Princess of Sylmar new name in NTRA Poll

By: SPORTS NETWORK

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Princess of Sylmar took control of this year's 3-year-old filly division with a commanding victory in the Alabama at Saratoga on Saturday. Voters in the NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll noticed and put her into the top 10.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Princess of Sylmar picked up 149 points, good for eighth place in the poll. Owned by King of Prussia Stable, the filly has strung together wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama.

"If we don't go in the Cotillion (Sept. 21 at Parx Racing) and she runs again, then the Beldame (Sept. 28 at Belmont Park) would be the next possibility," said Pletcher. "I don't think we're under any time crunch. We can give her a normal three days off and go back to the track, and play it by ear over the next couple of weeks.

"She's been running all year and there's a lot of races next year, and even possibly as a 5-year-old, so you don't want to get greedy. That's what we'll have to evaluate."

The remainder of the poll was virtually unchanged from last week.

Horse of the Year Wise Dan increased his lead over Game On Dude from 28 to 34 points. Trained by Charles LoPresti, Wise Dan received 35 first-place votes and 445 points. Game on Dude, trained by Bob Baffert, has 10 top votes and 411 points. Game On Dude races Sunday in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Positions 3 through 7 continue to be occupied by Cross Traffic (273), Royal Delta (231), Point of Entry (186), Verrazano (1, 173) and Palace Malice (167).

Royal Delta will start in Sunday's Personal Ensign at Saratoga and Verrazano, along with Palace Malice, both trained by Pletcher, go Saturday in the Travers at Saratoga.

"With both horses," Pletcher explained, "it's rare that you go through these Triple Crown prep series, run in the Derby - and in Palace Malice's case, the Belmont (Stakes) - and seem to get bigger and stronger and better as you're doing it. I think the key to the really good ones is they're able to withstand those types of campaigns and flourish while doing it."

The top 10 is completed by Sahara Sky (104) and Fort Larned (79).