Report: Max Player awaits further evaluation after pulling up

Max Player, winner of the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2021 and fifth in the 2020 Kentucky Derby, is awaiting further evaluation after pulling up in an allowance race Saturday at Oaklawn.

After an awkward break, he lagged well behind the rest of the field in the opening furlong, and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. pulled him up into the clubhouse turn. He was vanned off after the race.

Connections of the 6-year-old son of Honor Code were "waiting for a full diagnosis" as of Sunday and said he would go to a clinic for further evaluation, as first reported by Molly Rollins of BloodHorse. His connections tweeted a photo of Max Player on Sunday morning standing in his stall, stating that he was "alert and comfortable."

Saturday's race was Max Player's first start since finishing fourth in the Suburban (G2) on July 9. Max Player had won the Suburban the previous year in his start before winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He raced only three times in 2022, finishing off the board each time. The allowance start Saturday was Max Player's first start outside of graded-stakes company since he broke his maiden at Parx on Dec. 17, 2019.

Caddo River, who won the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn in 2021, won the 1 1/16-mile allowance by a neck over Frosted Grace. Off a second-place finish in an allowance-optional claiming race at Oaklawn on Jan. 21, Caddo River had been sent off the 8-5 favorite. Max Player was the second favorite in the seven-horse field at 7-2.