Maximum Security brilliance saved day
OCEANPORT, N.J. – It was a Haskell Day like no other. Not even a close second.
Instead of screaming fans packed into Monmouth Park’s grandstand late Saturday afternoon, the place was a sweltering ghost town, the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Invitational shifted to 8:05 ET, the last of six stakes races to be run in the early evening after the rest of the card was canceled due to the extreme heat.
The only thing that could salvage anything from the wreckage of the meet’s most important moment was an incredible race in the Grade 1 fixture by the hometown entrant.
Those who did return to see Maximum Security run as the sun set were treated to a glimpse of brilliance.
This was the first step toward redemption for the former $16,000 claimer, who unquestionably moves to the top of the 3-year-old division, while stamping himself as the best story in the sport this year some 11 weeks after finishing first in the Kentucky Derby, only to be disqualified for interference.
And in an irony of all ironies, he survived an inquiry by the stewards before his win in the Haskell was made official.
Not only did Maximum Security reverse the result from last month’s $150,000 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, where he lost as the 1-20 favorite to King for a Day in what was supposed to be little more than a glorified workout, he turned back West Coast invader Mucho Gusto, flown in by trainer Bob Baffert in search of his ninth Haskell victory, by holding on gamely down the stretch.
Maximum Security made his move to the front around the far turn to get by King for a Day, who he appeared to bother along the rail, after sitting just off the pace, and then held off a very strong challenge by Mucho Gusto down the stretch, winning by 11⁄4-length in a time of 1:47.56.
“I saw (Mucho Gusto), he came outside me, he came close to me and tried to beat me. I just let my horse run and he kept battling with him,” said winning jockey Luis Saez.
“That was exciting. I’m glad they didn’t disqualify him (Maximum Security). That would have been awful,” said Bob Baffert.
This was an outstanding effort, and the path to a championship is clear now.
Maximum Security, with what figures to be his fifth consecutive race with a 100plus Beyer Speed Figure – no other 3-year-old has more than one – is now the only horse in the division with multiple Grade 1 victories.
Whether the decision to run in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 24, which is the top goal right now, or the Pennsylvania Derby at Park on Sept. 21, the last two Grade 1s for 3-year-olds, the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, where Horse of the Year honors could await, looks like a sure target.
This was a great performance by a horse that continues to prove how good he is. It went a long way toward saving a Haskell Day that was in trouble right from the start.