With Geaux Rocket Ride (outside) and Slow Down Andy locked in a duel, Arabian Knight powers to the finish in the Pacific Classic to win by a neck (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Arabian Knight Moves to No. 7, Geaux Rocket Ride No. 8, in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll After Pacific Classic
NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll – Week 32
NTRA Release/Maribeth Kalinich
Zedan Racing Stable’s Arabian Knight and Pin Oak Stud’s Geaux Rocket Ride battled to a thrilling finish in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday and both raced into the Top Ten of the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.
Blue Rose Farm’s Arcangelo ascended to the number one position this week with his brilliant victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
The win made trainer Jena Anatoucci the second woman in history to win the Travers. It also assured the Arrogate ridgling a battle for 3-year-old of the year honors.
Godolphin’s Cody’s Wish, who maintained a strong second for several weeks, dropped back to that position to this week after rising the top of the Poll last week. He had been rewarded for his third-place performance in the Grade 1 Whitney where he was leaning on the right side of the stall a bit unprepared for the start when the latch was sprung and lost his hind footing skidding out of the gate and conceding three to four lengths to the front before settling into stride.
Juddmonte’s Elite Power went to number three in the Poll also for trainer Mott based on his victory by a head over Gunite, number six in the Poll, in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga.
L and N Racing LLC and Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Echo Zulu arrived to the top ten in the number four spot for her gallant victory over Goodnight Olive in the Grade 1 Ballerina. The Gun Runner filly, trained by Steve Asmussen, earned a 120 Equibase Speed Figure for her run.
C Two Racing Stable and Antonio Pagnano’s Grade 1 Whitney champ White Abarrio is in the number five position for his new trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., in his first stakes win at Saratoga since being reinstate.
Up to the Mark, owned by Repole Stable an St. Elias Stable and also trained by Pletcher, who had a brilliant win in the Grade 1 Manhattan, is in number eight.
LRE Racing LLC and JEH Racing Stable LLC’s Casa Creed rose to the top ten in position number eight of the Poll last week with his exciting victory for trainer Bill Mott in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap on the turf but dropped to number ten with the entry of Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride.
Other horses receiving votes are: Bright Future (Jockey Club Gold Cup), Idiomatic (Personal Ensign G1), Nest (Shuvee G2), the first three are all by Curlin BTW; In Italian (Just A Game G1), Proxy (Monmouth Cup G3), Pretty Mischievous (Test G1), Caravel (Jaipur G1), Bolshoi Ballet (Sword Dancer G1), Goodnight Olive (Bed o’ Roses G2), Forte (Jim Dandy G2), Clairiere (Ogden Phipps G1), Gold Phoenix (Del Mar H. G2), Arabian Lion (Woody Stephens G1), Next (Birdstone and Brooklyn G2), West Will Power (Stephen Foster G1), Zandon (2022 Toyota Blue Grass G1), Disarm (Matt Winn G3), Mage (Kentucky Derby G1), Secret Oath (Azeri G2)
Week 32 of the 2023 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through September 4. Voting is conducted by national media.
The Top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes on Tuesday, November 7 following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
| HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS | |
| 1 | ARCANGELO (18) | 3-R | 5-4-0-0 | 257 | 2 |
| 2 | CODY’S WISH (8) | 5-H | 3-2-0-1 | 251 | 1 |
| 3 | ELITE POWER (1) | 5-H | 4-3-1-0 | 201 | 3 |
| 4 | ECHO ZULU (2) | 4-F | 3-3-0-0 | 179 | 4 |
| 5 | WHITE ABARRIO (2) | 4-C | 4-2-0-1 | 158 | 5 |
| 6 | GUNITE | 4-C | 6-3-2-1 | 143 | 6 |
| 7 | ARABIAN KNIGHT | 3-C | 3-2-0-1 | 131 | 34 |
| 8 | UP TO THE MARK (1) | 4-C | 5-4-0-1 | 88 | 7 |
| 9 | GEAUX ROCKET RIDE | 3-C | 5-3-2-0 | 68 | 12 |
| 10 | CASA CREED | 7-H | 4-2-1-1 | 58 | 8 |
Other horses receiving votes: Bright Future (40), Idiomatic (33), Nest (33), In Italian (23), Proxy (17), Pretty Mischievous (14), Caravel (12), Bolshoi Ballet (10), Goodnight Olive (8), Forte (6), Clairiere (5), Gold Phoenix (5), Arabian Lion (5), Next (4), West Will Power (4), Zandon (3), Disarm (2), Mage (1), Secret Oath (1)
Rankings on polls are on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2023 record and total points. A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.
