Bricks and Mortar nearly unanimous at No. 1 in NTRA rankings
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No rival has been able to topple
Bricks and Mortar on the race track this season and after his latest triumph in last Saturday's Arlington Million (G1), the son of Giant’s Causeway remains equally dominant when it comes to his standing atop the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.
Since ascending to No. 1 position in the poll on April 8, Bricks and Mortar has emerged as the leading Horse of the Year contender by adding top-level victories in the Old Forester Turf Classic, Manhattan Stakes, and Arlington Million to his prior wins this season in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and Muniz Memorial Handicap.
A triumph in the Arlington Million not only gave trainer Chad Brown a historic sweep of all three Grade 1 tests on the card, but it garnered Bricks and Mortar 36 first-place votes and 396 total points among NTRA voters this week.
“He's had a remarkable year. Flawless,” Brown told NYRA’s publicity team the morning after the Arlington Million. "He's a very rare horse and we're lucky to have him. He's had an outstanding career.”
Owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, Bricks and Mortar has won six consecutive races dating back to his victory in an allowance optional claiming test at Gulfstream Park last December 22. He has 10 wins from 12 career starts and a bankroll of $4,885,650.
Multiple Grade 1 winner
McKinzie was the only other horse to earn first-place votes this week, getting the top spot on 4 ballots and notching 348 points to hold down the second position in the poll. Top distaffer
Midnight Bisou remains in third while reigning champion turf female
Sistercharlie moved up one spot to fourth in the wake of her repeat victory in the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes this past weekend.
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred poll, the sport’s most comprehensive survey of experts, wraps up November 4 after the Breeders' Cup. 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.
Other horses receiving votes: THUNDER SNOW (41), CATALINA CRUISER (35), CONCRETE ROSE (32), VINO ROSSO (20), GOT STORMY (19), GUARANA (14), SHANCELOT (13), RUSHING FALL (11), MR. MONEY (10), YOSHIDA (10), VASILIKA (9), CATHOLIC BOY (6), X Y JET (6), ROY H (5), COVFEFE (5), TACITUS (5), OMAHA BEACH (4), DUNBAR ROAD (2), CHANNEL MAKER (2), BEAU RECALL (1)
A full accounting of top 10 votes by voter can be found at: https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week29-by_voter-2019.pdf
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