By Alan Carasso
LEXINGTON, Ky – County Cork native Brendan Walsh cut his teeth for a time in Dubai with Team Godolphin and spent time in England with Mark Wallace and in this country with Eddie Kenneally before branching out on his own in 2011. Walsh probably thought things could not get better when Plus Que Parfait (Point of Entry) traveled to the desert to scoop this year's G2 UAE Derby. A little more than six months later, he achieved even loftier heights, as Godolphin homebred Maxfield (Street Sense) provided him with his first Grade I winner in Saturday's Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. The victory earned the bay colt an expenses-paid berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Nov. 2.
“I've been around a lot of good horses, and good horses breathe different air,” said Walsh. “I always knew (winning my first Grade 1 race) would be special but to win it here for [Godolphin] it's extra special. Fantastic. Indescribable.”
Maxfield was making the jump into Grade I company off a promising racetrack debut going Churchill's one-turn mile Sept. 14. Off slowly and last but one after the opening half-mile, he was forced to cover stacks of ground on the turn, but managed to sustain that run en route to a 3/4-length victory.
It was a bit of deja vu all over again in Lexington Saturday afternoon. Last away from the gates, Maxfield caboosed the field into the first turn as American Butterfly (American Pharoah) took over from Tap It To Win (Tapit) when that one began tossing his head. Up one spot passing halfway, he began to roll at the 3 1/2-furlong pole and was guided to the wide outside with a quarter-mile to race. He swooped in front under a full head of steam at the head of the stretch and charged home a visually impressive winner while covering 39 feet (about 4 1/4 lengths) more than the runner-up, according to Trakus. Favored 'TDN Rising Star' Gouverneur Morris (Constitution) raced in the second flight of horses and made a three-wide run to lead nearing the stretch. But he had no answer for Maxfield while clearly second best. Enforceable (Tapit) plugged on late into third. The victory capped an enormous day for Sheikh Mohammed's operation, who won the GIII Matron S. with Alms (City Zip), the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational S. with Final Frontier (Ghostzapper) and were represented by a new 'TDN Rising Star' in the form of White Moonlight (Medaglia d'Oro) at Newmarket.
“When he started rolling I was looking to see if he was going to get through–is there anything going to stop us?–because I knew he was going to run right to the wire,” Walsh continued. “I thought he might take a run or two to break his maiden, but we knew he was a super-talented horse. He overcame a lot the first day we ran him and he came out of that race doing so good. To come back in three weeks for a horse that's only run once is a big ask, but he answers every question.”
Pedigree Notes:
Maxfield is the 65th black-type winner, 31st graded winner and 11th G1/GISW for Street Sense, himself a wide-trip third in the 2006 Breeders' Futurity en route to a 15-1 upset in the Juvenile. He is the fourth new Grade I out of a daughter of Bernardini in 2019 (Serengeti Empress, Hunter O'Riley, Dunbar Road and Angel of Truth {Aus}), his 32nd BTW, 17th GSW and seventh G1/GISW as a broodmare sire overall.
Maxfield is out of a daughter of MGSW Caress (Storm Cat), dam of GISW and 2002 Breeders' Futurity (then a Grade II) winner Sky Mesa (Pulpit) and MGSW & GISP Golden Velvet (Seeking the Gold), dam of SW & MGSP Lucullan (Hard Spun) and GSW Innovative Idea (Bernardini). Caress was a full-sister to GSW & MGISP Country Cat and Tepin's sire Bernstein and a half to MGSW Della Francesca (Danzig).
Velvety is the dam of a yearling colt by Medaglia d'Oro, a filly foal by the same stallion and was most recently bred back to Street Sense.
Saturday, Keeneland
CLAIBORNE BREEDERS' FUTURITY-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-5, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.21, ft.
1–MAXFIELD, 121, c, 2, by Street Sense&log=">Street Sense
1st Dam: Velvety, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Caress, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: La Affirmed, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $354,412. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree Werk Nick Rating: A+.
2–Gouverneur Morris, 121, c, 2, Constitution–Addison Run, by Unbridled's Song. ($200,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $600,000 2yo '19 FTFMAR). O-Team Valor International and WinStar Farm LLC; B-Machmer Hall, Carrie & Craig Brogden & James F. Miller (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $100,000.
3–Enforceable, 121, c, 2, Tapit–Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union. ($775,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-John C. Oxley; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $50,000.
Margins: 5HF, HF, 5. Odds: 6.40, 1.50, 19.80.
Also Ran: Ajaaweed, By Your Side, American Butterfly, January Won, King Theo, Life On the Road, Tap It to Win.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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