Maxfield sparkles on return in Tenacious Stakes

Undefeated colt Maxfield enjoyed a perfect return to action as he posted a straightforward victory in the Tenacious Stakes over an extended mile at Fair Grounds, USA, on Saturday, 19 December.

Making his first appearance since suffering a non-displaced condylar fracture to his right front cannon bone in June, the Brendan Walsh-trained three-year-old broke on terms and soon raced in second on the outside of Cool Bobby.

Maxfield moved up to challenge for the lead entering the final quarter-mile and the Street Sense homebred went clear after being sent on by Florent Geroux in the straight, comfortably beating Sonneman by two and a half lengths.

Godolphin USA President Jimmy Bell said: “This was not an automatic win for Maxfield – he was coming up against some hard-knocking older horses and a very talented three-year-old in Sonneman – but his class showed out. He is a horse with a ton of ability and plenty of class to go with it.

“Maxfield has really filled out and strengthened up, while he broke better tonight than he has in his three previous runs. He has grown up and looks a very imposing individual now. He will have also gained a lot from the race. He got a little tired in the last part but he pushed right on through and you can’t get that level of fitness from works alone.

“Now we can begin to look down the road and start to think about pointing towards specific races. We are hopeful that we can see him put together a full body of work as a four-year-old and it’s a balancing act between looking at immediate and long-term plans.”