Street Sense

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...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency WELL-BRED WAR FRONT DEBUTS IN HALLANDALE 1st-GP, $50K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 12:40 p.m. Shug McGaughey saddles a blue-blooded first timer in Joe Allen homebred TRACY FLICK (War Front). Her GSP dam Stay the Night (Arch) is a daughter of MSW & MGSP Louve Royale (Ire) (Peintre Celebre). This is also the family of European Highweight Loup Sauvage (Riverrman); French Highweight Loup Solitaire (Lear Fan); MGSW Loup Breton (Ire) (Anabaa); and GSW Copper Bullet (More Than Ready). The Flying Pharoah (American Pharoah) debuts in...

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...

"He's technically full," said Darley America sales manager Darren Fox the other day, discussing Gl Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}), who's standing this year for $60,000, down from $75,000 in 2020. "If you had a nice mare, there's a couple of spots that mares haven't been named yet. We keep him at around 140 mares. He was very hard to manage the demand, especially last year at 75, and he's 60 now, but that's because of overall market conditions. It wasn't a reflection of cooling off on...

Now that's a key race. Subsequent runaway Smarty Jones S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun) and authoritative GIII Holy Bull S. hero Greatest Honour (Tapit) were both defeated in second and third, respectively, in a salty, seven-furlong maiden special weight at Belmont Park last fall Oct. 11 (video). But what happened to the impressive winner that day, the highly regarded Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense--Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini)? "After a minor setback, he is back jogging and hacking at Payson Park with Bill Mott," Godolphin...

'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) had to work a bit harder Saturday than his 2-5 odds for Santa Anita's GII San Vicente S. might have predicted, but it's never easy to hook a Bob Baffert runner--even when you're one yourself. A 3 1/2-length debut winner while earning a solid 88 Beyer Speed Figure going a furlong shorter Jan. 15, the Gary and Mary West homebred broke on top from the outside six hole, but was soon outsprinted by stablemate Freedom Fighter (Violence). The bay sat perched in third...

During this era of globalisation, our own walk of life has also become ever more adapted to scale. In the old days, trainers and stallions alike would draw the line at a similar number: up to three dozen, say. Now all big brands seem to require big volume. With stallion books, the traditional limits guaranteed undiluted quality. If you wanted to get a mare to Bold Ruler, boy, did she have to deserve the privilege. That's why I always look for those venerable influences, up-and-down, behind modern pedigrees: because you're...

Shadwell's Zaajel leap-frogged over her allowance condition into graded stakes company for Saturday's GIII Forward Gal S., but the move proved no problem for the daughter of Street Sense. A runaway 7 1/4-length winner in her career debut going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Dec. 20, she had been posting a steady string of works since, including a sharp five-furlong move in a bullet :59.93 at Palm Beach Downs Jan. 23. The well-backed 3-5 choice to make it two straight here, she didn't make the greatest of exits, relegating herself to...

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....

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...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks.  ANDREW CARY, Cary Bloodstock  McKinzie (Street Sense), $30,000, Gainesway This is a very strong group of incoming freshman sires and it's very hard to just pick one, but I am a huge fan of McKinzie. I think had he retired...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks. JOE MILLER, Kern Thoroughbreds McKinzie (Street Sense), $30,000, Gainesway  My favorite new sire is a tough decision. There are so many good choices in 2021 and I really do not want to jinx anyone, but I would have to say...