Maxfield lead talented field in G1 Whitney
At 0h42, on August 5, 2021 • By SARATOGA
Five-time graded stakes winner Maxfield brings a quality resume against a compact-but-stellar field of fellow graded stakes winners in Saturday’s 94th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at nine furlongs for older horses at Saratoga Race Course.
The Whitney is a Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” qualifying event for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar and headlines Saturday’s lucrative 12-race card.
Whitney Day also features two other Grade 1 events with the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf and the $500,000 Longines Test for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs over the main track. Also featured on the card are the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares travelling 1 1/2 miles over the inner turf and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure for 4-year-olds and upward over the Mellon turf.
Owned by Godolphin, who captured last Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy with reigning 2-Year-Old Champion Essential Quality, Maxfield boasts lifetime earnings of $1,265,902 and an outstanding 8-7-0-1 record for trainer Brendan Walsh.
The 4-year-old dark bay or brown son of Street Sense, who sired 2019 Whitney winner McKinzie, arrives at the Whitney off two of his best performances yet with 3 ¼-length Grade 2 victories at Churchill Downs in the Alysheba on April 30 and the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 26, garnering a respective 105 and 103 Beyer Speed Figures.
Maxfield will look to become the fifth winner of the Stephen Foster to subsequently capture the Whitney, joining Awesome Again [1998], Victory Gallop [1999], Blame [2010] and Gun Runner [2017]. His win in that race already assured Maxfield of a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Jose Ortiz, who has piloted Maxfield to five of his seven wins, retains the mount from post 5. Maxfield is listed at 8-5 on the morning line.
