LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 24, 2021) ― John and Diane Fradkin’s Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer has retained the No. 1 ranking in the latest
National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Three-Year-Old Poll over last year’s 2-year-old champion and Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Essential Quality. There were no changes in the order of the top 10 horses from last week.
Trained by Michael McCarthy, Rombauer, a bay son of Twirling Candy, received 12 first-place votes and 300 points. He is expected to start in the final jewel of the Triple Crown, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, on June 5. Godolphin’s Essential Quality, the 5-2 Kentucky Derby favorite, also has 12 first-place votes, but is eight points shy of first place with 292 points. Mandaloun, also trained by Cox, is in third place with four first-place votes and 262 points. Owned by Godolphin, Mandaloun finished second in the Kentucky Derby.
Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds’ Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Kentucky Derby, is in fourth place. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Hot Rod Charlie has 221 points. Zedan Racing’s Medina Spirit, third in the Preakness after winning the Kentucky Derby, is in fourth place. Trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit has seven first-place votes and 210 points.
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Midnight Bourbon, second in the Preakness, is in sixth place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon has 186 points. Shadwell Stable’s undefeated bay filly, Malathaat, winner of the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, is in seventh place. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Malathaat has 171 points. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Jackie’s Warrior remains in eighth place. Winner of the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU, Jackie’s Warrior, trained by Asmussen, has 72 points. WinStar Farm and CHC’s Life Is Good, off the Triple Crown trail due to injury, is in ninth place. Life Is Good has one first-place vote and 57 points. Hronis Racing and Talla Racing’s Rock Your World, winner of the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, rounds out the top 10 with 52 points.
Places five through 10 in the poll remain the same as last week. My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables’ Monomoy Girl, the reigning older dirt female Eclipse Award-winner, is in fifth place with 189 points. St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska (148 points), winner of Oaklawn’s Grade 1 Grade Apple Blossom, is in sixth place. The 4-year-old Gamine (142 points), last year’s champion female sprinter, has one first-place vote and 142 points, and is in seventh place. Godolphin’s 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in eighth place with one first-place vote and 141 points. The Cox-trained 4-year-old filly Shedaresthedevil (96 points), winner of Churchill’s Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes, is in ninth place. Completing the top 10 is Klaravich Stable’s 4-year-old Domestic Spending (55 points), for trainer Chad Brown.
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 Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.
TOP THREE-YEAR OLD POLL
Week 15 of the 2021 NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through May 23. 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 | ROMBAUER (12) | 3-C | 3-2-0-1 | 300 | 1 |
| 2 | ESSENTIAL QUALITY (12) | 3-C | 3-2-0-0 | 292 | 2 |
| 3 | MANDALOUN (4) | 3-C | 4-1-1-1 | 262 | 3 |
| 4 | HOT ROD CHARLIE | 3-C | 3-1-0-2 | 221 | 4 |
| 5 | MEDINA SPIRIT (7) | 3-C | 6-2-3-1 | 210 | 5 |
| 6 | MIDNIGHT BOURBON | 3-C | 5-1-2-1 | 186 | 6 |
| 7 | MALATHAAT | 3-F | 2-2-0-0 | 171 | 7 |
| 8 | JACKIE'S WARRIOR | 3-C | 2-1-0-1 | 72 | 8 |
| 9 | LIFE IS GOOD (1) | 3-C | 2-2-0-0 | 57 | 9 |
| 10 | ROCK YOUR WORLD | 3-C | 4-3-0-0 | 52 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: O BESOS (30), KNOWN AGENDA (28), KEEPMEINMIND (12), REBEL’S ROMANCE (11), GREATEST HONOUR (9), DREAM SHAKE (9), FLIGHTLINE (9), HELLO HOT ROD (8), CONCERT TOUR (7), PROMISE KEEPER (7), KING FURY (6), HIGHLY MOTIVATED (6), SEARCH RESULTS (5), TRIPLE TAP (3), TRAVEL COLUMN (2), JACKIES WARRIOR (2), CADDO RIVER (1), DRAIN THE CLOCK (1), FIRST CAPTAIN (1)
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
Week 15 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through May 23. 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 (31) | 4-C | 2-2-0-0 | 334 | 1 |
| 2 | CHARLATAN (1) | 4-C | 1-0-1-0 | 219 | 2 |
| 3 | KNICKS GO (2) | 5-H | 2-1-0-0 | 218 | 4 |
| 4 | COLONEL LIAM | 4-C | 3-3-0-0 | 217 | 3 |
| 5 | MONOMOY GIRL | 6-M | 2-1-1-0 | 189 | 5 |
| 6 | LETRUSKA | 5-M | 3-2-1-0 | 148 | 6 |
| 7 | GAMINE (1) | 4-F | 2-2-0-0 | 142 | 7 |
| 8 | MAXFIELD (1) | 4-C | 3-2-0-1 | 141 | 8 |
| 9 | SHEDARESTHEDEVIL | 4-F | 2-2-0-0 | 96 | 9 |
| 10 | DOMESTIC SPENDING | 4-G | 1-1-0-0 | 55 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: SWISS SKYDIVER (40), IDOL (38), C Z ROCKET (33), SILVER STATE (20), ROMBAUER (12), MISCHEVIOUS ALEX (11), RAGING BULL (10), MALATHAAT (9), MEDINA SPIRIT (7), UNITED (6), FLAGSTAFF (5), ESSENTIAL QUALITY (5), EXTRAVAGANT KID (4), BY MY STANDARDS (4), MANDALOUN (3), CHANNEL CAT (2), SAY THE WORD (2), CHANNEL MAKER (2), WHITMORE (2), ARKLOW (1), MEAN MARY (1), NY TRAFFIC (1), DR POST (1), CHUB WAGON (1), HARVEY’S LIL GOIL (1)
