Max Player Could be Major Player in BC Classic

It wasn't much of a surprise 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 just might serve as the springboard he needs to finally breakthrough and make a Michael Jordan-esque leap from his current status as No. 10 on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll.

Should he prevail from post 9 in Saturday's race, a strong case can be made that he should be the champion older male dirt horse.

"I love the Classic as a race," said George Hall, who owns Max Player along with his SportBLX Thoroughbreds group. "I was 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 Player, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, certainly has a license to win the Classic. He's coming off a sharp pair of back-to-back wins. In the Suburban Stakes (G2) he defeated Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airlines (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.

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 lost 88 straight races since guiding Echo Zulu  to victory in the Oct. 3 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.

Joel Rosario is replacing Santana aboard the unbeaten Echo Zulu, a 4-5 favorite trained by Asmussen in the Nov. 5 NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), but Hall is sticking with Santana.

"Ricardo had a great, great Saratoga meet," Hall said. "I'm not worried about the losing streak. He'll be ready for the Classic. He likes this horse a lot and knows him after riding him a few times. We're enthusiastic."

Hall's numerous partners in SportBLX Thoroughbreds are also enthusiastic in advance of the kind of race any investor dreams about winning. After the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Hall said there were roughly 600 microshares of Max Player that sold for as little as $100.

With that kind of backing, rest assured there will be some loud cheering across the map if Max Player is a major player in the final furlong.

"With a faster, Knicks Go-type of pace, we'll see what Max Player is really capable of," Hall said. "We're all looking forward to it."