0326

Other horses receiving votes: COLONEL LIAM (31), HOT ROD CHARLIE (26), HAPPY SAVER (16), SWISS SKYDIVER (16), SMOOTH LIKE STRAIT (15), MEDINA SPIRIT (14), BY MY STANDARDS (14), IDOL (13), SHEDARESTHEDEVIL (12), MALATHAAT (12), C Z ROCKET (10), MANDALOUN (10), COUNTRY GRAMMER (8), RAGING BULL (5), OLEKSANDRA (4), SET PIECE (4), SEARCH RESULTS (3), AWARD WINNER (3), FIRENZE FIRE (2), CAMPANELLE (2), MISCHEVIOUS ALEX (1), FOLLOWING SEA (1)