Maxfield rallies, stays unbeaten with Tenacious Stakes triumph

His 4-year-old season less than two weeks away, Maxfield ran his unbeaten record to 4 for 4 with a comfortable comeback victory in the $75,000 Tenacious Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Whether Maxfield can be the force at age 4 that he was at 2 remains an open question, but the colt’s connections, Godolphin and trainer Brendan Walsh, are likely to soon find out after Maxfield’s first start in seven months yielded a 2 1/2-length win.

Maxfield won his debut and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity last year at age 2 before an ankle injury kept him from starting in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His first start of 2020, the Matt Winn Stakes on May 23 at Churchill, resulted in a one-length score, but Maxfield was injured again in a workout before he could start again.

“It’s nice to get him back and get him to run so well,” Walsh said. “He’d been working so good; you’re just hoping for confirmation, and he gave us that tonight.”

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In his three previous starts Maxfield had raced from well off the lead, but on Saturday jockey Florent Geroux, riding the colt for the first time, put Maxfield right into the race.

“When I worked him two weeks ago from the gate, he was pretty sharp out of there,” Geroux said. “He got me in a great position, into a nice rhythm today.”

Cool Bobby led through a quarter mile in 24.63 and a half in a controlled 48.39 with Maxfield shadowing him. Three quarters went in 1:12.27, the top two stretching out nicely around the far turn, as Maxfield poked his head in front at the quarter pole. By the three-sixteenths marker Maxfield had drawn clear, and under steady urging from Geroux he held firm to beat horses he was supposed to handle.

Off a one-mile split of 1:36.88, Maxfield was timed in a solid 1:43.35 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track. He paid $3 to win. Sonneman, who was facing older horses for the first time, rallied solidly to out-finish Dinar for second. Maxfield, a Godolphin homebred, is by Street Sense out of Velvety, by Bernardini.

“All options are open,” Walsh said, asked about Maxfield’s next start. “We’ll talk to the team at Godolphin and figure out the best bet.”

Walsh said Maxfield’s positional pace didn’t surprise him. “I thought he was going to break better. He was a little fresh tonight, maybe a little more aggressive than usual. I don’t think he’s a deep closer by any means.”

Maxfield closed his 3-year-old season with another encouraging performance. If his physical issues are behind him, this horse is open to being a divisional force at age 4.

Dalika start to finish in Blushing K.D.

Trainer Al Stall has said Dalika can be a tricky filly to ride, so jockey Miguel Mena kept it simple. He put Dalika on the lead and Dalika took care of the rest, posting an authoritative win in the $75,000 Bushing K.D. Stakes.

“She broke on her toes,” Stall said. “Her ears went up around the first turn and I thought we’d be very tough from there. She’s kind of a moody horse. When she’s right, she’s right.”

Dalika was right Saturday and so was her trainer, who watched Dalika set splits of 23.73, a modest 48.42, and 1:12.90. She drifted off the fence somewhat when Mena cut her loose in the homestretch, but Dalika was much the best, coming home a 2 1/4-length winner over 31-1 shot Curlin’s Journey.

“She did everything I asked her,” Mena said. “I had a lot of horse under me.”

Dalika ran 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:42.68 and paid $7.20 to win as the second choice. Favored Secret Message had her chance at the furlong pole but came up empty and finished third.

Dalika is a German-bred 4-year-old by Pastorius out of Drawn to Run, by Hurricane Run, and Stall trains her for Bel Mar Equine. She’s now a five-time winner from 15 starts, and Stall said connections would look for a graded stakes race to try this winter.