Max Player pulls away late, wins Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen continued his “dream meet” when Max Player proved he has emerged as a serious older horse by winning the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

The 4-year-old son of Honor Code has been a major project for Asmussen and his team since majority owner George Hall decided to remove him from Linda Rice’s care and assign him to a more accomplished counterpart. The timing could not have been more challenging since the decision came ahead of last year’s Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for the first Saturday in September due to the pandemic.

It took a number of races for Asmussen to sort out a colt who had been troubled by poor starts while suggesting he possessed ample untapped potential. It is safe to say that potential is finally being realized after Max Player’s first Grade 1 triumph, one that carried a fees-paid berth in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“For him to do this on a fast track in the Jockey Club at Saratoga, it’s very satisfying,” Asmussen said. “This is who he is and I thought it was a dominating win.”

It was, indeed, coming by a commanding four lengths against defending champion Happy Saver. The victor completed the mile and a quarter in 2:02.49. Pace-setting Forza Di Oro weakened at the distance to be third.

Max Player did not distinguish himself in his first four starts for his new barn. He finished a non-threatening fifth in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. His journey to the Saudi Cup proved to be an utter waste of time. Asmussen said he lost focus and did not take to night racing as he languished in 11th. He was again nowhere in crossing the wire sixth in the May 14 Pimlico Special.

Then came the July 3 Suburban (G2) -- and more than a little hope. Despite being sent off at 11-1 odds, he overcame Mystic Guide by a neck while slapping Happy Saver with his first defeat in six career starts. He registered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Still, doubts persisted and Asmussen understood why. The mile-and-a-quarter Suburban was contested over a muddy, sealed track at massive Belmont Park.

“There were questions. His Suburban was so much better than his previous races for us, more than considerable. It was on an off track. It was at Belmont,” the trainer noted. “To do it here on a more traditional racetrack at a mile and a quarter more than validates his Suburban.”

According to Asmussen, he treated Max Player as if he was an unraced 2-year-old once he joined their operation. He said jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr., has worked with the horse extensively from the starting gate to put him in better striking position rather than having a tremendous amount of ground to make up.

“He likes to be where he’s going to run. He likes some good spacing between his races,” Asmussen said. “Ricardo has done a tremendous job of putting him in the race so he can actually perform.”

Santana shook up Max Player at the start of the 103rd edition of the Jockey Club, which was run at Saratoga for the first time after decades of ranking among the highlights of Belmont Park’s fall meet. The result was a comfortable stalking position behind Forza Di Oro, a winner of three consecutive races that was attempting the classic distance for the first time. And maybe the last.

“I’m disappointed that he didn’t get the 10 furlongs,” said Bill Mott, his Hall of Fame trainer. “I just didn’t think he had any excuse.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher thought Happy Saver had an excuse, specifically the comfortable pace carved out by Forza Di Oro. The frontrunner traveled the opening quarter in 24.05 seconds, the half in 48.70 and three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.14.

“We got bottled up behind horses in a pace-less race,” Pletcher said. “He ran on well, but we’d benefit from a more truly run race.”

Asmussen, meanwhile, did not have a complaint in the world. He said Max Player is likely to train up to the Classic and ship early into Del Mar to give him ample opportunity to acclimate.

“He physically looks great. He’s matured wonderfully. He’s a beautiful older horse, getting strong and running his best races at the right time,” the trainer said.

In what can be a brutal game, sometimes everything clicks. In early August, Asmussen used Saratoga’s grand stage to surpass the late Dale Baird as the winningest trainer in North America. The Gold Cup represented his third Grade 1 triumph of what has, indeed, been a dream meet.