Maximum Security reboots in Pegasus Stakes

Owners Gary and Mary West, trainer Jason Servis, and jockey Luis Saez have a lot on the line Sunday at Monmouth Park. The $150,000 Pegasus is intended to propel Maximum Security toward the Haskell Invitational, Travers, and a possible second-half-of-the-year Eclipse Award campaign. The race can help put that nasty business at the Kentucky Derby in the rearview mirror and allow everyone to move on with an eye to the future.

But with the Pegasus comes pressure. Maximum Security will be a very short price and is expected to win. He has not been beaten to the finish line in any of his five starts, and anything but a powerhouse performance will be viewed as a step backward – and that wouldn’t be good for a technically undefeated future stallion who does not yet have a stud deal in place.

The Pegasus should tighten up Maximum Security for the tougher races that lie ahead, but otherwise it seems there is as much to lose as there is to win.

In recent days, Servis has been cooperative but elusive. He has kept his distance from the media and preferred to communicate through Tom Luicci of the Monmouth media department.

Maximum Security ran hard at Churchill Downs, crossing under the wire first by 1 3/4 lengths before being taken down and placed 17th a mind-numbing 22 minutes later for veering out on the far turn. Gary West has challenged the disqualification in federal court. This week, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission filed a motion to dismiss West’s lawsuit.

The 1 1/4-mile Derby was not an easy race on Maximum Security. Eighteen days afterward, Servis said: “He got beat up, cut up in the Derby. Now, he’s starting to come back to himself.”

There were some nervous moments this past week. Last Sunday, Servis said he was not entirely pleased with Maximum Security’s condition and was noncommittal about the Pegasus. Blood was drawn from Maximum Security and sent to the lab. The results were satisfactory, but Servis said, “I think he’s still a little light.”

On Thursday, Servis watched Maximum Security gallop, was happy with what he saw, and entered him in the race.

“Maybe I was over-reading things a little too much, trying to be overly cautious,” he said. “He’s acting really good and training good.”

The timing of the Pegasus fits well in Maximum Security’s schedule. It comes 43 days after the Derby and 34 days before the Haskell. There are 35 days between the Haskell and Travers.

Maximum Security will come into the Pegasus with a single published workout since the Derby, a 53.80-second half-mile breeze at Monmouth on May 22. As East Coast handicappers know, Servis’s horses often record slow workout times, and the gaps between breezes can be irregular.

Servis, 62, uses an old-school training technique that emphasizes two-minute miles with a gallop-out instead of conventional workouts that are quicker and shorter. On May 22, for example, Servis timed Maximum Security for a mile in 2:00.02, with his final seven furlongs in 1:47. Servis said Maximum Security galloped out 1 1/8 miles in 2:13.

Servis two-minute licked Maximum Security again on June 2, but the move was not given an official workout time. According to Servis, Maximum Security went a mile in 1:58 and galloped out 1 1/8 miles in 2:10.

“He looked great,” Servis said. “He wasn’t blowing at all.”

Five brave souls were entered against Maximum Security in the Pegasus. Although they appear outclassed, make no mistake, they will be gunning for Maximum Security, who will have a target on his back. It is unlikely they will make things easy for him.

Maximum Security is fast and will likely try to go to the lead under Saez, who rode him in the Derby and in his Grade 1 Florida Derby victory.

Todd Pletcher entered King for a Day and Last Judgment.

King for a Day won the restricted Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico on May 18 and is the only stakes winner in the group besides Maximum Security. King for a Day has speed and could try to challenge Maximum Security early. Last Judgment does his best running late.

Perennial Monmouth leading trainer Jorge Navarro will start Identifier, who won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Gulfstream Park in March and then finished second by a length at even-money in a Gulfstream optional claimer in April. Navarro has worked him four times at Monmouth, including a bullet five furlongs in 59 seconds on June 1 and a speed-sharpening half-mile from the gate in 48.60 on June 8.

Caladan has put together a 4-1-1 record from six starts for trainer Anthony Pecoraro. He was scratched from what would have been his turf debut in the 1 1/16-mile Stanton Stakes at Delaware Park on Wednesday to instead run in this spot.

Direct Order, trained by Servis, rounds out the field.