Maximus Mischief may race twice before Kentucky Derby

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Maximus Mischief, winner of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Saturday, returned to Parx Racing on Saturday night but will soon leave for South Florida where he will likely have two starts in preparation for a planned start in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

Maximus Mischief scored a front-running, 2 1/4-length victory in the Remsen to remain undefeated in three starts. It was his first start around two turns and first at 1 1/8 miles.

Trainer Butch Reid said Maximus Mischief was a bit tired but otherwise came out of the race in good order.

“He wasn’t as on-edge as he normally is, but very good, very sound, ate up everything, we’re happy with him,” Reid said.

Reid said Maximus Mischief would likely get four or five days off before returning to training for four or five days at Parx and then leave for South Florida, where he will be based at Gulfstream Park. Reid said he would likely run Maximus Mischief in either the Grade 2 Holy Bull on Feb. 2 or Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 2 prior to the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on March 30.

“Three [preps] sounds pretty ambitious, I think,” Reid said. “He’s going to have to tell us. Right now, the way he ran off that six-week layoff, he obviously doesn’t need a ton of races, but you can train him hard.”

Reid said after the race that he was pretty confident Maximus Mischief would be able to get the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles.

“I think so, when you can get a little bit faster racetrack, I don’t think there’s any limit to the distance he can go,” Reid said.

Maximus Mischief earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for his Remsen win.

Maximus Mischief, a son of Into Mischief, is owned by Chuck Zacney’s Cash Is King Stable, which owned 2005 Preakness and Belmont winner Afleet Alex, and the father-son duo of George and Glenn Bennet, who race under LC Racing. George Bennett was the baseball coach at St. Joe’s and Villanova University in Philadelphia.

Network Effect, who rallied to get second by a half-length over Tax in the Remsen, will also be based in South Florida for the winter with trainer Chad Brown.

“He ran well, a little spotty particularly on the final turn when the eventual winner got away from him a little bit and then he seemed to grab the bit and kick on again from the sixteenth pole home,” Brown said. “He was second-best yesterday, but he’s a work in progress.”