2019 Eclipse Awards: Maxfield

Those who watched the races from Churchill Downs on Sept. 14 were probably not surprised that an Eclipse Award finalist in the 2-year-old male division competed that day. They may be surprised that the finalist is Maxfield and not Dennis’ Moment.

About 30 minutes after Dennis’ Moment won the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes, Maxfield overcame a slow break and rallied six to seven wide in the stretch to win a one-mile maiden race by three-quarters of a length. Three weeks later, Maxfield again broke slowly but came with a long, sustained rally to dominate the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland by 5 1/2 lengths. It was on the strength of those two efforts that Maxfield earned a spot as an Eclipse finalist in the 2-year-old male division.

Maxfield is a son of 2006 Eclipse Award winning juvenile Street Sense out of the Bernardini mare Velvety. He is owned by Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s Godolphin Stable, which also bred him.

:: Full list of 2019 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Coming off the impressive effort in the Breeders’ Futurity, Maxfield was one of the favorites for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in November. But he had to be scratched from the race when he came up off in his right foreleg a few days before the race. He would later undergo surgery to remove a chip from his ankle.

“It was disappointing, but on saying that I always had it in my mind he was going to be a nicer 3-year-old,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “He’s exceeded all our expectations already. Hopefully, with a clean bill of health we can turn him into a very good 3-year-old.”

It is unclear whether Maxfield will make the spring classics. As of early January, he had resumed jogging at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla. Walsh said that around mid-to-late January, Maxfield would be re-evaluated to see if he can begin galloping.

“By no means will we force the issue,” Walsh said. “If he tells us he can make it back, he will. Be it the Derby or be it further down th e line, hopefully he can fulfill his potential and become a hell of a 3-year-old and even a 4-year-old.”

Until such time that Maxfield makes it back, Walsh will bask in the success the colt had at 2, especially the Breeders’ Futurity which was one of the top performances turned in by a 2-year-old in 2019.

“I look back at it fondly,” Walsh said. “It took a long time for it to sink in how impressive it was but every time I look at it the hair stands up on the back of my neck. To have a horse of his caliber . . . I’ve been around a lot of good horses; this guy is a hell of a good horse. I’m very, very privileged and thankful to Godolphin that I have the horse.”