It wasn’t a lot of a shock that Max Player drew the outside post for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Throughout this year, the 4-year-old son of Honor Code has been on the outside looking in among the most widely touted members of the older horse dirt division.
Yet that has been changing lately, and the Nov. 6 Classic at Del Mar simply may function the springboard he must lastly breakthrough and make a Michael Jordan-esque leap from his present standing as No. 10 on the Nationwide Thoroughbred Racing Affiliation ballot.
Ought to he prevail from put up 9 in Saturday’s race, a robust case may be made that he ought to be the champion older male dust horse.
“I like the Traditional as a race,” stated George Corridor, who owns Max Participant alongside along with his SportBLX Thoroughbreds group. “I used to be third in 2011 with Ruler On Ice , which was great. There’s a lot at stake in the Classic, and I’m happy to be back.”
Max Participant, educated by Corridor of Famer Steve Asmussen, actually has a license to win the Traditional. He is coming off a pointy pair of back-to-back wins. Within the Suburban Stakes (G2) he defeated Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airways (G1) winner Mystic Guide , and then on Sept. 4, he prevailed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). He secured a free, guaranteed “Win and You’re In” spot in the Classic in both races, which were part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
Max Player wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Both of those stakes were at the Classic’s distance of 1 1/4 miles, and the son of the Not For Love mare Fools in Love is quite accomplished handling that much ground. Six of his last seven races have been at 1 3/16 miles or more, and his résumé shows a couple of thirds a year ago in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) and the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), albeit the Belmont was contested at 1 1/8 miles last year due to the pandemic.
Yet for all that success, Max Player was pegged at 8-1 in the morning line, making the $1.25 million earner only the co-fifth-choice in the field of nine.
“He was 11-1 in the Suburban when he won and he was still the third choice in the Jockey Club. There were still people who thought his success in the Suburban was a result of the sloppy track. Then it was hot and sunny for the Jockey Club and he won that relatively easy (by four lengths),” Hall said. “He’s under the radar and maybe underappreciated. His speed figures are not as fast as some of the other horses, but he didn’t need to run that much faster to win the Jockey Club pretty easily.”
Max Player was certainly bred for success by K & G Stables. He’s the fifth of eight foals from Fools in Love and the fourth that’s at least stakes-placed. He’s a half brother to group 2 winner Seahenge (Scat Daddy), a stallion in France, and has younger, unraced siblings in Homeric , a 2-year-old colt by Ulysses ; Love Story, a yearling Frankel filly; and a weanling Ulysses colt.
With a career record of four wins in 11 career starts, Max Player finally reached his potential this summer, and the turnaround for Asmussen has coincided with the adapting of a new running style. While he was a closer from the back of the pack for most of his races, he was second much of the way in both the Suburban and Jockey Club Gold Cup before taking the lead in the stretch and triumphing.
The pace should be quick in the Classic, with morning-line favorite Knicks Go (5-2) and Medina Spirit (4-1) on hand, putting pressure on jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., who will have to make a critical decision on the fly about where to place Max Player.
“He’s running with a new style now, not being so far off the pace,” Hall said. “Ricardo has gotten him out the gate better in his last two races. Now there will be a much faster pace, which will be good for him. Max Player has won some races, he’s improving, and he belongs with these horses.”
As hot as Max Player has been, Santana has been cold. He was a shocking 0-for-81 at the recent Keeneland meet and has misplaced 88 straight races since guiding Echo Zulu to victory in the Oct. 3 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.
Joel Rosario is changing Santana aboard the unbeaten Echo Zulu, a 4-5 favourite educated by Asmussen within the Nov. 5 NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), however Corridor is sticking with Santana.
“Ricardo had an amazing, nice Saratoga meet,” Corridor stated. “I am not nervous concerning the shedding streak. He’ll be prepared for the Traditional. He likes this horse so much and is aware of him after driving him a number of occasions. We’re enthusiastic.”
Corridor’s quite a few companions in SportBLX Thoroughbreds are additionally enthusiastic upfront of the form of race any investor desires about successful. After the Jockey Membership Gold Cup, Corridor stated there have been roughly 600 microshares of Max Participant that offered for as little as $100.
With that form of backing, relaxation assured there will likely be some loud cheering throughout the map if Max Participant is a serious participant within the closing furlong.
“With a quicker, Knicks Go-type of tempo, we’ll see what Max Participant is admittedly able to,” Corridor stated. “We’re all trying ahead to it.”
