The Tenacious S. at Fair Grounds was the site of the eagerly anticipated return of MAXFIELD (c, 3, Street Sense–Velvety, by Bernardini), whose stop-and-start nature of his career due to injury has done nothing to diminish the excitement surrounding the undefeated colt. Bursting onto the scene in September of 2019 in a one-mile Churchill maiden, he won like a good horse and promptly made the jump to the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, winning by 5 1/2 lengths to be slated as one of the top contenders for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He missed the race due to an ankle injury and surgery to remove a chip. Back in May of this year, he captured the GIII Matt Winn S. with a 95 Beyer in just his third career start and was immediately nabbed as one of the hot prospects for the delayed GI Kentucky Derby, but a condylar fracture kept him in the barn.
Returning to competition again in the Tenacious, Maxfield picked up right where he left off in his return to action, taking his record to a perfect four-for-four. Glued to pacesetting Cool Bobby (Shanghai Bobby)'s outside hip through a :24.63 opening quarter, the 1-2 chalk kept after the leader as the half went in :48.39. The sleek dark bay drew even with Cool Bobby entering the turn and shrugged him off in early stretch, skipping clear for a 2 1/2-length score in 1:43.35.
Out of the winning Bernardini mare Velvety, Maxfield has a yearling half-sister by Medaglia d'Oro. Velvety's 2020 foal–a full-sibling to Maxfield–died and the mare was bred to Uncle Mo for next term. Velvety is a daughter of the Storm Cat mare Caress, a MGSW who sold for $3.1 million at the 2000 Keeneland November sale. Caress is not only a full-sister to sire Bernstein from the family of champion Outstandingly (Exclusive Native) and a number of other high-class stakes winners, but she is also the dam of two graded winners herself, including GISW and sire Sky Mesa (Pulpit).
TENACIOUS S., $75,000, Fair Grounds, 12-19, 3yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:43.35, ft.
1–MAXFIELD, 115, c, 3, Street Sense–Velvety, by Bernardini.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Florent
Geroux. $46,500. Lifetime Record: GISW, 4-4-0-0, $489,262.
2–Sonneman, 117, c, 3, Curlin–Zardana (Brz), by Crimson Tide
(Ire). ($375,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald
& Donna Adam); B-Arnold Zetcher LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $15,000.
3–Dinar, 118, c, 4, Union Rags–Internal Affair, by Orientate.
($80,000 RNA Ylg '17 KEESEP; $145,000 RNA 2yo '18 FTFMAR;
$90,000 2yo '18 OBSOPN). O-Al Rashid Stables, LLC; B-Royal
Oak Farm (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux. $7,500.
Margins: 2HF, 1 1/4, 4 1/4. Odds: 0.50, 3.60, 19.10.
Also Ran: Cool Bobby, Captivating Moon, Mocito Rojo, Locally Owned.
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