The field for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic begins to take shape in early summer after the Triple Crown races conclude. Over the July 4 holiday weekend, the $6 million race picked up a new prime player coming out of the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.

A 4-year-old colt by Honor Code, Max Player earned his first win since the Grade 3 Withers Stakes in February 2020 to halt a six-race winless stretch with what was a career-best performance in the 1 ¼-mile Suburban under Ricardo Santana Jr.

How should we view Max Player’s victory in the Suburban, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Classic that earned him an expenses-paid berth in the Nov. 6 race at Del Mar? Is he just beginning to find his best stride as a 4-year-old, was his effort an anomaly aided by a sloppy racetrack, or is the answer somewhere in the middle? Let’s explore.

Race Résumé

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On July 3, Max Player earned a new career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure and a career-top 101 Beyer Speed Figure when he nipped odds-on favorite and Dubai World Cup Presented by Emirates Airline winner Mystic Guide by a neck with 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Happy Saver another 2 ½ lengths back in third.

While Max Player (11.80-1 odds in Suburban) was unplaced in two previous starts this season in the $20 million Saudi Cup in February and the Pimlico Special Match Series Stakes in May, he had demonstrated a level of class as a 3-year-old that indicated he could be competitive in the compact, but talented Suburban field.

After his Withers win in February 2020, Max Player finished third in both the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets and Runhappy Travers Stakes. Transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen, he then followed with fifth-place finishes in both the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Preakness Stakes during a 2020 Triple Crown that was reconfigured due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Belmont and Travers top-three finishes, however, sound better than they were in reality. Max Player was beaten by 5 ¼ lengths in the former and 7 ½ lengths in the latter. Likewise, he was beaten by seven lengths or more in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, so after a pair of unplaced finishes to begin the year Max Player’s breakout in the Suburban caught me off guard.

It’s horse racing, so anything can happen after the starting gate opens, but based on form I viewed Max Player more as a candidate to fill out the trifecta than to win the Suburban. He just wasn’t fast enough on paper – entering the race he was tied for the lowest career-best Equibase Speed Figure in the field – and it took the best race of his life to win for trainer Asmussen and owners George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds.

Now that we know he is capable, the most pressing question is, can he duplicate and/or improve off his Suburban win?

Max Player has twice raced on an “off” or wet track and two of his three career wins came on sloppy tracks, so it’s clear that he relishes some moisture in the track and, most likely, moves up significantly in such conditions. The Suburban also set up pretty nicely for Max Player, who raced in the clear in second throughout while runner-up Mystic Guide was forced to come through a tight opening along the rail and was very late switching leads in the stretch.

Santana celebrates after the race aboard Max Player. (Joe Labozzetta/NYRA Photo)

In a rematch under different circumstances, I’m not confident Max Player would beat Mystic Guide, but the Suburban was undoubtedly a major step up for Max Player that should not be discounted.

There is some depth of quality in the older male division in 2021 and Max Player adds to that; however, I believe he will need to take another (small) step forward to be a serious candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. More importantly, he needs to prove he can run the type of race he did in the Suburban on a dry (fast) main track, which very likely will be the conditions for the Classic in November at Del Mar.

Asmussen told Daily Racing Form Max Player will be given plenty of time to recover from a tough race in the Suburban, and that should give him the best chance for continued success.

“Off of Max Player stepping up in the Suburban and running the best race of his life, we will give him an extra amount of time before his next race,” Asmussen told DRF.

Pedigree

Max Player is from the first crop of 2015 champion older male Honor Code, winner of the Metropolitan Handicap at one mile and the Whitney Stakes at 1 1/8 miles during his championship campaign.

Max Player is out of stakes winner and multiple stakes producer Fools in Love, by Not For Love. Fools in Love is a full sister to stakes winner D C Dancer and a close sibling to 2015 Louisiana Derby winner International Star.

With a win at 1 ¼ miles in the Suburban and a top-three finish in the Travers as a 3-year-old, distance as it pertains to Max Player for the Breeders’ Cup Classic is not a significant concern. If he is good enough in November, he can excel at that distance.