Following the report of a failed drug test by race winner Medina Spirit after the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 1, there has been a shake up in the top five positions in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll. Juddmonte’s Mandaloun, runner-up to Medina Spirit by a half-length in the Derby, has risen to No. 1 in the poll, with Zedan Racing’s Medina Spirit dropping to No. 4.
Trained by Brad Cox, Mandaloun, who was third in last week’s poll, received six first-place votes and 277 points. Mandaloun’s stablemate, Godolphin’s Essential Quality, who finished fourth in the Derby as the 5-2 favorite and is also trained by Cox, remains in second place with eight first-place votes and 275 points. Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds’ Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Derby, moves up one place to third. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Hot Rod Charlie has 250 points. Medina Spirit, trained by Bob Baffert, is next with 18 first-place votes and 215 points. Shadwell Stable’s undefeated bay filly, Malathaat, winner of the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, stays in fifth place with one first-place vote and 184 points for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Gary and Mary West’s homebred, Concert Tour, winner of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, holds onto sixth place. Also trained by Baffert, Concert Tour has 99 points. Two Steve Asmussen-trained horses are next. Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Midnight Bourbon, who finished sixth in the Derby, has 80 points and moves from 10th to seventh place in this week’s poll. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Jackie’s Warrior, who captured Churchill’s Grade 2 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU, is in an eighth-place tie with Hronis Racing and Talla Racing’s Rock Your World, winner of the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Both Jackie’s Warrior and Rock Your World, the latter trained by John Sadler, have 77 points. WinStar Farm and CHC’s Life Is Good, off the Triple Crown trail due to injury, drops from seventh to 10th place, registering one first-place vote and 74 points.
Godolphin’s 4-year-old Mystic Guide, winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, retains the top position in this week’s National Thoroughbred Poll. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received 27 first-place votes and 310 points. The Baffert-trained 4-year-old Charlatan, runner-up in the Group 1 Saudi Cup, is in second place with five first-place votes and 250 points. Two Cox-trained runners have switched positions this week. Korea Racing Authority’s Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go rises from fifth to third place with one first-place vote and 187 points, while Monomoy Girl, the reigning older dirt female Eclipse Award-winner, is now in fifth place. Monomoy Girl, owned by My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables, has 181 points. Sandwiched in between Knicks Go and Monomoy Girl, in fourth place, is Robert and Lawana Low’s 4-year-old Colonel Liam (184 points), who finished in a dead heat for first with Domestic Spending in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs.
The next five positions in the poll remain unchanged. Michael Lund Peterson’s Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter Gamine (138 points) is in sixth place. St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska (132 points), winner of Oaklawn’s Grade 1 Grade Apple Blossom, is in seventh place. Godolphin’s 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in eighth place with one first-place vote and 116 points. The Cox-trained 4-year-old filly Shedaresthedevil (84 points) is in ninth place. Completing the Top 10 is Klaravich Stable’s 4-year-old Domestic Spending (51 points), for trainer Chad Brown.
TOP THREE-YEAR OLD POLL
Week 13 of the 2021 NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through May 9. Current rankings of the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2021 record and total points. The three-year-old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown Championships. Poll concludes June 5 (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes). A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.
| HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MANDALOUN (6) | 3-C | 4-1-1-1 | 277 | 3 |
| 2 | ESSENTIAL QUALITY (8) | 3-C | 3-2-0-0 | 275 | 2 |
| 3 | HOT ROD CHARLIE | 3-C | 3-1-0-2 | 250 | 4 |
| 4 | MEDINA SPIRIT (18) | 3-C | 5-2-3-0 | 215 | 1 |
| 5 | MALATHAAT (1) | 3-F | 2-2-0-0 | 184 | 5 |
| 6 | CONCERT TOUR | 3-C | 4-3-0-1 | 99 | 6 |
| 7 | MIDNIGHT BOURBON | 3-C | 4-1-1-1 | 80 | 10 |
| 8T | JACKIE'S WARRIOR | 3-C | 2-1-0-1 | 77 | 8 |
| 8T | ROCK YOUR WORLD | 3-C | 4-3-0-0 | 77 | 9 |
| 10 | LIFE IS GOOD (1) | 3-C | 2-2-0-0 | 74 | 7 |
Other horses receiving votes: O BESOS (56), KNOWN AGENDA (48), GREATEST HONOUR (21), SEARCH RESULTS (21), HIGHLY MOTIVATED (19), HELLO HOT ROD (15), DREAM SHAKE (15), KING FURY (13), KEEPMEINMIND (10), FLIGHTLINE (11), RISK TAKING (7), PROMISE KEEPER (6), SUPER STOCK (5), CROWDED TRADE (5), UNBRIDLED HONOR (4), DRAIN THE CLOCK (3), CADDO RIVER (3), FIRST CAPTAIN (2), REBEL’S ROMANCE (2), TRIPLE TAP (2), TRAVEL COLUMN (1), HELIUM (1), DU JOUR (1)
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
Week 13 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through May 9. 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.
| HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MYSTIC GUIDE (27) | 4-C | 2-2-0-0 | 310 | 1 |
| 2 | CHARLATAN (5) | 4-C | 1-0-1-0 | 250 | 2 |
| 3 | KNICKS GO (1) | 5-H | 2-1-0-0 | 187 | 5 |
| 4 | COLONEL LIAM | 4-C | 3-3-0-0 | 184 | 4 |
| 5 | MONOMOY GIRL | 6-M | 2-1-1-0 | 181 | 3 |
| 6 | GAMINE | 4-F | 2-2-0-0 | 138 | 6 |
| 7 | LETRUSKA | 5-M | 3-2-1-0 | 132 | 7 |
| 8 | MAXFIELD (1) | 4-C | 3-2-0-1 | 116 | 8 |
| 9 | SHEDARESTHEDEVIL | 4-F | 2-2-0-0 | 84 | 9 |
| 10 | DOMESTIC SPENDING | 4-G | 1-1-0-0 | 51 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: IDOL (43), SWISS SKYDIVER (40), C Z ROCKET (34), SILVER STATE (28), MEDINA SPIRIT (17), MISCHEVIOUS ALEX (13), MALATHAAT (10), RAGING BULL (8), CHANNEL CAT (6), BY MY STANDARDS (6), UNITED (6), FLAGSTAFF (6), ESSENTIAL QUALITY (5), HARVEY’S LIL GOIL (3), CHANNEL MAKER (3), EXTRAVAGANT KID (2), SAY THE WORD (2), WHITMORE (2), DR POST (1), CHURN N BURN (1), NY TRAFFIC (1)