Mika back to Maker after eye-popping win
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Mika, a runaway allowance winner at Laurel Park on Sunday, will leave trainer Brittany Russell’s barn in Maryland and return to Mike Maker to continue his 3-year-old campaign in New York. Steve Spielman, owner of Nice Guys Stables, said that he could possibly ship to Florida and California in the future.
“We were expecting a good race, but, you know, that was incredible,” Spielman said of Mika’s performance at Laurel, in which the horse earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. “That was definitely beyond what you can expect. So we were pretty surprised. It was a pretty impressive race. He got a big figure and we’re really hopeful to have a good 4-year old campaign with him.”
Spielman’s colt ran three times for Maker as a juvenile, earning his maiden victory on turf at Ellis Park and finishing 11th in the $1 million Juvenile Mile at Kentucky Downs. He entered Russell’s barn for the 2025 season, and after two losing efforts on the grass, he turned heads in May when he won an allowance taken off the turf at Delaware Park by 9 1/4 lengths.
The blowout victory proved to be a mere introduction for the rising star. After training at Laurel throughout the summer, Mika returned from a layoff of nearly six months on Nov. 16 and crushed a field of eight on his home track, winning a $50,000 allowance by 14 1/4 lengths.
His 95 Beyer in the 1 1/16-mile race is the third highest earned by any runner at Laurel this meet. Graded stakes winner Post Time, another Russell runner, earned the same figure when he ran second in the $150,000 Maryland Million Classic.
“Off the bench, I had to find out if he could run on the dirt on a fast track,” Russell said. “You know, he had to beat some okay horses the other day and he’d been working well. It was nice to see him run to his works.”
Russell’s work with Mika has undoubtedly put him on trajectory for stakes competition, and Spielman said that he and Maker are now working to return to that level. His first race in New York may be another gradual step, but the owner said that he will not hesitate to try a loftier spot if Maker believes he can handle it.
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