Korea Racing Stable’s 5-year-old horse Knicks Go, the likely morning line favorite for the Grade 1, $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, retained his top ranking for the eleventh consecutive week in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 23 first place votes and 339 points.
St. George Stable’s 5-year-old mare Letruska remained in second place in the poll with six first place votes and 312 points. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska is a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Godolphin’s 3-year-old standout colt Essential Quality, who like Knicks Go is trained by 2020 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, remained in third place in this week’s poll with seven first place votes and 299 points. Essential Quality also is being pointed for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Kirk and Judy Robison’s Jackie’s Warrior, a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint, moved up one spot to fourth-place in this week’s poll with 158 points. Roadrunner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing and Gainesway Stable’s Hot Rod Charlie, another leading Classic contender, fell one spot to fifth-place in this week’s poll with 149 points.
Michael Lund Petersen’s Gamine, who is being pointed for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, moved up one spot to sixth in the poll with 129 points. Zedan Racing Stable’s Breeders’ Cup Classic hopeful, Medina Spirit (125 points), dropped one spot to seventh-place. There were no other changes in this week’s rankings with Bruce Lunsford’s Art Collector (95 points), George Hall’s Max Player (83 points) and Klaravich Stable’s Domestic Spending (68 points) rounding out the top 10.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
Week 36 of the 2021 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through October 17. 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 | KNICKS GO (23) | 5-H | 6-4-0-0 | 339 | 1 |
| 2 | LETRUSKA (6) | 5-M | 7-6-1-0 | 312 | 2 |
| 3 | ESSENTIAL QUALITY (7) | 3-C | 6-5-0-0 | 299 | 3 |
| 4 | JACKIE'S WARRIOR | 3-C | 6-4-1-1 | 158 | 5 |
| 5 | HOT ROD CHARLIE | 3-C | 6-2-1-2 | 149 | 4 |
| 6 | GAMINE | 4-F | 4-4-0-0 | 129 | 7 |
| 7 | MEDINA SPIRIT | 3-C | 8-4-3-1 | 125 | 6 |
| 8 | ART COLLECTOR | 4-C | 4-3-0-0 | 95 | 8 |
| 9 | MAX PLAYER | 4-C | 4-2-0-0 | 83 | 9 |
| 10 | DOMESTIC SPENDING | 4-G | 3-2-1-0 | 68 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: MAXFIELD (46), MALATHAAT (45), LIFE IS GOOD (40), SHEDARESTHEDEVIL (27), WAR LIKE GODDESS (18), MONOMOY GIRL (7), SILVER STATE (6), GOLDEN PAL (6), DR. SCHIVEL (4), MO FORZA (4), MYSTIC GUIDE (4), COLONEL LIAM (4), HELLO HOT ROD (3), ALTHIQA (3), WAR GODDESS (2), GUFO (2), SHANTISARA (1), JACK CHRISTOPHER (1)