2021 Breeders' Cup Classic: Maxfield declared out, along with Dr Post, Happy Saver
The defections of Dr Post, Happy Saver, and Maxfield in recent days from the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar mean that the prospective field could barely reach double digits after at one time looking as though it could be a capacity crowd of 14 for the 1 1/4-mile race.
The strength at the top with Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie, Knicks Go, Max Player, and Medina Spirit makes it a daunting task. The quality of the race seemed to play into the recent defections, and in the case of Maxfield, Godolphin already has Essential Quality, winner of the Travers and Belmont this year. So instead of doubling up with another homebred, Maxfield will be re-routed to a race whose distance and likely field seemingly afford him a better chance of obtaining a Grade 1 win this year.
Maxfield was second most recently in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park. His trainer, Brendan Walsh, said Maxfield would skip the Classic and instead await the Grade 1 Clark on Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs.
Maxfield has won all four of his starts at Churchill Downs, including the Grade 2 Stephen Foster earlier this year. Maxfield, 4, owns a Grade 1 win from when he was a 2-year-old, in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.
“He has such a good record at Churchill. We’re going to skip California with him altogether,” Walsh said. “It’s very important for him to win a Grade 1 this year. This probably gives him his best chance to get a Grade 1 at this stage of his career.”
The Clark is at 1 1/8 miles, the same distance as the Stephen Foster. Maxfield was third in his lone try at the Classic’s distance of 1 1/4 miles, in the Santa Anita Handicap in March, but he was running in that race when back on just three weeks’ rest while having to ship.
Walsh said Maxfield returned to Kentucky from New York after the Woodward. He is currently based at Keeneland and could have a work there this weekend before heading over to Churchill Downs to train up to the Clark.
“We’ve got plenty of time,” Walsh said.
In addition to the Woodward, Maxfield was second in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga earlier this year. He has never finished out of the money in 10 starts, with seven victories, five in graded stakes.
His defection from the Classic means that jockey Jose Ortiz is currently without a mount for the race.
Ortiz’s brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., picked up the mount on Tripoli after the two runners from Todd Pletcher’s barn whom he could have ridden in the Classic – Dr Post and Happy Saver – were taken out of consideration. Pletcher telegraphed that he was leaning that way last week, and made it official this week.
Dr Post could run in the Clark against Maxfield, or go to the Cigar Mile on Dec. 4 at Aqueduct. He has yet to win a Grade 1 race, an important goal in terms of his residual value when Dr Post, a son of Quality Road, eventually goes to stud. He has not worked since the Woodward.
Happy Saver has been battling a quarter crack, and Pletcher simply ran out of time to get that issue resolved and get enough works into Happy Saver to have him ready for the Classic. Happy Saver most recently was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 4 at Saratoga. He worked once since then, a half-mile on the Oklahoma training track on Sept. 18 at Saratoga, but the quarter crack issues have kept him off the tab since.
Pre-entries for the Classic, as well as the other 13 Breeders’ Cup races, are due Monday and will be officially announced two days later, Oct. 27. Others expected to be pre-entered in the Classic include Art Collector, Express Train, Idol, and Stilleto Boy.