Maxfield

Godolphin homebred Maxfield (Street Sense), last seen romping in the GII Alysheba S. at Churchill Apr. 30, remains on track for that venue's GII Stephen Foster S. June 26. "We brought him over to Keeneland after [GI Kentucky] Derby week at Churchill and we are targeting the Stephen Foster," trainer Brendan Walsh said. "He'll make his way back to Churchill and we'll likely work him Saturday. I think the timing of this race works out well for us because it's the same timing following his race in the [Mar. 6...

Maxfield bounced back from his first-ever defeat to kick off Derby weekend's graded stakes action as a heavy favorite in Friday's GII Alysheba S. A head-turning winner of the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity as a juvenile, the Godolphin homebred was forced to miss the Breeders' Cup, but resurfaced a winner in the track-and-trip GIII Matt Winn S. last May and looked perfectly poised to take advantage of the pushed-back Triple Crown schedule last term. He was soon diagnosed with a condylar fracture, however, and eventually resurfaced to take the Dec....

Godolphin homebred Maxfield (Street Sense) will look to bounce back from his first-ever defeat as the Churchill Downs graded action kicks off Friday with the GII Alysheba S. The 2019 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity hero was forced to miss that year's Breeders' Cup due to injury, and resurfaced a good-looking winner of the track-and-trip GIII Matt Winn S. some 11 months ago, only to be knocked off an elongated Triple Crown trail with a condylar fracture. He defeated Sonneman (Curlin) handily in both the Dec. 19 Tenacious S. and Feb....

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid), winner of last Saturday's G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan, is scheduled to return home this week, according to trainer Brendan Walsh. "He will quarantine in Chicago for 48 hours and then should be down [at Keeneland] Sunday or Monday," Walsh confirmed Thursday morning. An astute $75,000 claim by the current connections in January 2018, the 8-year-old gelding landed his first graded stakes score of his career in Dubai, as Walsh looked on flying from Miami to New Orleans. "I was trying to...

Calvin Nguyen's Idol (Curlin) seemed to relish the 10 furlongs of Saturday's GI Santa Anita H. as he turned the tables on Express Train (Union Rags) to post a mild 5-1 upset. Even-money invader Maxfield (Street Sense) could only manage third with no obvious excuse. Last seen finishing third as the favorite behind Express Train when trapped behind a slow pace in the Jan. 30 GII San Pasqual S., the bay was kept off the inside and unhurried as he sat second last. Last year's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay...

The undefeated Maxfield (Street Sense) looks to put on yet another show for racing fans Saturday as he invades the West Coast for the first time in the GI Santa Anita H. A debut winner at Churchill in September, the Godolphin homebred romped in Keenland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. a month later. The early favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he was scratched after spiking a fever just days before the race. Resurfacing May 23 at Churchill, the bay captured the GIII Matt Winn S., but was knocked...

Life may not be especially Good, just yet--but let's hope that it's at least getting a little better, however slowly. Certainly we must trust that's true of the wider world, as science strives to stem the pandemic. For a margin of our parish going through troubles of its own, equally, no less commitment and tenacity are proving necessary to see out a long road. Two years ago, remember, they couldn't stage the GII San Felipe S. at all after a harrowing spate of catastrophic injuries. A racetrack many of us...

Maxfield (Street Sense) may as well be known as the comeback kid at this point in his career, which has been plagued by injury and misfortune, but he always comes back swinging. Saturday's GIII Mineshaft S. at the Fair Grounds was no exception as the Godolphin homebred scored another good-looking win, taking his perfect record to five-for-five with his second straight win since undergoing surgery for a condylar fracture this summer. Hammered down to 3-5 favoritism against an overmatched field, Maxfield was antsy in the gate and hopped at the...

Derby dreams at this time of year can prove as ephemeral as the vapours rising into the glacial air of Hot Springs. But the owner of the champion juvenile knows perfectly well that plans, with Thoroughbreds, can only ever be provisional--and that the postponement of Monday's Oaklawn card is a relatively trivial inconvenience to Essential Quality (Tapit). To recall the graver vexations that can unravel a Derby colt, Sheikh Mohammed needs only rewind to the last cycle, and the last colt that offered to requite perhaps the greatest single ambition...

Looking at the morning-line and past performances, the GIII Mineshaft S. looks like a one-horse race and that horse is the undefeated Maxfield (Street Sense), who towers over the rest of the field. A debut winner at Churchill in September 2019, the Godolphin homebred romped in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. a month later. The early favorite heading into that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he was forced to withdraw from contention just days before the race due to an ankle chip. Returning to action with a late-rallying score...

For the first time in nine years and for the third time overall, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin LLC was recognized at the Eclipse Award ceremonies as America's Outstanding Owner. Horses carrying Godolphin's royal blue colors got their pictures taken 80 times in 2020, good for a remarkable strike rate of 22.2%. The operation was represented by no fewer than a joint-best eight winners at the graded stakes level (tied with Gary Barber) for a broad swath of conditioners, highlighted by the Brad Cox-trained champion Essential Quality (Tapit),...

Leave it to one of the darkest days of the year to deliver two glimmering equine efforts that could combust into shining stars for the 2021 racing season. On the cusp of the winter solstice, breakout races book-ended the Saturday Fair Grounds card. One was a smart, step-wise progression by a juvenile colt in a NW2L allowance who now has credible GI Kentucky Derby aspirations. The other was an admirably impressive comeback by a still-undefeated 3-year-old whose own chance at the 2020 Derby got derailed by injuries and untimely setbacks....