Irish Maxima, a handful in the paddock, regains her cool to take Dashing Beauty
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Irish Maxima was reluctant to be saddled and caused a short delay before the $150,000 Dashing Beauty Stakes, but the 5-year-old mare was all business when she hit the track against three rivals at Delaware Park on Thursday.
“That was very out of character for her,” Servis said of her antics in the paddock. “She’ll fire at you, but she never rears up and does that kind of stuff. I think she was just too sharp. She wore me out, man. I think I got more tired than her.”
In her first victory from off the pace since September 2024, the John Servis-trained mare sat just behind the blazing pacesetter My Magic Wand and edged clear under Frankie Pennington in the stretch for her sixth stakes victory. She won the six-furlong sprint by a length.
“As sharp as she was going into the race, I was surprised she didn't get to the lead,” Servis said. “But she settled nice off of it and ran very well.”
Irish Maxima has now won 12 of her 19 career starts while earning more than $846,000.
Disco Ebo and Icona Mama scratched after running last weekend, while Anakarina and Outrageously ultimately withdrew in favor of a stakes at Colonial Downs on Saturday, leaving four fillies and mares in the Dashing Beauty. Irish Maxima would have been the favorite regardless, but her odds plummeted after the scratches. She paid $2.60 to win.
Before the race, trainer Gregory Sacco said he would leave it to jockey Edwin Gonzalez to find the right trip for My Magic Wand, either on the front end or just off the pace. Racing was taken off the turf Thursday but the dirt was listed as fast, allowing the 3-1 second choice to zip along on the front end, completing the opening quarter-mile in 23.03 seconds. Fractions posted during the race were the result of a timing error and later corrected.
Pennington kept Irish Maxima under a tight hold in third between horses on the backstretch, leaving My Magic Wand to maintain an uncontested early lead through a half-mile in 45.93. Kelly’s Girl briefly chased in second before caving, allowing the heavy favorite to easily pick up second and advance on the leader around the far turn.
My Magic Wand didn’t go quietly on the rail and mustered some resistance, but she had no chance of holding off Irish Maxima in the stretch. The last-out winner of the Grade 3 Ruffian at Aqueduct demonstrated her class in the late stages, steadily drawing away from her three rivals at the end. She completed the distance in 1:11.87.
My Magic Wand held second by a neck over Onyx Ten, who made a belated move for trainer Gary Capuano.
Irish Maxima is currently on a four-race winning streak, the longest of her successful career, and has downed rivals at three different tracks by a combined 12 3/4 lengths. Servis entered her in the $100,000 Maggie L. Walker at Colonial Downs last weekend, but called a timely audible to Delaware due to air quality concerns in Virginia.
The $300,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon at Charles Town is in play next month for the prolific stakes winner, but Servis said he still has plenty to figure out.
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